Results of motel survey shared with officials

A motel feasibility study completed by consultant Core Distinction Group recommends an “upper midscale” property in Weiser that could compete with motel brands in Ontario.

 The 70-page report was positive, said Patrick Nauman, who serves on the city’s economic task force and updated the Weiser City Council on the findings.

 In addition to recommending a motel property with 40-50 rooms, the study also said a motel should include a beer and wine bar, fitness center and breakfast buffet – all the amenities that today’s business traveler wants and expects, he said.

 Nauman said a potential site for a motel is under consideration along U.S. Highway 95 in the vicinity of where Ridley’s is building a new store and where Bi-Mart is located. A 2.5-acre site out of a total parcel of five acres could house the motel, along with a couple of development pads, including space for a restaurant. 

 The study details that the motel’s economic impact in the community would include 20-25 full-time and part-time jobs, from entry level to executive level. The property would bring additional money into the community, not only in room revenue, but also spillover economic impacts that would benefit other businesses in town, including the existing motels in Weiser, Nauman said.

 At a special meeting of the Weiser City Council to consider what incentives the city might be willing to offer potential motel investors, council members offered to look at the city ordinance on parking spaces and also the building permit costs. 

 The city’s ordinance on parking spaces requires a certain number of spaces based on the number of rooms. Council members agreed that the ordinance might be outdated and in need of a review and possible revisions.  

 “There is no way you need 81 parking spaces,” Nauman said, and a more reasonable number for a potential motel is 50 spaces.

 Mayor Diana Thomas pointed out how business-friendly Weiser is with lower utility costs and capacity for any developer who wants to build. The property is already zoned for a commercial business like a motel and city services are located nearby for easy connection. 

 The city has no impact fees and architectural requirements are minimal, she said, and that should be quantified and pointed out to potential motel investors and other developers.

 “Those things are already in place,” she said. “We are already new business friendly.”

 Nauman said the city of Victor, Idaho, constructed new curbs, gutters and sidewalks for a motel development in that community and later applied for and received a Gem grant that reimbursed the city for the expense.

 After an hour of discussion, the city council agreed to write a letter in support of a new motel and with the offer that the city will look at the building permit fees in the event a property is developed and the city ordinance on parking spaces.

 Washington County commissioners have also said they were willing to support economic incentives to attract a new motel.