Tourism Council and county remain at an impasse; agreement with grounds keeper for Outdoor Center
An impasse between the Presque Isle County Tourism Council and the PI County Board of Commissioners appears no closer to a quick resolution. The Tourism Council would like to move on with the work of promoting the county, and less time defending what is being alleged as wrong doing. County chairman Allan Bruder, who serves on the finance committee, reiterated his promise of not recommending any further funding for the Tourism Council until ?some issues are cleared up.?
Following last Friday?s county meeting, Bruder said he is not in favor of allocating any more money under the current circumstances. ?They did what I call careless accounting,? he said. ?Until that?s taken care of, I?m not going to be in favor of giving money in the future.? Last month, three Tourism Council board members resigned after a 5-2 vote to terminate executive director Kammie Dennis and operations manager Mark Schuler was reversed later in the meeting in a 3-4 vote. Chairman Tom Sobeck, as well as board members John Roby and Blake Gingrich, who each voted to terminate Dennis and Schuler, stepped down in the wake of the second vote. Board members Kris Sorgenfrei, Alletta Misiak, Sally Knopf, and Liz Krajniak voted in favor of retaining Dennis and Schuler in the second vote at the March 5 meeting.
A FINAL 2006 appropriation of $3,650 was withheld by the county and no additional funding from the county board has been received from an expected $25,000 grant, the amount given the organization annually the last few years. Sorgenfrei, who has taken over as chairman of the Tourism Council, attended the county board meeting (March 30) but there was no discussion regarding Tourism Council funding, or their future.
The meeting did not come without another setback for the Tourism Council, as the county board agreed to offer an unnamed individual $12,000 to operate the Ocqueoc Outdoor Center for the county. The person, who still had to accept the offer, would live in a house at the camp, handle the rentals for the county, and keep the facility maintained as a grounds keeper. Bruder said a contract would be established if the two sides come to an agreement. After being removed as managers of the camp in late January, the Tourism Council was in the process of putting together a new business/operating plan to regain oversight of the facility. The Tourism Council planned to use the Outdoor Center as a major source of revenue, but had been losing money as the operation got off the ground. It also was to be used as a tool to bring people to the area.
?IT WOULD replace funds the county was allocating to the Council,? said Sorgenfrei. ?And it was working.? Programs were produced, she said, and outside groups were booking weeks and weekends. ?But that apparently wasn?t good enough as the county commissioners saw fit to remove the management of the Outdoor Center from the Council,? Sorgenfrei said. Meanwhile, without income, Sorgenfrei said staff is ?coming to work these days with no guarantee they will be paid their back wages,? she said. ?They keep on promoting the county and fulfilling the mission of the council.? In addressing the March 26 finance committee meeting, Sorgenfrei believes Bruder and finance committee chairman Stephen Lang ?bullied? her into saying, ?that our funds have been mismanaged and our board should fire our executive director.?
Bruder, when asked to answer the claim of bullying by Sorgenfrei, said she did not come to the meeting prepared to answer questions about the credit card debt and how they got into the current situation. ?I don?t think I got a straight answer on anything,? he said.
SORGENFREI SUBMITTED a plan to get the Tourism Council out of debt at the meeting (March 26). The statement includes payments of between $560 and $570 a month to two VISA credit cards. The total amount owed to credit card companies is $9,390. More than $18,000 of back wages is owed to Dennis ($7,000) and Schuler, the group?s operations manager, ($11,500). The total listed debt for 2006 was $43,438. Dennis? projected wages for 2007 are $30,000, with $500 a month for mileage. Schuler?s expe
In refuting claims made by Bruder at the finance committee meeting, Sorgenfrei said no money was placed in a personal account. ?The remaining board members voted to keep our staff?? said Sorgenfrei. ?We did it because we have confidence they acted in the best interest of the Tourism Council and the county.? ?The present actions against the council have developed into a witch hunt and should stop immediately.?
Bruder has not changed his stance: ?I will not recommend giving them money until they have done some changes.? ?When you are handling someone else?s money you should be able to prove that you have done it right.?