Columnist Jeff German: County slow to aid motel

Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2003 | 11:08 a.m.

If anyone embodies the definition of perseverance, it would be William and Juanita Wilson, the owners of the struggling Koala Motel in downtown Las Vegas.

But how much hardship should two small-business owners take?

The couple's story was brought to you in this space three weeks ago.

In a nutshell, the Wilsons have lost hundreds of thousands of dollars over the past four years during construction of the county's much-delayed Regional Justice Center, which is across the street from their 48-room motel.

Every imaginable burden -- from water main breaks to the sound of heavy equipment operating in the early-morning hours -- has driven business away from the Koala Motel. Revenues that once amounted to $350,000 a year have dwindled to $125,000.

All the Wilsons want is for the county, which has been overseeing the troubled Justice Center project, to pay them for their lost business.

It would seem to be a simple request. County officials, after turning a deaf ear for several years, acknowledged three weeks ago that the Wilsons were wronged.

The county, however, continues to leave the Wilsons twisting in the wind, as their debt piles up through no fault of their own.

Officials are taking their time investigating the matter in what appears to be an effort to shift much of the liability for the damage done to the couple to AF Construction, the Justice Center's general contractor.

County Aviation Director Randy Walker, brought in a year ago to clean up the Justice Center project, couldn't say when the investigation would be completed. He left the impression it was much further down the road.

But as the blame game continues, the Wilsons, who once had impeccable credit and a comfortable life savings, are being driven further to the brink of bankruptcy.

Every day that passes, the Wilsons owe another $251 in interest and penalties on their $843,000 mortgage. Their mortgage company has allowed the couple to skip monthly payments the past two years, but the company is close to running out of patience and demanding its money plus the interest. One year's worth of interest comes out to $91,615.

In March the Wilsons will owe another quarterly payment on their property tax bill, which has gone unpaid for more than a year. The tab is now over $15,000. They also owe $12,000 in delinquent room taxes.

"It's depressing," Juanita Wilson said. "We're taking things one day at a time."

Since their ordeal came to light three weeks ago, no one in the county has offered the Wilsons any financial assistance to keep the motel afloat.

No one even has offered an apology for putting them through hardship the past four years.

The Wilsons aren't spring chickens. Both are in their 70s. If they're forced into bankruptcy at this time in their lives, it will truly be a tragedy.

And it will be on the hands of county officials who have been slow to do the right thing.