The Starke County Park Board is researching the Bass Lake Beach and Campground’s rent credit, as a discussion over electrical upgrades continues. Board Member Rik Ritzler has gone through the records and has determined that Callahan Development, LLC has a credit of at least $1,400 on its rent payment to the county.
Callahan representatives have asked the board for permission to increase the electrical capacity in the back half of the campground as a capital improvement. That would add another $7,800 to the credit.
Ritzler told the rest of the board Tuesday that a previous electrical upgrade may have inadvertently been listed twice. “5/15/18 is about $3,500, and then 4/30/19,” he explained. “Now, it was first brought up, that $3,500 for electricity, in May of ’18, and we approved it, finally, in April. It may be the same one. It may be a different one. I don’t know.”
Ritzler noted that only one of the entries had a receipt turned in. If there were actually two of them, Callahan’s current rent credit would be closer to $4,900. It was also pointed out that the county hasn’t billed Callahan for this year’s rent yet.
Once again, no action was taken on the additional upgrades, and Ritzler promised to provide a more detailed spreadsheet next month.
Facility manager Larry Clarich asked if there was any way to get grant funding for the upgrades, “So there’s no controversy over whether or not we’re paying for it or if the county’s paying for it or how it’s going to go.”
Ritzler said that while there are plenty of grants for parks, he wasn’t sure if any would cover this particular expense. “Normally, the grant, something like that, would not be to the benefit of someone to make profit,” he said. County Attorney Marty Lucas felt it would be hard to explain the public benefit of such a project.
