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February 3, 2006

Resort's sewer cut off

Owner allegedly did not pay $90,000 in bills

By
Record-Eagle business editor

      CEDAR - Owners of the sewage treatment system at Sugar Loaf Resort cut off sewer service to the lodge in a dispute over almost $90,000 in unpaid sewer bills.
      Sugar Loaf Service Co., owner of the two golf courses and the sewer plant at the resort, terminated the sewer connection to the lodge property Wednesday afternoon and alleged the resort's new owner, Kate Wickstrom, hasn't made any sewer payments since taking over the property almost a year ago.
      "Sugar Loaf Resort's sewer payments have been in default since Ms. Wickstrom purchased the property," according to a statement from Mike Waugh, a property owner at the resort who is president of the service company. "Without payments and an ongoing service agreement, we have no alternative but to terminate Sugar Loaf Resort's sewer connection.
      Messages left Wednesday afternoon with Wickstrom, and her attorney Michael Corcoran of Charlevoix, were not returned. Some renovation work has started at the lodge, and Wickstrom has said she hoped to have the resort open for next year's skiing season.
      The resort has been closed since 2000 when its previous owners shuttered it due to ongoing financial problems.
      Sugar Loaf Service Co. is headed by partners Ed Fleis and Brian Sculthrop, who've developed residential properties in Florida. They purchased around 450 acres of resort property in May, including the Sleeping Bear and King's Challenge golf courses and the wastewater treatment plant. Around 140 acres of vacant land planned for future residential development was also part of the transaction.Wickstrom purchased the lodge and ski hills last March.
      The service company said it had an agreement with the resort for sewer service at a rate of $8,000 a month that Wickstrom assumed when she bought the property. That agreement was terminated last May because payments were delinquent, officials said.
      Officials said the shutoff would not affect another 90-plus sewer customers who live around the property.
      Sugar Loaf Service Co. is seeking renewal of the operating permit for the sewer system through the state Department of Environmental Quality. DEQ officials in Cadillac said last month it's a "routine" procedure, and the group isn't seeking any significant changes to the current permit.
     

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