‘Yeah, we’re pissed’: Unpaid Westwood Mall power bill closes local apparel shop, others
MARQUETTE, Mich. (WJMN) — A power outage has shut the doors to most companies in the Westwood Mall for an unprecedented amount of time according to local business owners renting space there—but they say it’s far from the first time it has happened.
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Scott Martin, owner of the sports apparel shop Martin Sports, posted to Facebook saying that the owner of the mall has neglected paying this month’s electricity bill “which means the Westwood Mall is closed until he does.”
Fliers on the front doors of the mall alert hopeful competitors to the cancellation of the Timber Yeti Axe Range’s March Madness tournament, which was scheduled for Thursday evening. A new date has not yet been set.
Local 3 spoke with a woman in front of the building who was there for a nail appointment, but was greeted to the mall’s locked doors.
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Owners of The Rampage Room also posted to the social media site, saying “The Westwood Mall is closed today and unfortunately we are too. Hopefully they will get the power back on for the weekend!”
A photo posted by the The Rampage Room along with their message that reads:
We appreciate your business and your timely payments. Due to the configuration of the electrical system at the Westwood Mall, you may experience an outage if Marquette Board of Light & Power is required to disconnect your landlord or neighbors. At this time, we are preparing to take action against one or more customers at the Westwood Mall for delinquent non-payment.
We have notified the Marquette Township Fire Marshal about the potential disconnection of power. Building systems may be affected by this action and the Fire Marshal may take action as a result.
We have made multiple attempts to resolve this issue with the delinquent parties. Power is scheduled for disconnection on or after Wednesday March 27, 2024.
Letter from Marquette Board of Light & Power
Martin said letters like this have come nearly every month since his business has rented space there, and that this is the fourth time a shutoff has happened in the last 9 months. Employees at the adjacent Dunham’s Sports corroborated his claim, saying the shutoff notices were a regular occurrence until their power source was changed.
It appears Kohl’s is also operating with power. Though the mall’s main entrances are locked, select stores are also letting customers in if they call.
The power has been off since Wednesday, according to Martin. A posting on the mall’s door says the outage started sometime on Thursday. Martin said previous shutoffs were only hours long, but he has concerns for the safety of his store the longer this outage lasts. He said the lack of heat could cause a pipe to burst, or the lack of power could affect the building’s fire suppression systems.
“Yeah, we’re pissed,” said Martin at the end of his post.
Local 3 reached out to the MBLP and the owner of the mall, the Kohan Retail Investment Group, but have yet to get a response.
This is a developing story. Check back later tonight with Local 3 on-air and online.
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