City lawsuit against Mush Inn Motel is dismissed

Anchorage's lawsuit seeking to declare the Mush Inn Motel a public nuisance has been dismissed, the city said today.

The owners of the East Anchorage motel near the Merrill Field airport have improved security at the site, and the number of police calls to the business has fallen, the city said.

In March, Anchorage sued the motel and its owners in state Superior Court under the state's new nuisance laws. The downtown motel drew more police calls -- 535 -- than any other single Anchorage building last year, according to the city. A 36-year-old man was shot and killed in a room there in February.

The city and motel owners jointly petitioned the court this week to dismiss the lawsuit.

In recent weeks, Mush Inn owners have upgraded video surveillance cameras and installed new ones, removed junk vehicles, fixed broken windows, installed gates, improved door locks and modified policies for patrons. The motel also contracted with a private security firm to have a guard onsite in the evening and early morning, the city said.

Before the lawsuit was filed, police were averaging 54 visits a month to the motel, the city said. They have averaged 30 visits a month since April -- most were security checks, welfare checks, follow-ups and general disturbance calls. Sixteen were serious, the city said.

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