Park sinks deeper into debt

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December 7, 2005

By Jane Smith The Meadville Tribune Wed Dec 07, 2005, 11:10 PM EST

12/08/05 — Conneaut Lake Park sunk $650,000 deeper into debt in 2005.

Park general manager George Deshner said all unpaid bills, as of Thursday, that he is aware of total $2.962 million — up from an estimated $2.309 million the park owed at the end of January.

Of that debt, close to $1 million is for two items — a 30-year the PennVEST loan of $476,920 and delinquent real estate taxes in excess of $400,000.

Deshner said Thursday he believed the outstanding debt was $2.7 million last year. However, documents presented in court earlier this year show outstanding debt as of Jan. 31, 2005, at $2.309 million.

At the end of 2002, total debt was $1.616 million.

At first glance, the operating report filed by the Trustees of Conneaut Lake Park for the period from Jan. 1 to Sept. 10, 2005, in the county prothonotary’s office didn’t look too bad.

The initial report had a profit of $116,753.03. However, an amended report was filed after the court-appointed overseer, LeRoy Stearns, reviewed it and said additional expense accounts needed to be added.

The additional accounting showed the Trustees’ report did not include unpaid bills for 2005 operations of $193,620.26, which meant instead of a profit, the park had an estimated operating loss of $76,867.23.

However, to further complicate matters, that additional list didn’t include unpaid 2005 real estate taxes of approximately $30,000 and unpaid sewer bills for the first 10 months of the year, at $19,334. Then take into account the park is still owed $9,000 from debtors for picnic rentals and the park’s operating loss amounts to $117,201.

George Deshner, general manager and former board member, said he compiled the addendum and took only the major unpaid bills into account.

However, the bottom line loss figure — for 2005 operations —doesn’t take into account the park paid in excess of $88,000 for bills not incurred in 2005.

The bills were paid out of 2005 revenues, but not listed separately.

For example, the park paid four different vendors in full for debts dating back to 2004 or prior.

Paid were:

- $7,981.04 to Leo’s Pneumatics and Hydraulics for an overdue bill.

- $6,374.63 to Barber Chemical for the water system and water park for previous years purchases.

- Kubinski Business Systems, $3,612.17 for debts dating before 2005.

- STI Creative Marketing Group, $5,076.46 for pre-2005 expenses.

- Penelec, $40,000 for past due electric bills.

- Griffin Motors, $25,000 toward its debt of $50,000.

So, if you subtract those payments from the estimated $117,000 operating loss for the first nine months of this year, it would reduce the 2005 loss to about $29,000.

Citing the horrendous bookkeeping records at the park that he has been trying to sort since named general manager in September, Deshner said he is still struggling to get the records straight to make sense of the report.

For example, he said despite fact the numbers show a loss of only about $29,000 for 2005, the unpaid debt continues to grow.

Some of that can be attributed by the fact the unpaid taxes continue to grow because of interest and other fees attached. Interest continues to accrue on other bills as well.

“We are going to get better,” Deshner said, noting that refers to both the accounting and the revenues generated at the park.

Plans are to start a new accounting system Jan. 1 in an effort to straighten out all the accounts and get a handle of what is owed by the park and to the park.

The report had to be filed with the Crawford County Court of Common Pleas because the park was declared a charitable trust last year and is under court supervision at this time.

Jane Smith can be reached at 724-6370 or by e-mail at jsmith@meadvilletribune.com

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