Oakwood Property Settlement Closer To Resolution
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Staff Report-
According to a press release from the Indiana Conference of The United Methodist Church, Kosciusko County Court heard and approved on Monday the report of Ian Rolland, the court-appointed receiver, for the sale and settlement of the Oakwood Inn Conference and Retreat Center at Syracuse.
The report included these points:
n Oakwood Inn will be sold to the Buckingham group of Indianapolis, who will operate the Oakwood Inn and work through a new board to allow Oakwood Park to function as a Chautauqua-like program center.
n From the proceeds of the sale of Oakwood, the various creditors will be repaid, including the bank who holds the mortgage, the Indiana Conference of The United Methodist Church who paid the mortgage and expenses during the time the property was reverted to the Indiana Conference by the former Oakwood Foundation and other parties who have claims that will need to be verified.
n The lawsuit filed by the late Howard Brembeck and other individuals against the Oakwood Foundation and the Indiana Conference will be dropped.
n The proposed sale of Oakwood does not include any change of status for the private residences of the Oakwood community adjacent to the Oakwood Inn Conference and Retreat Center.
The Trustees of the Indiana Conference have approved the financial settlement proposed by Rolland along with having the lawsuit dropped.
Upon news of this decision, Indiana United Methodist Bishop Michael Coyner said, “I am pleased we are finally moving toward a settlement at Oakwood. The Indiana Conference Trustees and I have worked closely with Mr. Rolland. We believe he has the best interests of Oakwood at heart and is working to find a fair resolution which maintains the original vision for Oakwood.”
Oakwood was founded in 1893 by the former Evangelical Association which became the Evangelical United Brethren Church, one of the predecessor denominations of The United Methodist Church.
The former North Indiana Conference of the church created the Oakwood Foundation in 1993 preceding extensive renovation of the property.
In 2008 the Oakwood Foundation reverted the Oakwood property back to the North Indiana Conference along with more than $2 million of debt.
Howard Brembeck and former foundation member Don Blosser filed a lawsuit against the Foundation and the Conference in 2008 alleging that the meeting at which the Foundation voted to revert the property was not a properly called meeting.
The judge placed the Oakwood property into the hands of a court-appointed receiver to settle the dispute.[[In-content Ad]]
According to a press release from the Indiana Conference of The United Methodist Church, Kosciusko County Court heard and approved on Monday the report of Ian Rolland, the court-appointed receiver, for the sale and settlement of the Oakwood Inn Conference and Retreat Center at Syracuse.
The report included these points:
n Oakwood Inn will be sold to the Buckingham group of Indianapolis, who will operate the Oakwood Inn and work through a new board to allow Oakwood Park to function as a Chautauqua-like program center.
n From the proceeds of the sale of Oakwood, the various creditors will be repaid, including the bank who holds the mortgage, the Indiana Conference of The United Methodist Church who paid the mortgage and expenses during the time the property was reverted to the Indiana Conference by the former Oakwood Foundation and other parties who have claims that will need to be verified.
n The lawsuit filed by the late Howard Brembeck and other individuals against the Oakwood Foundation and the Indiana Conference will be dropped.
n The proposed sale of Oakwood does not include any change of status for the private residences of the Oakwood community adjacent to the Oakwood Inn Conference and Retreat Center.
The Trustees of the Indiana Conference have approved the financial settlement proposed by Rolland along with having the lawsuit dropped.
Upon news of this decision, Indiana United Methodist Bishop Michael Coyner said, “I am pleased we are finally moving toward a settlement at Oakwood. The Indiana Conference Trustees and I have worked closely with Mr. Rolland. We believe he has the best interests of Oakwood at heart and is working to find a fair resolution which maintains the original vision for Oakwood.”
Oakwood was founded in 1893 by the former Evangelical Association which became the Evangelical United Brethren Church, one of the predecessor denominations of The United Methodist Church.
The former North Indiana Conference of the church created the Oakwood Foundation in 1993 preceding extensive renovation of the property.
In 2008 the Oakwood Foundation reverted the Oakwood property back to the North Indiana Conference along with more than $2 million of debt.
Howard Brembeck and former foundation member Don Blosser filed a lawsuit against the Foundation and the Conference in 2008 alleging that the meeting at which the Foundation voted to revert the property was not a properly called meeting.
The judge placed the Oakwood property into the hands of a court-appointed receiver to settle the dispute.[[In-content Ad]]
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