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February 16, 2005
Ski hill deal on the table'Final details' still need to be worked outByRecord-Eagle staff writer CEDAR - A woman who excited Leelanau County residents with Internet chat room talk of returning skiing to Sugar Loaf could soon close a deal to purchase the long-shuttered resort. Michael Corcoran, a Charlevoix attorney representing would-be purchaser Kate Wickstrom, said he hopes to soon close a deal with a Florida company that owns the ski resort. Florida attorney Leonard Zedeck, who is consulting for the resort's owner, a company called SL 2002, said the closing date has been extended to March 1. Zedeck said the closing has been delayed while Wickstrom negotiates financing. He would not disclose a purchase price for the resort, and the deal does not include two adjacent golf courses. Wickstrom said she is optimistic the deal will go through. Wickstrom originally said she planned to close in mid-January, then on Jan. 30. "We're still working on it, things are very close, there's just some final details that need to be finished," she said. Wickstrom is executive director of Narconon Stone Hawk, a Battle Creek-based drug and alcohol rehabilitation center. The center features a program partly based on the teachings of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard, but Wickstrom said the Sugar Loaf deal is independent of Narconon and Scientology. Wickstrom said she plans to get a liquor license for Sugar Loaf and said there are no plans to turn the resort into a Scientology or Narconon retreat. Zedeck said SL 2002 is headed by the wife of former Sugar Loaf owner Remo Polselli. A company led by Polselli owned the resort when it closed in 2000. In 2003, Polselli was sentenced to 27 months in federal prison after he pleaded guilty to failing to pay taxes. He was released in December, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Zedeck said the taxes for Sugar Loaf have been paid and lawsuits surrounding the property resolved. Wickstrom announced her intention to purchase Sugar Loaf on Dec. 10 in a chat room at leelanau.com, prompting 80 responses from people anxious to see skiing return to the resort. Mike Wildman posted some suggestions and an offer to volunteer six hours a week to help Wickstrom. He was one of many people who offered help and suggestions. He said he never heard from Wickstrom. "I don't think there's a resident in Grand Traverse or Leelanau County that would not like to see it (reopen), with the exception of her competitors," Wildman said.
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Record-Eagle/Lara Neel
