The company that took on a struggling state-owned resort is suing the state claiming they abruptly shut it down in October, evicted guests, barricaded entrances and sent employees home.
Iowa Assistant Attorney General Nicholas Kilburg says Achieva said in a phone call they were going to shut down the Honey Creek Resort at Rathbun Lake, which allowed the state out of its contract. “The termination was therefore contractually authorized and proper. The contract doesn’t have a second thoughts clause. It doesn’t have a cooling off clause. It doesn’t have a three day ‘that’s-not-what-I-meant’ clause,” he says. The state also claims the company Achieva breached the contract by not having the required insurance coverage and not turning in required financial reports.
Tracy Betz represented Achieva in a hearing on the case Wednesday. She says the phone call in question was taken out of context. “During those eight days, they had time to do all of these activities, but never, once, never once contacted Achieva to arrange an orderly transition,” Betz says.
A judge’s ruling last month temporarily blocked the state from reopening the resort, until there’s a further court ruling on the Achieva claim. The judge in Wednesday’s hearing will make that ruling.
The DNR said it was looking to sell the resort in 2022, and then the Legislature approved spending six million dollars for upgrades to Honey Creek when Achieva took over in 2023.
