Local man thinks Superior Creek Lodge should close permanently

East Ridge, TN (WDEF) – Just two weeks after Superior Creek Lodge in East Ridge was pronounced condemned, one man asked city council members to keep it closed for good.

Ben Strickland stopped by the East Ridge Courthouse today, during a city council meeting, to personally hand Mayor Brent Lambert an online petition with more than 150 signatures on it, each one supporting his suggestion to close Superior Creek Lodge permanently.

Strickland lived in the extended stay hotel off and on for more than ten years, and said it’s just a money trap for income families.

"I mean once you live there you can’t get out, because you’re going to have to continue to pay your rent," said Strickland, "It takes something like what happened to get out. So I took my opportunity and ran with it."

All four of the buildings were condemned because of structural damages to walkways caused by rotting, and city officials deemed them a threat to human life.

Strickland said if it does reopen, he doesn’t expect anything to change, "They’re probably gonna raise the rent even higher, and it’s just bad. East Ridge will have that problem down there again."

Approximately 138 rooms, with an unknown amount of people, were evacuated September 10th.