Conneaut Lake Park’s owner wants to oust the operator of its Hotel Conneaut for alleged lease violations.
In a May 28 letter, Keldon Holdings LLC notified On the Lake Enterprises LLC to voluntarily vacate the Hotel Conneaut by June 12 or face formal eviction proceedings.
Hotel Conneaut remains open and operated by On the Lake Enterprises.
The eviction letter was issued just days after On the Lake Enterprises filed a breach of contract lawsuit against Keldon Holdings. The suit was filed May 24 in Crawford County Court of Common Pleas and remains pending.
Brian Pulito, attorney for On the Lake Enterprises, confirmed to The Meadville Tribune on Thursday that On the Lake Enterprises has received an eviction letter from Keldon’s attorney, John Mizner.
Multiple calls and emails by the Tribune to Mizner Law Firm since Tuesday weren’t returned.
The eviction letter states On the Lake Enterprises and its owner, Frank Flanegin, are trespassing on the hotel grounds “as you have failed to execute any lease agreement which entitles you to remain and manage the hotel, since your prior lease expired on December 31, 2022.”
The letter states On the Lake Enterprises has not made any lease payments to Keldon this year despite using the hotel, and owes Keldon approximately $7,000 in unpaid sewer bills and $3,200 in unpaid water bills.
The On the Lake Enterprises breach of contract suit alleges when Keldon purchased the park in 2021 in U.S. Bankruptcy Court, it inherited an existing hotel lease held by On the Lake Enterprises.
The lease had a one-year option for On the Lake Enterprises to extend the lease upon written notice to Keldon, according to the suit.
On the Lake Enterprises claims that after Keldon purchased the park in 2021, Keldon gave On the Lake Enterprises a list planned improvements, upgrades and new amusement rides at the park.
According to the suit, On the Lake Enterprises negotiated a new lease for 2022 with Keldon based on the planned improvements and it was signed by both sides on Dec. 8, 2021. The 2022 lease contained an additional one-year option for On the Lake Enterprises to extend the lease upon written notice to Keldon, the suit said.
The new 2022 lease had On the Lake Enterprises paying Keldon a flat yearly lease fee of $110,000, payable in three installments.
The suit claims Keldon “agreed to ensure that the park would be maintained in such a way as to draw customers who, when they arrived, would spend money at the Hotel Conneaut for food, events, and lodging.”
The suit claims “the Defendant (Keldon) never intended to maintain the park in such a way. Instead, the Defendant (Keldon) intended, in bad faith, to systematically dismantle the park. That nefarious plan was carried out over the years following the execution of the hotel lease.”
“During that time period, the Defendant (Keldon) removed from the park its water park and rides,” the suit claims. “Moreover, during that same time the Defendant (Keldon) caused the park to look like a demilitarized zone, such that few people would ever want to hold an event, eat, or lodge at the Hotel Conneaut. These events are direct and material breaches of the hotel lease.”
The suit claims On the Lake Enterprises has suffered “substantial monetary harm in the form of lost profits and foreseeable consequential damages including reputational harm.”
No county court hearing date has been set on the breach of contract lawsuit.