SPRINGDALE — Residents of the Sunrise Inn started moving Wednesday, following the lead of several nearby businesses.

The City Council on Tuesday revoked the business license of the motel at 2001 S. Thompson St. Officials from several city departments said the business was a public nuisance with unsafe and unsanitary rooms and a pool.

The ordinance, after an emergency clause was approved, took effect immediately.

Some of the people leaving, however, didn’t go willingly.

Wayne Rist said he and his wife, Tisha Rist, were kicked out of the motel Wednesday morning.

“We don’t have a place to go,” Rist said. “We have one person we can call, but he’s out of town today. We’re just living one hour to the next.”

Rist said he and his wife moved their belongings across Long Street outside a closed business and were trying Wednesday afternoon to find another place to live.

Their income comes from a veteran’s benefit check, and it wouldn’t stretch to cover another motel, he said.

“We’ve got two dogs,” Wayne Rist said. “Nobody else will take them.”

A few tenants remained at the motel, Rist said, probably those who have paid through the end of the month. The couple had lived at the Sunrise Inn for about two months, he said.

The welfare of the residents was a big concern for Josh Duggar. At a hearing on the Inn’s business license, Duggar told the council about the problems at his business, Champion Motors, next to the motel.

The council Tuesday approved a conditional use for Duggar to open a new car lot at 501 N. Thompson St. All the vehicles from Champion Motors were moved to the north Thompson address by Wednesday morning.

“We had a lot of problems that came from the motel, but the owners were good people, always courteous,” Duggar said. “There are a lot of people there that have no place to go.”

The Springdale School District was not aware if any students lived at the motel, said Rick Schaeffer, district spokesman. Duggar said he had occasionally seen children at the motel but didn’t know if they went to school.

The Thai Ta Ra Restaurant, off the motel lobby, closed Dec. 30, said Yaowaluck Reynolds, owner.

“We are looking for another place,” Reynolds said. “We had a lot of difficulty for the business to make a profit with the problems from the motel.”

The China Doll Club, a bar also off the motel lobby, remains open, according to its owner, K.C. Tou. The owners of the motel warned him at the first of the month it might close, he said. The closing shouldn’t hurt him, as long as the utilities for the building are on, he said.

“The people who stay at the motel are not our clientele,” Tou said. “They probably can’t afford $2.50 for a beer.”

Lance Johnson, who owns Lance Johnson Building at 2028 Long St., said his business has operated for 11 years behind the motel. He kept his doors locked.

“We’ve had vandalism, break-ins, drunk and disorderly and people coming in asking for handouts,” Johnson said. “It had almost become a way of life.”

Only three vehicles remained parked by the one wing of the motel, which had not been previously tagged by the city as unfit for occupation. The other wing had paneling covering doors and holes in the wall where the heating and air conditioning units were removed.

The owners of the motel, listed by the city as Belle and Jag Kaur, declined to speak about the business.

The motel can get its business license back if it fixes all the problems listed by the city. The council also must rescind the ordinance revoking the business license.