01/04/08 — CONNEAUT LAKE — What the future holds for Conneaut Lake Park is anybody’s guess right now, but it’s a decision that could have a substantial impact on the community as the park’s failure to open fully for the 2007 season cut revenue for Conneaut Lake-area businesses by 30 to 50 percent and resulted in a loss of approximately 100 seasonal jobs.

Whether the park will open this summer — partially or completely — will depend on cash flow, according to Jack Moyers, chairman of the Trustees of Conneaut Lake Park.

“It’s no secret, we have a cash-flow problem,” he said. “We have no cash influx except for the customers paying water bills, and the dock rentals.”

In the meantime, the park still has debt in excess of $2.7 million, he noted.

In November, the board sought proposals to lease parts or all of the park, and now is waiting for a review of those proposals.

“The board elected to use a panel of three independent planners to review the proposals,” he said. Among the panel members is Crawford County Planner Jack Lynch, but Moyers declined to identify the other two. Once the planners complete their review, they will make a recommendation to the board.

Moyers said the Christmas holiday slowed the process, but he believes the reports will be done “in the near future. The board will then vote on the proposals.”

The proposals were solicited from anyone interested in leasing portions of the 116-year-old amusement park or the whole park. That includes such entities as the Beach Club, Hotel Conneaut, Dreamland Ballroom and midway concessions. He explained that the reason the proposals haven’t been made public is because “the negotiations are so tender, I don’t want to cloud the issues.”

“There are a couple interesting ones,” he said. “I just can’t do anything (publicly) with them until we tell whether others are accepted or rejected.”

The board also received more than one proposal after the Nov. 30 deadline, but those haven’t been opened, Moyers said.

The requests for proposals included cash payments to the trustees. Once any or all proposals are accepted, that cash may be used to allow the trustees to open parts of the park in addition to those mentioned in any lease plan.

The first two entities to be opened by the trustees would be Camperland, a recreational vehicle campground on Route 618 across from the Blue Streak, and the boat docks near the Beach Club, said Moyers. These two parcels generate additional income for the trustees.

If enough cash is received, the next thing to be opened will be the Beach Club — unless there is a separate lease proposal that would already open it. Hotel Conneaut’s opening is in doubt until an issue with the fire escape is resolved, said Moyers. He noted the building code inspector must give his approval to any changes made to the fire escape to make it safe for public use. With no money to make any changes, the hotel will remain closed — unless one of the proposals accepted is to lease the hotel and the proper upgrades are made.

Once the Beach Club is open, Moyers believes Dreamland Ballroom can follow quickly.

Moyers said the board plans to promote the park as a place for festivals. If that happens, the natural overflow from those activities could attract more visitors to Dreamland Ballroom.

Asked whether plans include opening any of the rides, Moyers said, “That depends on how everything comes together,” referring to the cash flow. “We have to get over the hump of the cash flow (problem),” he added.

“We hope to get some (rides) open. The board remains optimistic.” He said the board is working together “to do the best we can.” Moyers didn’t give specific figures, but in the past as much as $400,000 was needed to open the gates each spring.

The question of whether Conneaut Lake Park will open has been raised every year for nearly 10 years after it was purchased by Gary Harris from bankruptcy in 1996. Harris operated the park in 1996 and 1997 before deeding it to the Trustees of Conneaut Lake Park to operate for the public.

Every year since then, the opening has been doubtful because there’s been a lack of start-up funding. Until last year, somebody came up with the money — usually via loans.

However, last year the park’s court-appointed manager, LeRoy Stearns, refused to open the park because there wasn’t enough money, and he wouldn’t seek court approval for any more loans. The amusement park closed after plans to sell 3.3 acres of land were rejected. The proposed sale would have helped pay down some of the debt and given the park the money to open.

Court involvement was necessary because the park was declared a charitable trust following a lengthy legal battle.

After announcing the park would not open, Stearns resigned and a new 15-member board was appointed in July 2007. The new board opened the Beach Club for several months and Hotel Conneaut for several weeks until it was closed because of a problem with the fire escape.

In the meantime, a sheriff sale of various equipment scheduled for Jan. 3 was postponed for 30 days at the request of Sysco Food Services of Philadelphia, which filed for the sale for unpaid bills of more than $3,000. The sheriff’s office said Thursday the postponement was requested by Sysco’s attorney, but no reason was given. No new date has been set.

Moyers said Wednesday the sale was postponed because Mercer County State Bank has a lien against the park’s properties from a $100,000 loan made in 2004.



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