MARTINSBURG, W.Va. — The Martinsburg City Council discussed a petition during Thursday night’s council meeting asking them to annex a pair of motels along Winchester Avenue.
Some neighborhood residents say the Relax Inn and Heritage Inn have become hotbeds of illegal activity, ranging from prostitution to drug use.
Residents have said they’d like the city to annex the properties so they could use the “drug house” ordinance to combat the issues.
City Council Member Kevin Knowles said extra patrols by the Martinsburg Police Department, similar to ones that reduced crime in and around the Town Square plaza, have already begun in the neighborhood.
“They’ve (police) really picked up their pace as far as brining extra people in to work with all the problems they’re seeing out on Winchester Avenue,”
Knowles said he expects to see a similar reduction in illegal activity there.
Although he is in favor of annexation, Knowles said he’d like to see neighborhood residents living in the area sign the petition and not just city residents.
The council took no action Thursday.
Martinsburg Mayor George Karos indicated on WV MetroNews affiliate WEPM that there would likely be little appetite on the council to annex just the motel property.