Walker Area Community Center Believes Bankruptcy Plan is a Good Thing

The Walker Area Community Center (WACC) is nearly $2 million in debt. To keep its doors open, the 20-year-old non-profit decided to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in order to restructure its finances. Community center executives held a meeting with the public last week to explain their plans and why they believe filing for bankruptcy is actually a good thing for the WACC.

Bob Burns, chief restructuring officer for the WACC, told the audience that the center has been in debt since it first opened its doors.

“We had $2,022,000 worth of debt on our balance sheet,” he said. “Today, 18 years later, we have $1,980,000 worth of long-term debt.”

The WACC has also paid more than a million dollars of principal and interest over the last 18 years. Their current monthly payments are set at $121,000.

“It’s 4.6 times the 2024 net revenue,” Burns added. “$121,000 is 27% of our entire year’s cash operating expenses.”

The center says one of the main problems is the length of the term of their loans. Their current plan has them paying off three separate loans for at least the next 29 years.

Last month, WACC executives sent a release to its 600 members to notify them that the WACC has voluntarily filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. But those same executives believe filing for bankruptcy is ultimately a good thing for the WACC, as Chapter 11 allows the WACC to keep its doors open while staff members find a way to restructure their finances.

“We have a hell of an opportunity here, and I hope we are smart enough to take advantage of it,” stated Burns.

Chad Trapier, the executive director of the WACC, has made significant changes to the programs that the center provides and has also secured more partnerships throughout the community, strengthened the relationships that were already there, and even upgraded how the WACC collects membership data.

“The new membership management system we have has the ability for us to see how often people visit, when they visit,” said Trapier. “It allows us to have complete control; in addition to that, it gives us full transparency on where transactions are happening here at the community center.”

After looking through the data, Trapier believes the WACC is not only beneficial to the members who use it, but also to the town of Walker.

“Each of those events brought hundreds of people into this facility that were not coming in here previously,” he stated. “And of those people, there was certainly a percentage of those that came into town, spent money in town, and recycled money back into our community.”

Trapier also said that a significant number of their patrons use the facility multiple times a day.

“For some people, it’s the only option they have for rehabilitation and to pursue a more healthy, active lifestyle, especially if the weather’s poor outside,” he added. “And for others, it’s a place to bring their children for opportunities for development.”

Some residents and businesses agree that having the WACC is important for the community. First National Bank North pledged $250,000 to help the community center, and Walker Marina owner David Cochran also agreed to match up to $1 million in community donations.

“We’re like a lot of the other businesses; small business in our community, we built a facility, took on too much debt. It put us in bankruptcy,” Cochran told Lakeland News. “The only way we can recover from that was to make sure that the sustainability long-term would be there. The only way it will be there long-term is if we can raise at least $2 million.”

For the first time in 18 years, the WACC finished the year without losing any money.

Anyone who wants to help the WACC through their bankruptcy proceedings can call the community center directly at (218) 547-1853, where staff will direct the public on the best ways to help.