SHIPSHEWANA — It was not a good night Thursday for the owners of the Splash Universe Water Park in Shipshewana.
The Shipshewana Town Council unanimously rejected a proposed tax abatement for Focus Hospitality Services, the indoor water park’s ownership group, and then voted to take steps to collect on the utility user fee due from the company to the town on Feb. 1 for the water park.
Council president Roger Yoder said he was not sure that he could support changes proposed by Focus in the original tax abatement agreement.
Councilman Jerry Rice offered a motion declaring the latest draft agreement "unacceptable," and councilman Nathan Jones seconded the motion.
However, during the council meeting, no council members explained what they found objectionable in the pact, which town attorney Kurt Bachman said that the Shipshewana Redevelopment Commission recommended.
Following the meeting, though, Bachman said that Focus is seeking a retroactive tax abatement in the amount of approximately $500,000, because they owe nearly $700,000 in property taxes. The redevelopment commission has gone on record as supporting the latest proposed abatement agreement, as long as the Town Council approves the terms and conditions of the pact.
The problem is, according to Bachman, that Focus "struck all the terms favorable to the town." Although he did not offer any specific examples, he did say that those deleted terms are numerous.
Bachman said that Focus must comply with the statement of benefits for an abatement. If the company does not do so, the town can demand payment of property taxes, he said.
Despite the vote of non-support for the abatement Thursday, Focus can still request a hearing on the issue. However, Bachman said that it "seems unlikely" that council members will approve the request until the agreement is acceptable to them.
In another matter related to Focus, the council voted unanimously to ask the redevelopment commission to take steps to recoup a user fee that was due to the town from the company on Feb. 1 for Splash Universe. The council asked the commission to decide how to proceed in extracting the missed payment from the company.
Bachman told The Goshen News that the amount owed is undetermined, because Focus has not provided the town with figures on how many patrons used the water park during the period in question. However, $3 is due from Focus for each patron of the park, he said.