(Arnolds Park)– Expect to hear more calls for donations to save the Arnolds Park Amusement Park.
Dennis Ward of the Iowa Great Lakes Maritime Museum Board of Directors says they’ll be going back to the public in a multi-million dollar fund drive in order to keep the park open.
Ward says neither a timeframe or goal have been set yet.
In addition to 1.7 million dollars in already outstanding debt, the Maritime Museum Board is seeking another loan of 500-thousand dollars so the park will be able to open this coming Memorial Day. Atleast another 500-thousand is needed to pave the facility’s parking lot to comply with an Arnolds Park city ordinance.
The board is undergoing a massive reorganization in an effort to restore the public’s trust, which has been wavering due to controversy over management of finances and other issues.
Seven and-a-half million dollars was raised four years ago to save the park from a developer’s plans to build condominiums on the site. The Maritime Museum’s Finance Committee reported at last week’s board meeting the amount of outstanding pledges from that drive has grown to 228-thousand dollars, adding to the financial woes.
