11/06/07 —

Conneaut Lake Park Board of Trustees is seeking proposals to lease all or part of the currently-closed 115-year-old amusement park. Chairman Jack Moyers said developers interested can visit www.clp-rfp.com for details. In order to get the details, however, it will cost you $100.

Deadline to submit proposals is Nov. 30.

The board has sent notice to a number of potential developers.

“They are trying to control the process,” said Crawford County planner Jack Lynch of making those interested in submitting proposals pay for the information.

For beginners, the proposal includes lease of the same 3.6 acres of land that former court-appointed overseer LeRoy Stearns tried to sell. It’s commonly referred to as the Flynn property in view of the fact the Flynn family had a residence there.

And there’s more. The board has broken down the entire park property into different areas that can be leased. They include Hotel Conneaut, Beach Club and Dockside, Dreamland Ballroom, all the amusement rides, Camperland, midway and the marina, said Lynch, noting anyone interested in submitting proposals to lease any or all of the above may do so.

This is not a new concept as the park was leased in the late 1990s to an outside operator by then-court appointed overseer William Jorden. The leaseholder eventually declared bankruptcy.

Moyers said the board believes there could be one umbrella agency to lease the entire operation in coordination with the trustees. “We want to preserve the park and the trust,” he said, noting that is why there are no plans to sell any land.

If one agency doesn’t lease the entire operation, the board is willing to work with a number of leaseholders.

For example, Moyers said one person or group may choose to develop the 3.6 acres, and another might take over Hotel Conneaut. The board continues to work with people concerning the park’s water system. “We have several irons in the fire,” he said, without further explanation.

“Our goal is to build the park as an asset,” he said, noting the board wants it to be a profitable, self-sufficient asset. Over the past decade, the park has continued to accumulate debt every year. The estimated debt now totals $2.7 million.

The leases “will not be a sale,” said Moyers, suggesting some could be 99-year leases, but the proposed developers will present suggested lease terms with their proposals.

He expects the proposal for development of the 3.6 acres will include housing such as condominiums — as was proposed recently with the original plan to sell that land. That proposal was rejected by the courts after opposition to the sale was raised during a court hearing.

Moyers believes all leases “will have to go to the court to approve,” referring to the Crawford County Court of Common Pleas, which is involved because the park was declared a charitable trust.

He said the board is willing to hear all ideas for proposed development. “We had one individual who wants to build an indoor/outdoor race track,” he said. He assumes the individual meant for horse racing, but said it wasn’t made clear.

Lynch said the proposal includes specifications about qualifications of the developer.

He said the requests for proposals include resumes of the developer’s team members and their past projects. The request includes a statement detailing how the proposal suits the grounds and environment of Conneaut Lake Park.

“One key statement is architectural style,” said Moyers of any proposed condominium development along the lakefront. “We want to know what it is going to look like.”

That includes the waterfront elements, green technology and how the roads will tie in with the impact of the immediate road network.

“It is going to give the board the opportunity to see what interest is out there,” he said, noting the proposals are designed to attract professional and experienced developers.

“The board will control the outcome,” he added.

“It’s a very aggressive timeline,” he said, noting the Nov. 30 deadline.

Lynch isn’t a member of the board, but has been working with the board.

In the meantime, Moyers said he hopes to have current financial figures in a week or so, detailing the revenue and expenses from the past several months after the board opened the Beach Club in mid-August.



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