CRAWFORD COUNTY, PA. USDA won't guarantee park loan

A judge declined to approve a smaller bank loan.
CONNEAUT LAKE, Pa. (AP) -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture will not guarantee a portion of a $600,000 loan a financially troubled amusement park had hoped to use to pay delinquent real estate taxes, officials said.
The USDA made the decision because the former owner of Conneaut Lake Park in Crawford County, Gary Harris, has three appeals pending on lawsuits regarding his claim to the park's land.
The park's board had arranged the loan with Mercer County State Bank, with the stipulation that the USDA would guarantee 80 percent of it. About half the loan would pay the delinquent taxes and the rest would help the 112-year-old park prepare for its Memorial Day opening.
Instead
Instead, the bank has agreed to lend $100,000 to the park, said Tim Kaider, the chairman of the park's board.
But Crawford County Judge Anthony Vardaro Friday declined to approve the bank loan because the park already owes $100,000 to businessman Tom Griffin and the park would have been obligated to repay both the bank loan and the loan from Griffin by this fall.
Park trustees must rearrange a payment schedule with either the bank or Griffin before the judge will approve the bank loan, Vardaro said.
Despite the financial troubles, the park, located about 85 miles north of Pittsburgh, will open as scheduled, Kaider said.
Harris bought the park, which was once a summer destination for travelers from northwestern Pennsylvania and parts of Ohio, and reopened it in 1996. But a year later he was convicted of federal income tax evasion and other charges and sentenced to 48 months in prison.
Gave park to board
Harris gave the park to a nonprofit board but retained control, citing a 99-year lease he claimed to have to the property. That touched off a multiyear legal battle, which led to a ruling cutting Harris' ties to the property.
In the meantime, a judge appointed a custodian, and a private management company that leased the property filed for bankruptcy.
Court-appointed trustees have overseen the park ever since, under the guidance of a new custodian named in 2001.
Earlier this year, Harris, his wife and a business partner were convicted of using different corporations and trusts to hide income from Harris' businesses, including Conneaut Lake Park.
"Garry Harris is still in the picture and he continues to be in the picture until a decision is made on appeals," Kaider said. "As frustrating as it is, it's a reality of the situation. We are confident we are going to win it."
The Associated Press could not immediately locate an attorney for Harris.
Copyright 2004 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.