4/29/06 — It appears that a judge has cleared the way for Conneaut Lake Park to get the money it needs to prepare for its Memorial Day weekend opening.
Park officials had sought permission to sell a three-acre parcel of the park, a move that would allow them to a secure a $250,000 bank loan based on the future proceeds of the sale. The land is expected to go for much more than the loan amount.
On Friday, Crawford County Court of Common Pleas Judge Anthony Vardaro issued his order on the park’s request. He signaled that the land sale is OK, but he did impose conditions. Nonetheless, the park’s court-appointed overseer, LeRoy Stearns, is confident the judge’s order is enough to allow him to get the loan the park needs. He said he expects to have a loan in place by the middle of next week. Without the loan, park officials were concerned they might have to delay or even cancel the park’s opening.
In his order Vardaro stipulated that the sale must be part of an overall development plan for the park approved by Stearns and the Economic Progress Alliance of Crawford County. The alliance is currently in the early stages of developing just such a plan.
The judge indicated he would carefully consider the sale price of any proposal and he expects appropriate restrictions on the development of the parcel by any new owner consistent with the plans and for the good of the public.
In addition, Stearns must return to court to have any sale approved, and doing so will allow for public input.
Vardaro said Stearns must provide the public with specific terms of a proposed sale so it can have the opportunity to participate.
“We believe that a public sale clearly could include an auction sale, which could be with a reserve or without a reserve,” Vardaro wrote.
He said bids should be opened in public and then Stearns would have the discretion to pursue the sale based on the highest bid.
Once that work is done, Stearns would then petition the court for final approval of the sale and a public hearing would be scheduled to allow all parties to comment.
The park is a charitable trust operated on behalf of the people of northwest Pennsylvania. It fell under court jurisdiction when its original board of trustees dwindled to one member. The others resigned as conflict among board members arose.
Jane Smith can be reached at 724-6370 or by e-mail at jsmith@meadvilletribune.com
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Judge clears way for park to open
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