May 16--Owners and managers from eight motels along Interstate 35 and Rundberg Lane met as a group this week to begin doing something many of them have long talked about: organizing themselves to deter criminals who try to set up shop in their rooms.

On Wednesday, the group met at the Orangewood Inn and Suites at the invitation of Taber White, an Austin police district representative for the area.

"It was one of the most positive meetings I've been to in a while," White said. "They had a lot of good ideas."

The motels play a crucial role in police efforts in the area, because the drug dealers, prostitutes and other criminals who troll the area like to operate from motel rooms. White said some motels in recent years have enacted strict policies to keep criminals out, only to see nearby motels rent rooms to anyone and everyone.

In January police launched "Restore Rundberg," a 3-year effort to try to reduce crime and revitalize a large swath of North Austin using a $1 million federal grant. Some of the motels' efforts to deter crime were featured in a story in Sunday's American-Statesman.

Representatives of the Budget Lodge, Economy Inn, Austin Village Motor Inn, Budget Inn, Red Roof Inn, Austin Suites, Super 8 and Orangewood Inn and Suites came to the table, White said.

Most of the motels maintain a "do not rent" list of people they have turned away or evicted, but they don't have any organized way to share that information. Some of them say they call neighboring motels to alert others, knowing that someone turned away from one motel often will simply walk to the next one.

White said the motels agreed that they need to set up some sort of network where they can discuss problems and quickly share information about problem guests. He said the motels also agreed that, as a group, they can have a stronger voice when asking police and the city to address problems in the area.

"Nobody, as best I can tell, wants it to look like a slum," White said.

Matt Franklin, manager of the Red Roof Inn, said the group agreed they need to meet regularly. "Us all being together on the issue, that was the main thing," he said.

Stephanie Rollings, manager of the Economy Inn, said police passed out a list of people who have been arrested multiple times in the area. She said that getting all the motels to turn away undesirable guests "might affect your business for a little while, but in the long run it's better for everyone."

White said that, in future meetings, the owners and managers will likely discuss other possible solutions such as a universal "do not rent" list they all maintain and honor.

"This was a really good bunch, and they really seem like they want to do something," he said.

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