"We're not asking you to take a leap of faith here," said David Vanderventer, of the Attorney General's Office. "What we hope to come out of this (a settlement) is to make this project what it was intended to be, a magnet for tourism and development in this part of the state."
Green Farms Resort owner Sam Ware of Dallas, Texas, sent Louisville attorney Bart L. Greenwald to present a synopsis of what has happened, "and what we want to happen in the future."
Greenwald said the following, part of a plan with the AG's Office, included a new Phase I that calls for Green Farms Resort to:
There were several "Whoa's" coming from the lot owners, who said they had been promised underground utilities and that some of the conduit for that already had been installed.
Greenwald conceded that this issue could be negotiated, but he said Ware had agreed to spend a total of $550,000 on infrastructure as part of the court order stemming from the lawsuit.
He said infrastructure work is scheduled to begin April 15 and finish by October 31.
Greenwald said an escrow account would be set up by the court, and "all unpaid Property Owners Association dues that had not been waived will have to be paid." He said the total in unpaid dues was $98,000.
The dues question raised hackles in the audience, with several lot owners contending that without clear titles they didn't feel they should pay the dues on something they couldn't say they owned.
Greenwald said Phase II under the settlement would take about a year and a half, "and Ware has agreed to start a marketing plan to sell more lots. Restoring the old mills would be part of this phase, he said, but work wouldn't start for two years.
He said Ware has "invested $4.4 million in cash in this project and another $3.7 million in loans for a total of over $8.1 million, but he's made only about $1.5 million."
"He's about as mad about all that as you are about your investment."
This brought a question from one of the lot owners who wondered whether or not Ware could afford to finish the project.
"This is a beautiful area," Greenwald said, "and Sam (Ware) loves the place. He feels that with a new well-run marketing campaign, the remaining lots can be sold, and he's looking for a good marketing firm to handle that."
Greenwald said all the problems with lots sold so far (clean titles, etc.) "have been worked out, except for about three or four lots, and we're working on those."
Vanderventer promised that when the settlement reaches the courts, an agreed order would be issued, "and that means everything that's done from here on out will be very transparent, all public information available to anyone."
The crowd remained suspicious. "What about these letters many of us got from somebody in California, asking if we wanted to sell our lots?" they asked.
Greenwald said he knew nothing about that, "but I can tell you that Sam Ware's not interesting in selling the resort."
The property owners were told that their association has a scheduled meeting in July, "but the association can call a special meeting with a vote, and you can vote if you've paid your dues." The prospect for such a special meeting to discuss the new plan for the resort was left open Friday.
The lawsuit against Green Farms Resort was filed by Attorney General Greg Stumbo in late February.
The complaint alleged the resort"sold residential building lots through the use of false, misleading or deceptive practices, including failing to provide promised amenities and infrastructure such as road and utilities, failing to provide unencumbered title to the lots, and misuse of required annual maintenance fees."
"The defendants have collected millions of dollars from these land sales," Stumbo said. "Victims, many of whom invested all the money they had, are left with unusable lots, few or no roads, and nearly worthless property."
"My office will protect such victims of unfair business practices," he said.
The suit was filed under the Kentucky Consumer Protection Act. Four Texas individuals and six corporations or businesses are included in the suit.
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