It’s about time. The financial records from Bonfante Gardens
should have been opened to the public the first time favors were
requested from the city. They should have been opened when Eagle
Ridge residents were asked to vote on expanding their subdivision.
They should have been opened when the city voted to approve 99
housing permits for the Eagle Ridge expansion.
It’s about time. The financial records from Bonfante Gardens should have been opened to the public the first time favors were requested from the city. They should have been opened when Eagle Ridge residents were asked to vote on expanding their subdivision. They should have been opened when the city voted to approve 99 housing permits for the Eagle Ridge expansion.
That’s our reaction to Bonfante Gardens’ board of directors late but welcome decision to open its books to the community after The Dispatch obtained copies of its tax returns and published a story on its financial health.
We’re hoping Board President Bob Kraemer keeps his word to make financial information on the troubled horticulture theme park available to the public each quarter.
After all, Bonfante Gardens has asked – and received – a number of special favors from this community. It took some nerve to ask that the community bend the rules, make exceptions, give preferential treatment, all without benefit of a peek in the books.
And now, perhaps, we understand why. The park may have turned a small operating profit in its 2003 season, but it remains mired in debt. Its net losses have mounted from $1.3 million in its first season to a whopping $12.6 million net loss in its third operating season.
We’re not without hope. The park earned more on concessions with lower admissions receipts in its 2002 and 2003 operating seasons, with much of the credit going to a five-year management contract with Paramount Parks, which also operates Great America in Santa Clara.
Still, the picture is at best muddy. Bondholders are losing patience, and if the current real estate swap deal to develop 99 Eagle Ridge homes on 33 acres of Bonfante land doesn’t come to fruition soon, a sheriff’s sale becomes a real possibility.
“If we reach March 2005 and it becomes apparent they’re not able to make their May payment because the debt restructuring plan hasn’t gone through … that’s when I personally would be supporting foreclosing and selling the property,” bondholder Bud Byrnes told reporter Katie Niekirk.
He’s not alone. Ken Vekker, another bondholder, expects to recoup his investment.
“I’m not in a position to compromise,” he said. “I financed his dream.”
City Council members also sound like they’ve run out of patience with the park. Councilman Bob Dillon said that he had to hold his nose last August when he voted to approve the housing permits that are a key part of the land swap deal, and Councilman Craig Gartman said, “This venture has got to learn to stand on its own two feet.”
We’re left wondering why City Council members didn’t require the park board to release detailed financial records to the public. Is it because the mayor sits on the Bonfante board?
Like most Gilroyans, we have have had high hopes for the success of Bonfante Gardens. We’ve rooted for the theme park to succeed, for Michael Bonfante’s vision to flourish, for his sake and for Gilroy’s.
But, like any plant, community relationships flourish with light. It’s about time some light was shed on Bonfante Gardens’ books.