City of Jackson has been trying to demolish the Hotel O for years. What's the hold up now?

It might be the biggest eyesore in Jackson. Driving south on I-55, just off exit 100 at Northside Drive, it will come into view. You won't miss it.

The Hotel O, long-abandoned, partially burned down, is a trash-filled building the City of Jackson has been trying to demolish for years. Vagrants and squatters sleep inside — clothes can sometimes be seen hanging along the upstairs railing as if someone left them out to dry. Walls are falling in on themselves. No, you can't book a room.

In recent meetings, the Jackson City Council has been eager to hear about when the city and residents will finally be rid of the hotel. Ward 7 Councilwoman and Council President Virgi Lindsay called the hotel "a horror."

“My question is when can we get started?” asked Ward 1 Councilman Ashby Foote at a council meeting earlier this month. “How do we do it, and where do we come up with the money to do it?

In June, Municipal Court Judge Jeffrey Reynolds ordered the demolition, according to court documents reviewed by the Clarion Ledger. The judge wrote the hotel "remains a clear and present danger" giving the court "no option other than to order the city of Jackson to demolish."

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Reynolds ordered the city to provide a "reasonable timeline" for demolition, as well as finances on how it will be paid for. At the council's July 2 meeting, City Attorney Drew Martin said he has began talks with the city's finance department.

This was the second time Reynolds ordered the demolition of the hotel, the first being last year, after the owner, Noah Muthana, failed to bring it into compliance. In January, Reynolds ordered an arrest warrant for Muthana for failing to show in court, but he allegedly fled the area and has evaded capture since.

Court documents show Muthana is being represented by E. Carlos Tanner, of local Jackson firm Tanner & Associates. The Clarion Ledger called the firm asking to speak with Tanner, but did not receive a call back.

Also at the July 2 meeting, Martin said the case has been appealed to the Hinds County Circuit Court, though nothing has been filed in the Mississippi Electronic Courts database.

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"We won the first appeal (in municipal court). They (Muthana's lawyers) appealed that decision to circuit court and I expect to win the next one as well, but we're waiting on a hearing date," Martin said.

As of the publish date of this article, no court date has been set in the Hinds County Circuit Court.

Besides the court appeals, the biggest roadblock the city faces is funding the demolition and when exactly that would take place.

At the council's July 16 meeting, Foote said he has been approached by private donors who would be willing to help out, but said he doesn't know if he should secure the money due to not knowing the legal status.

Regardless, Martin told Foote, "If there's outside money available, my answer would be let's get it."

Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba also told Foote to go ahead and secure the funding.

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"The city has done its job on this one, we merely have to wait on the court process," Lumumba said. "We certainly are always in need of money, so I would say in terms of shortening that runway of how we get it knocked down, if people are ready to donate we should get that money in now so we don't wait on a ruling … so we are ready to move."

"What I want to be able to tell them (residents) is that we're doing everything we can, it's in judge-whoever-it-is at the circuit court, the ball is in his court, literally," Foote said.

Martin also said he told Reynolds the city has received quotes on fencing off the area, something he expects the judge will "authorize," even with the appeal in the circuit court.

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: City of Jackson has been trying to demolish the Hotel O for years. What's the hold up now?