Former employees, condo owners face uncertainty now that Lake Lawn has closed
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Lake Lawn Resort on Dec. 7, 2010, the last day the historic hotel was open following a foreclosure sale in October. Dan Plutchak/WalworthCountyToday.com.
DELAVAN — For those who worked at Lake Lawn Resort up until it closed Tuesday, prospects for a new job a difficult, but not impossible.
Marilyn Putz, manager of the Walworth County Job Center in Elkhorn, said she and members of the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development met with about 90 Lake Lawn employees at the resort in November to offer assistance in looking for work.
“We’ve had some people come in (to the Job Center office) already,” Putz said.
She said resort employees face a tough economy, future retraining and possibly less pay in the future, but should take advantage of job-assistance programs and keep networking among friends and acquaintances.
“Unemployment has stayed relatively high in Walworth County, yet we’re still seeing people get jobs,” Putz said. “Things can change so quickly; it’s hard to predict.”
City officials are hoping the resort can be resurrected.
“This city council will be diligent to work with any possible prospects to re-open Lake Lawn,” Nieuwenhuis said.
Calls for comment to Anchor Bank representatives and Lake Lawn’s owners weren’t returned.
“The bank is holding the cards at the moment,” Salitros said. “The city has shown its willingness to respond to anyone who was showing interest in Lake Lawn … (but) the bank’s been very quiet.”
Anchor Bank has cooperated with a homeowners association whose 222 members own “condotels” inside the resort, according to Dale Thorpe, a Delavan attorney who is representing the group.
“The bank is preserving minimal access to members for inspection but not for occupancy,” Thorpe said. “The association is taking steps to preserve and protect the condominium in the form of fire protection, security and heat.”
When Patti Marsicano, who owns the Village Supper Club in Delavan with her husband, Chris, thinks of Lake Lawn, she ponders the present, the past and the future.
“Everybody has their own memories of Lake Lawn and what it means to them,” she said.
She remembers a time, decades ago, when Lake Lawn employees trooped to her restaurant’s bar — still open after the resort’s bar had closed for the evening.
“Do I hope there’s an 11th-hour reprieve? Absolutely,” Marsicano said. “Lake Lawn impacts the local economy more than many people realize. So much of Delavan is based on tourism.
“Delavan is no longer a resort community because we no longer have a resort. And without those 200-plus rooms, where are people going to go? The motels and hotels can’t hold them. People are not going to come here.”
Read the full story in the e-edition of Walworth County Sunday, HERE.
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Dec 14, 2010 at 9:38 a.m.
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Hopes for a Christmas miracle...
Dec 13, 2010 at 4:57 p.m.
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Below is a statement from Anchor Bank via their Facebook page.
http://www.facebook.com/?ref=logo#!/Anch...
In October, AnchorBank was the only viable bidder for certain assets of the Delavan Resort, LLC with a bid of $19,970,000 at a sheriff's foreclosure sale. AnchorBank’s bid did not result in any sort of “payment” to the court, Delavan Resort, LLC, or anyone else. Essentially, Anchor bid the outstanding amount that it is still owed from the borrowing entity, Delavan Resort, LLC, so no money changed hands.
On December 10, AnchorBank representatives and legal counsel attended a confirmation hearing to discuss the foreclosure of Lake Lawn Resort. At the hearing, AnchorBank negotiated various terms of the foreclosure and more specifically, an issue regarding paid time off (PTO) for former Resort employees.
Since the former owner of Lake Lawn is unable to pay resort employees their accrued PTO (paid time off), they have requested that AnchorBank make the payments. We would like to acknowledge that while no PTO has been paid to employees by AnchorBank as of yet, funds have been put into escrow and we continue to diligently work with Lake Lawn Resort and the Wisconsin Department of Work Development to come to a mutual agreement. At this time, the issue is not whether or not employees will receive their earned PTO, but is a matter of reviewing the terms of each employee’s employment with Lake Lawn to ensure that the estimated amount of PTO is in fact accurate before any payment is made.
In the meantime, AnchorBank continues to actively market the property. It is our hope to preserve the Resort and make a sale in the near future.
There remain additional disputes that may cause Lake Lawn and AnchorBank to be the subject of future news articles. We will update our response when there is progress or resolution with respect to the additional disputes.
Thank you,
AnchorBank
Dec 13, 2010 at 4:52 p.m.
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In an ideal world, yes, but they were employed by the resort operator -- which with the property sold and out of their possession, has no access to cash. If the employees are in fact owed anything they will probably have to recover it in the resort operator's liquidation or bankruptcy.
Dec 13, 2010 at 4:49 p.m.
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lake lawn employees, dont hold your breath for retraing funds for displaced workers, I have talked to people who have been on the waiting list for a year.
Dec 12, 2010 at 12:02 a.m.
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It would make it easier for the employees during the holiday season if they were paid their earned PTO.
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