Merging the Bass Lake Beach and Campground’s finances into Starke County’s is proving to be tricky. During a special park board meeting Wednesday, Board Member Kathy Norem said that one batch of receipts shows the facility has brought in more than $58,000 this season, but only about $16,000 ever made it to Starke County.
Manager Larry Clarich felt the rest of it didn’t belong to the county, since it was collected before the death of lessee Richard Callahan.
“I think you owe us some money,” Norem told Clarich.
“I don’t believe I do, based on what you told me,” he replied.
“Well, I’m sitting here telling you that, yes, I think you do,” Norem responded.
As for the other $42,000, most of it appears to have been spent. Clarich said he used at least some to pay his own salary and any bills that came in before Callahan’s death. “I’d pay myself because he is gone,” Clarich explained. “I’ve always paid myself, ever since we started this deal with Rich and he left to Florida. The account that that money is in, he had never touched it.”
Clarich said he wasn’t sure without checking exactly how much he took out, but noted there’s only about $2,000 remaining in the Callahan Development account. He said that Norem was the one who told him that any money collected before Callahan’s death wouldn’t have to go to the county, but she said her comments were taken out of context. Beyond that, that arrangement was never stated in the park board’s contract with Clarich and was never approved by the entire board.
County Attorney Marty Lucas felt there were more appropriate ways to divide the money. “You know, arguably, it all goes to the county because the thing wasn’t open at the time, right?” Lucas said. “But just to be fair, another possible theory would be that you divide it up by the number of days in the year.”
In the end, Board Member Rik Ritzler agreed to work with Clarich to conduct an inventory of the beach and campground, and also go over the property’s bills. Callahan’s family also apparently wants an inventory.
