To the Citizens and Community of Winona:
We would like the opportunity to respond to the unfair and incorrect misrepresentation from City Clerk, Tracy Holcomb, about our outstanding water bill for the Holiday Inn Express Winona at the January 21st Winona Board of Aldermen meeting.
It is shocking that an employee of the City of Winona in an official capacity, would verbalize and misrepresent the situation of the outstanding water bill balance to the Board of Aldermen, including those in attendance, the residents that watched and replayed the video of the meeting and others that have learned about the incident. What was communicated publicly gave our hotel a label that the Holiday Inn Express Winona does not pay their financial obligations.
The Holiday Inn Express Winona serves as an economic generator for the City and employs Winona residents, pays its property taxes, collects Sales tax, supports other local businesses, takes part in community events, contributes to local charities and has strong financial stability. The hotel serves thousands of visitors annually and has a very reputable reputation. The hotel and its location are often viewed as the Gateway to the City of Winona.
We would like to respond to all the statements made by the City Clerk, Tracy Holcomb as well as those made by Alderman Charles Harris and Alderman Mickey Austin, who represents Ward 1- which is the Ward our hotel is located. It is important to know how we got here and what exactly led to an “outstanding balance” on our water account, as we have been set up on Auto DRAFT since December 2017.
Starting in January 2023 and each month following until September 2024 our water bill has been incorrect. We received water bills ranging from $43,000 to $2,000,000.00, none of which had any usage or details listed. Each month the water department has been “averaging” our monthly bill instead of accurately solving the issue and providing us with a correct bill and correct meter readings.
Accurate meter readings on utility bills are crucial for several reasons:
1. Fair Billing, If the readings are accurate, you're only charged for the actual water you've used. Without accurate readings, you could end up overpaying, or the utility company may underestimate your usage, leading to future large bills when the discrepancy is caught.
2. Avoid Overcharging: Errors in meter readings (like estimates or mistakes) can result in being overcharged.
3. Tracking Consumption Trends: Regular, accurate readings give you a better sense of your consumption habits, helping you identify ways to cut back or conserve resources. This can save you money in the long run and help you be more environmentally conscious.
4. Dispute Resolution: If you ever need to dispute a charge, accurate readings and documentation will make your case stronger and help settle the issue more swiftly.
In short, accurate meter readings keep you in control of your utility costs, prevent errors, and ensure you're paying for exactly what you've used. We have not had accurate readings on our water bill for well over a year.
On two occasions, one of the clerks contacted Mary Sledge, Our General Manager to let her know that they had to stop the draft so the incorrect amount showing we owed would not be drafted as this had happened one month. February 2024 was the last time we were aware they had stopped the draft; we have written communication from that clerk that the draft was started back for the following month.
In May we received an email from the mayor saying we had not paid our bill and had a large balance on our account, apparently, they had stopped our draft again and not notified us. We then made a couple of payments but noticed even more inaccuracy, we noticed that what they showed us owing was grossly incorrect. We agreed to meet and review the bills, according to Mayor Aaron Dees via email, this meeting would include staff members from the water department, accounts payable, water supervisor and himself. As the meeting started, Mayor Dees received a phone call and never came back to the meeting he had organized, and the water supervisor was not present. Mary began showing the Accounts Payable, Water Dept Clerk and a gentleman who said he was the meter reader what we believed to be incorrect, as it showed our sewer charges were two times the amount of our water charges. Mary’s inquiry was met with resistance, but she left the meeting with the water department saying to give them a week and let them investigate it. Before leaving the city hall the Accounts Payable representative told Mary she believed we were thinking it was incorrect because there was a recent rate change. When she asked when this rate change occurred, they were unable to locate anything stating those facts and she ask them to email it to her. The water clerk said it was possible we were being charged the wrong rate as well, but they would investigate it, and we would meet to discuss it. Later Accounts Payable emailed Mary and said that our account was switched from residential status to commercial status, and this is why we saw such an increase in our billing. Mary sent several emails to the clerks, and to Mayor Dees requesting the water and sewer rates for both residential and commercial, as well as the date that the account was changed. To this day, we still have not received this information.
We did find on the City of Winona website that the last time there was a rate change was 2019, so if this has changed, it has not been updated. In October, Mary received a call from the water department and was ask to come meet again so we could get the water bill resolved and paid. Mary went and we still held true to the fact, that our water bill was incorrect, Mary was told by the City Clerk and Tony the water department’s meter reader, they didn’t find any mistakes and we needed to pay the bill. So, we agreed we would pay overtime and in the meantime we would hire a third party utility auditor to review all of our past bills. On October 28th we received a phone call from the City Clerk Tracy Holcomb stating that we were correct and according to her email that followed which stated “After months of back and forth, we here at the city hall are satisfied that we have corrected your bill to perfection. The sewer amount was in fact very incorrect in August and September, and you will see that the portion of the bill for that has been corrected.” That was the last email we received from the water department.
Although we certainly do not agree that this was the only discrepancy at this point, we knew we had to take further steps. Any utility bill cannot be accurate if the bill has been “averaged” for over a year.
Our General Manager Mary has been dealing with the water department for several years now, going to numerous board meetings to discuss water pressure issues, guest complaints about discoloration and sadly disputing inaccurate water bills each month. In October, Mary has asked us the owners of the hotel, to remove herself from any dealings with the city water department as it had become extremely tiring and unproductive. Our company has been making payments via check and online, unfortunately by making a larger payment online, we are penalized with high processing fees. The last payment that cleared our bank was on January 3, 2025. We also sent a large check in December that has yet to clear our bank. According to the City Clerk, we had only made a payment in November and in January since being told we had a balance and our account was not being drafted, this is an untrue statement, but we are going to comply and pay the amount off, although we do not agree that our balance is correct. In the meantime, we are moving forward with next steps to address this and all other statements made by the city of Winona Alderman and the City Clerk on January 21st.
The city clerk’s remarks during the January 21st meeting not only failed to provide the truth about our billing issues but also misrepresented our General Manager personally, portraying her as unresponsive and negligent. This is not only untrue, but deeply unprofessional. We feel it to be worth noting that the last phone call Mary received from the City Clerk was December 5th, and the last email she received was on October 31st.
We would also like to mention in response to her statement that “the lady thinks she can pay at her leisure” is also inaccurate our General Manager does not pay the bills. The account for the Holiday Inn Express is under the name of ownership and the contact information for ownership was given to establish that account. The City Clerk also made the statement “even her attorneys in Atlanta recognize that this problem has been rectified” she was referring to water pressure and color of water but we do not have lawyers in Atlanta and her statement alluded to the fact that she has spoken to lawyers who represent the hotel which is untrue and baseless especially making such a statement as if its fact in a city board meeting.
Her comments also led the public to believe that the hotel’s water issues—such as discoloration and low pressure is what stemmed from the unpaid bills, rather than from ongoing billing issues. This deliberate misrepresentation is unacceptable.
We would like to be as transparent as possible about our water department account. Monday February 3rd at 6PM in the meeting room at Holiday Inn Express, we will be available to share all our account billing, letters, and correspondence. We also encourage any of the Alderman to come, as we believe after hearing the City of Winona had voted on at the January 21st Board meeting to give us an ultimatum, unfortunately they haven’t been privy to all the hotels’ water department account issues.
JP Hotel Group, which includes me, Tony Vassett, and my business partners bought the hotel in December 2017. Immediately upon buying this property we completed a $2.8 million brand renovation. Within the first year of ownership, we spent over $190k re-piping the entire hotel due to rust and corrosion build up from the amount of iron in the cities water and the lack of pressure provided to the hotel to push the water through our pipes properly.
In the Hospitality industry, we always focus our energies and efforts on our guests, to uphold our brands promise to provide exceptional accommodations and create a friendly experience for those who give us an opportunity to serve them. While we strive for perfection, there are times when things beyond our control happen. In those cases, we make it right for the guests. Our team takes the time to review what went wrong and how we can adjust so we can learn and grow. Perhaps the water department, including Winona city leaders and officials, should adapt that strategy.
