Feb. 9, 2012
The Garrett County commissioners announced this week that they are still reviewing the Adventure Sports International Center (ASCI) debt issue. They met in executive session last month with the ASCI board members to discuss the legal implications of the not-for-profit organization’s decision to default on $3 million of capital debt.
“We are continuing to work on this matter,” Commissioner Jim Raley told a group of about 50 residents who attended the public meeting on Tuesday morning. “We will be meeting with legal counsel to continue a dialogue and a discussion with this matter.”
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Located on Marsh Mountain, ASCI facilities include a self-contained man-made whitewater course and 550 acres in the Fork Run Recreational Area. ASCI became operational in 2006 through public (federal/state/county) and private sector funds amounting to about $24 million. During the construction phase, however, the organization borrowed millions of dollars from Susquehanna and First United banks to address unanticipated costs.
The ASCI board discussed the issue with the commissioners in January and presented them with a resolution.
“The offer by ASCI, as reflected in the resolution, included an offer to convey all of ASCI’s facilities, assets, and operations to the county,” Raley read from a prepared statement. “The county has taken this matter under advisement, and the transfer of proprietary ownership would not be considered or undertaken if the existing debt obligations remained.”
Raley stressed, however, that the assumption that the county will appropriate the amount of $3 million toward the debt is unfounded and is not being considered.
“The county believes that ASCI is an asset to Garrett County and is part of the overall and comprehensive tourism objective that will enhance and grow the Garrett County economy for many years,” Raley read from the commissioners’ statement.
He noted that ASCI had been paying on its debt until September 2010. The commissioner indicated that part of the reason for the payment stoppage involved Wisp Resort, which is now in Chapter 11.
“Some of it was probably the complexity of the relationship that they (ASCI board members) have with a fee that was collected from the Wisp in the amount of $180,000 per year,” Raley said. “And once that fee was not able to be collected, it caused some problems for ASCI to be able to meet its financial obligations to the debt service.”
County administrator Monty Pagenhardt noted that ASCI is sustainable and shows a profit, except for the capital debt.
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