NEWS RELEASE
FRIENDS OF GENEVA PARK
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The Friends of Geneva Park and individual supporters argued in court that the terms of sale of YMCA Geneva Park should acknowledge a charitable trust interest of the Geneva Park stakeholder community. Having lost their court bid, the supporters are now on the hook personally to pay legal costs, including $25,000 to the YMCA’s lawyers.
The FOGP represents more than 1000 Geneva Park supporters from the local region, across Canada and beyond who have been following this story. They had hoped to achieve concrete assurances that the Park’s future would retain at least some of its original charitable purpose, including the long-term protection of the natural land, youth leadership development, and continuation of the long-standing family program.
Believing in the uniqueness and importance of the Geneva Park community, members of the group invested their time and money in an attempt to preserve a 100-year living legacy that they believe will be lost forever.
“We tried hard to collaborate with the YMCA of Simcoe-Muskoka (YSM) over the past 15 months. There was no option left but to challenge the terms of sale in court,” said Gordon Ball, a member of the Friends of Geneva Park group. “Sadly, we lost the legal case. But we believe the Friends of Geneva Park won the moral case.”
Gail Atkinson, Chair of Friends of Geneva Park, explained that the group had hoped both YSM and the buyer might be willing to settle on a variation of the terms of sale, in which a portion of the sale proceeds would be returned to the buyer in exchange for provisions that would provide long-term protection of the environment and the charitable programs at the Park, including the family camp program.
“The court challenge was brought by the group only after the YSM changed course and decided to enter into an agreement of purchase and sale while providing no information or assurances about the future of Y programs” she said. “Having lost the case, we must now pay legal costs of YMCA of Simcoe-Muskoka. We had hoped that YSM would want to start rebuilding their relationship with the community by forgiving the debt they have straddled us with. Instead, YSM has collected over 16 million dollars from the unfettered sale of the property in which we are all so heavily invested - and is once again asking us for more.”
The group is raising funds (www.genevaparklegacyalliance.ca) so that those who brought the suit, and gave much time and money to finding solutions, are not left personally responsible for the debt. If YSM decides to forgive the debt, the FOGP says, all funds collected in excess of legal costs will be donated to a local charity that supports environmental preservation.
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