It might have felt a little bit like déja vu for Juneau Police Department officers and City and Borough of Juneau officials Thursday as they asked people found inside the Bergmann Hotel to leave and boarded up any opened doors.
JPD Lt. Kris Sell was one of the group that conducted a walk-though of the century-old hotel after neighbors complained of people possibly living in the building, as well as other concerns in the area.
The historic structure had been condemned in early March as unsafe for human occupancy, after building owner Kathleen Barrett failed to address outstanding fire and building code violations.
“We have been concerned with squatters,” Sell said.
According to Sell, James Barrett — the son of owner Kathleen Barrett, who reportedly was working to clean up the site — was contacted; he said no one had permission to live in the hotel, but that he had people working inside the building.
“We had a court order to clear and board up the building,” Sell said. “We found two people inside who said they were working there and we asked them to leave.”
It was hard to tell if anyone was actually living in the hotel, she said.
“One of the men (we found) was making a meal on a hot plate, but he said he was on his lunch break,” Sell said.
Sell explained that the city has “drawn a bright line” and has closed off the building for good, until the Barretts acquire the permits they need and filed a repair plan.
“The city has provided the Barretts a notice to share a repair plan and get permits,” she said. “We cleared the building and the contractor boarded up the doors and secured it.”
Sell said that workers will only be allowed to access the building after the necessary permits are acquired, adding the Barretts “will need to share what they are doing and who will be doing it.”
If someone is found inside the building, JPD will investigate to see if they have permission from code enforcement.
“They would need to be under a permit with a specific task,” she said.
James Barrett and Kathleen Barrett did not return calls for comment.
Concerns flare with reports of fights, gunfire
Neighbors of the Bergmann have had issues with the hotel’s tenancy and management for years, they say.
After the city closed down the hotel in March, many residents in the area said they did not want to see it reopen. At a meeting of the Uptown Neighborhood Association in May with city manager Rorie Watt, community development director Rob Steedle and Assemblyman Jesse Kiehl, several in attendance pressed the city officials on the issue.
Watt said there was no plan to condemn the building until it was deemed structurally unsound. The neighbors were advised to continue to monitor the situation and to alert the police if there were issues.
This month, members of the neighborhood association began registering an uptick in issues of concern.
One resident noted a loud altercation at 5 a.m. on July 9 and again at about 6 a.m. on July 19. The night before, she said, she found a man crouched down digging in the flower bed next to her driveway who then “took off.” Others reported gunshots and possible drug-dealing and prostitution activity.
On July 22, Kiehl — who also is a neighbor — emailed the group to say that he sat down with outgoing Juneau Police Department Chief Bryce Johnson.
“I pushed on these issues and shared my own observations,” he wrote.
“Please keep calling in the disturbances and logging the drug runs and suspicious activity,” Kiehl continued. “I can promise you it’s not going into a void — it’s helping, and I think we’ll see results.”
Sell noted that the problems being called in appear to be associated with residences near the Bergmann Hotel, not specifically with the hotel itself.
“We have posted extra patrols and more visible patrols,” she said, and added that charges will be filed on a woman in the area recently who appeared suspicious, but refused to stop at the direction of an officer.
“When you see something, report it,” Sell said. “We want to know when things are actually happening up there, so we can address it.”
Sell gave the neighborhood association kudos for organizing a National Night Out party on Tuesday and promised police department staff would attend.
“That is what National Night Out is for, to say, ‘These are our streets,’” Sell said. “We are definitely supporting them on that. … We’re very glad the neighborhood is so involved. That’s how we’re going to solve this.”
Contact reporter Liz Kellar at 523-2246 or liz.kellar@juneauempire.com.
New signs were posted on the Bergmann Hotel by city officials Thursday, warning people to stay out. (Liz Kellar | Juneau Empire)
