Should the owners of the Budget be given 45 more days they are asking for or should the City of Eureka be allowed to proceed; owners acknowledge issues

Judge Dale Reinholtsen opened this morning's hearing on "prohibiting the City of Eureka and its agents' from vacating tenants from the "premises of the Budget" motel had been submitted on behalf of the owners of the Budget by Mr. Carlton Floyd, their attorney.

"I was contacted by their (clients) office on Tuesday," said Mr. Floyd. "On Monday, they received notice that there were a large number of violations at the Budget and that the tenants would be evicted this morning. Prior to that the only notice they had received was a phone call from Brain Issa. As far as written notice in the last six months/a year, they had not received any," until this recent notice is what Mr. Floyd claimed his client told him.

"Mr. Kushwaha lives in Oxnard, CA; his assistant lives in Texas," said Mr. Floyd. "There have been various property managers and they have not relayed any messages regarding code violations."

"I am not here to argue there are violations; I'm sure there are. I am here to argue they be given a chance to fix the violations." Mr. Floyd said that the money for relocation benefits would be "better spent fixing all the issues on the property."

"The reason this is a huge detriment is because the City is requiring them to pay an upward of $60,000 in relocating fees."

"They have contacted an engineer who will in by Friday. A plumber that will be in by the week." They have contacted an electrician, said Mr. Floyd and they plan to immediately replace "all beds infested with bed bugs." They will install security cameras, he said.

Mr. Floyd said that the current manager had rented some rooms without the knowledge of the owner because the manager was unaware. "They have been vacated since yesterday."

"Outside engineering issues, my clients feel they can fix other issues in 45 days. They are willing to have the City check the progress every 48 hours. If they cannot fix these issues in 45 days, they won't fight the summary eviction and the City can go ahead."

In response to a question by Judge Reinholtsen about the plaintiffs acknowledging the issues, Mr. Floyd said that "the tenants are willing to work with the landlord so they have a place to stay."