It's official. The Minaki Golf Course will not open this season.
The court appointed trustee of the Minaki Lodge Resort, Ernst and Young's Russ Leroux from Thunder Bay, said on June 11 that due to the financial risks involved in operating the course, it will remain closed this summer.
"In our opinion, we weren't going to cover the costs, so we're not going to go with it this year," said Leroux. "It's all financial."
The historic main lodge was destroyed in a fire on Oct. 12, 2003 and the financially troubled Minaki Lodge Resort was placed in receivership this spring. Numerous liens totalling $1.2 million have been placed against the property by various companies who failed to receive payment for services performed to renovate the resort last year.
Lawyers from several of the plaintiffs with the liens against the property, as well as the lawyer representing Minaki Lodge owner Phil Archer, worked out an arrangement in Superior Court in Kenora on May 25 to appoint Leroux as the trustee. Leroux was appointed to facilitate the sale the Minaki Lodge including the Minaki Golf Course.
Leroux said on June 3 that he was consulting with the golf course's manager, Doug Johnston, as well as former owners of the property to determine the feasibility of opening the golf course this summer. At that time he said there was some indication that the value of the Minaki resort would be greater if they were to maintain and operate the golf course this season, but should the facility lose money, there would be no means of covering the deficit.
Leroux said that perhaps the former owner could have opened the course before the property was put into receivership, but as the court appointed trustee of the site, he could not take the risk of losing money on this year's operations.
Archer told the Enterprise in April - a little over a month before the resort was forced into receivership - that the golf course, and the restaurant at the resort, would be open this summer.
As one of the resort's best features, the golf course will receive routine maintenance of its grounds to maintain the highest property values for the estate, said Leroux.
"We're going to preserve the assets," said Leroux. "We're not going to let it go to hayseed or anything, but it will be closed."
Source: Daily Miner & News (Kenora, Ontario)