Fair Park’s operator said Tuesday that it’s owed money.
Greg O’Dell, Oak View Group’s president of venue management, sent a letter to council members stating that the company is owed $2.1 million in deferred fees over the last three years, further complicating a fight over the park’s financing.
“Per the contract, operating expenses and/or deficits are to be paid by revenue from Park operations, fundraising or City subsidy,” O’Dell said in Tuesday’s letter sent to council members.
That adds further uncertainty on how the park will be run. OVG officials have said there is a $3 million shortfall in the current fiscal year’s accounting books.
“OVG has repeatedly expressed concern about the growing deficit in operating funds and has offered solutions, including transitioning of certain services at the Park to the City or otherwise reducing certain services offered at Fair Park,” O’Dell’s letter said.
The letter is the latest development after Fair Park First, the nonprofit organization contracted by the city to oversee the park, accused OVG of misspending $5.7 million of donor funds earlier this month. Fair Park First subcontracts with OVG to run the day-to-day operations.
O’Dell’s letter restated that Fair Park First officials knew and authorized the use of donor funds.
Discussion on Fair Park’s finances and oversight is expected to continue in meetings with the Dallas City Council and Park Board on Wednesday and Thursday of this week.
Here’s what we know for certain
Money with donor stipulations was spent on operations. Donor-restricted funds were meant for capital projects in the 277-acre park, including a promised community park and art deco structures.
Fair Park First and OVG disagree over the dollar amount and financial hole in the park’s accounts.
In April, the nonprofit engaged Malnory, McNeal and Company PC to review agreed-upon procedures. The same accounting vendor has produced audits for OVG before the Fair Park First took over the process earlier this year.
In the beginning, a statement from former Fair Park First CEO Brian Luallen said accountants were called in to conduct a forensic audit. But that wasn’t the case once the final report was released.
An agreed-upon procedures engagement is narrower in scope compared with a full audit. It does not cover all financial statements and only focuses on a specific area. In this case, the accountants focused only on donor-restricted funds.
The report said there was a $5.7 million hole in the Bank of America account that was supposed to hold donor-restricted funds. The first version of the report also said the operator, OVG, violated the contract by moving restricted donor funds from accounts that should have been held by Fair Park First exclusively.
The updated version of the report removes any mention of who is at fault after OVG warned of possible legal action against the auditor. O’Dell has questioned the report’s integrity and said all money was spent on capital campaign projects “as identified and directed by Fair Park First’s Former CEO from funds committed to other specific projects.”
Luallen has said he was approving payments with an incomplete picture of which dollars were going where.
“Because of the unique structure of the contract, neither I nor the board of directors had visibility into accounts payable or whether the dollars being used to pay for expenses were donor dollars or not,” he said.
The News is reviewing documents.
Fair Park First intends to recoup the misspent money. OVG has said it is not responsible for funding operating expenses or deficits at the Park.
In the meantime, the city employed Baker Tilly to conduct its own audit.
