The developer hired to create a successful business plan for Atwood Lake Resort and Conference Center says he had secured nine tenants for the property, identified 58 potential local investors and cultivated the interest of three banks to fund the project.

Instead, the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District board of directors voted June 30 to demolish the financially struggling facility.

During a 9 a.m. meeting today in Dellroy, the board may take additional steps to execute its demolition plan.

John Meeske, chief executive officer of Resorts and Clubs Inc. and The Resort Experience Co. — Atwood, was invited by the MWCD about 17 months ago to come to the area in an effort to create a viable business model for the Atwood lodge.

The lodge, which lost nearly $1 million in 2010, closed Oct. 3, putting 40 full- and part-time employees out of work. Atwood Lodge had lost an average of $159,000 a year since opening in 1965.

Yet Meeske remains convinced that it could be a vibrant part of the Carroll County business landscape.

“The main purpose of our organization is to redesign the broken business models of resorts and clubs,” Meeske explained. “Our team members have worked successfully on some of the most complex ‘broken’ resorts in the world.”

Meeske assumed a consulting role on the Atwood project.

“As part of our role, we were to identify investors, negotiate with sources of debt capital and develop a comprehensive master plan to fix the problems that have prevented Atwood from being successful,” he said.

“We proposed putting together a business model that would take Atwood’s existing assets and repositioning them so that they could be used as collateral to create a viable enterprise and to secure the necessary funds to solve the Atwood problem,” he said.

“Unfortunately the MWCD kept moving the ‘cheese’ and changing the deal.”

Meeske said his company was in the process of developing a land-use plan to construct additional cabins, homes and villas on the surrounding property. The plan included:

• A high-tech corporate conference center.

• State of the art fitness center and spa.

• Culinary school.

• Restaurant and sports bar with both a show kitchen in the dining room and a catering kitchen for groups.

• A world-class, short-game golf training facility to complement the Atwood Golf Experience.

• A well-known Ohio-based wellness program license.

However, MWCD board member Richard J. Pryce of North Canton, retired president of Aultman Hospital, said he wasn’t convinced that Meeske’s plan would be successful.

Pryce was joined by directors William P. Boyle Jr. of Richland County and Steve Kokovich of Muskingum County in voting in favor of razing the main lodge building and the golf pro shop.

The board heard Meeske’s proposal three or four times.

“I was never impressed by it,” Pryce said.

Harry C. Horstman of Harrison County and David L. Parham of Carroll County voted against demolition.

Horstman said he had hoped to see the lodge continue to operate in a scaled-down version.

Officials at Kent State University Tuscarawas have been in discussion for several years with the MWCD to be part of the solution to help save the facility.

The university was considering a business-innovation center in the county and housing it at the lodge and expanding its academic programs to include ones that would be a good fit for that environment.

They might include hospitality, culinary, golf-course management and horticulture, as well as programs related to the resort industry.
Copyright 2011 The Times-Reporter. Some rights reserved

Marc Resorts executive vice president Paul Tomonari ceased hotel management operations on two islands last week, due to the weak state of the economy.

Due to the difficult challenges the company was facing, nearly 40 employees were notified that the doors were closing.  According to Tomonari, the company is involved with other management companies in an effort to make the transition as smooth as possible.

The Hotel Molokai, whose sales, marketing and reservation services are handled by Tomonari’s company, is unaffected by Marc Resorts’ closure, and is self-managed.  Michael Drew, general manager of Hotel Molokai, confirmed that this location is unaffected by the change.

Marc Resorts has been a part of Hawaii’s hospitality industry for a long time.  Tomonari stated that these events are sad, but that constituents have to be protected from further losses.

Tomonari said that people who have previously made reservations for Marc Resorts for the coming days have been contacted directly, and that deposits have or will be refunded.  Travel partners Orbitz, Expedia, Pleasant Holidays and All About Hawaii will advise and relocate guests who had previous reservations.