RED LODGE — The city of Red Lodge is applying for FEMA funding to purchase and demolish the Eagle's Nest Motel, a flood-damaged property that has sat vacant and deteriorating since 2022.
The motel took a significant hit during the 2022 flood that swept through the area, leaving it damaged and largely untouched in the years since.
Watch community members of Red Lodge talk about the motel:
Red Lodge Mayor Dave Westwood said the city is working with the property owner to move the project forward.
"They're allocating a billion dollars across the entire nation," Westwood said Friday.
Westwood said both the city and the owner are aligned on the outcome.
"We're working with the property owner. We'd both like to see this cleaned up and kind of mitigate it a little bit as we continue to recover from the flood," Westwood said.
The property owner confirmed he is on board with the plan.
The vision for the site mirrors what already happened nearby. The Rocky Fork Inn, another flood-damaged property, sat untouched for more than 3 years before crews demolished it last October, turning the lot into a park.
Westwood said that same transformation is the goal for the Eagle's Nest site.
"It would be more green space adjacent to the space that we have to the south of here where the Rocky Fork was," Westwood said.
When asked about the delay, Westwood pointed to finances.
"We've prepared and been waiting for a funding source opportunity to become available," Westwood said.
For residents like Roger Moellendorf, the flood is personal. He learned his own Red Lodge property had been hit before he even moved in.
"We got word from our renters, our vacation renters in the house that they were being evacuated because of the flood," Moellendorf said.
He drove straight to Red Lodge to help.
"Drove straight through, bought some supplies like shovels and brooms and buckets and water pumps. And came to Red Lodge and easily started cleaning up," Moellendorf said.
Moellendorf said the motel's condition has not gone unnoticed by visitors.
"It's a huge eyesore. We have a lot of visitors come into town to visit us. And of course, everybody drives over the Beartooth Pass and frequently they get into town, they go, what is with that property over there," Moellendorf said.
Kelly Hale, a 13-year Red Lodge resident, echoed that sentiment.
"Since I've been here, has not really been functional. It's been a bit of an eyesore. And especially with the floods that we had a few years ago, it's really wiped it out," Hale said.
Hale said the broad community support for the project stands out.
"It's great to see everybody get behind a project rather than to be opposed or controversial, it's just, it's nice. So I think it's a positive step forward for Red Lodge and for the county," Hale said.
And the community's desire for change is clear.
"Everybody wants it gone," Westwood said.
Nothing is finalized yet, but officials say the goal is straightforward.
"We both agreed that what we want for this property, is not this," Westwood said.
