The Lighthouse bought a failing adventure park near North Battleford. Now, the board won't allow it to be sold.

The former co-directors of Lighthouse Supported Living Inc. are alleging multiple conflicts of interest across both the Lighthouse and the Blue Mountain Adventure Park, which the Lighthouse owns.

The two asked the court to appoint a receiver because, they claim, the board is unable to make decisions in the best interest of the corporation, and the province is withholding a payment of more than $100,000 pending mandatory financial reporting the Lighthouse is unable to provide.

The Lighthouse purchased Blue Mountain, spanning eight-quarters of land near North Battleford, in June 2012 with the stated intention of providing a “tranquil environment beyond the inner city where homeless men and women from across Saskatchewan can realize their full potential and positively change their lives,” a press release from the Lighthouse said at the time.

In recent years, Blue Mountain has offered amenities including summer camping and a ropes course and winter activities like cross-country skiing and sledding.

According to ousted co-director Jerome Hepfner, board member Adeel Salman’s spouse Angela Beatty and father-in-law are employees of Blue Mountain.

A 2021 report from an MNP auditor notes that Salman was involved in the termination of the former managers of Blue Mountain before his wife was hired as manager. He was also involved in setting the bonus structure used to compensate its staff.

Beatty is now suing the organization for $300,000.

Former co-director Twila Reddekopp’s affidavit says the real property associated with Blue Mountain is valued at $2 million on the Lighthouse’s books, but its assessed value is less than half of that.

"It is my considered view that it is time to wind down operations at Blue Mountain. During the previous court proceedings, we had identified that there were significant maintenance and safety concerns at the park which had not been addressed and which would come at a large cost to repair. This work has not been undertaken given the significant additional investments required," Reddekopp writes.

A realtor's report of the Blue Mountain properties submitted to court identified issues with the electrical systems, structural integrity, insulation and plumbing.

Reddekopp says the board was looking into selling a portion of the Blue Mountain property to recoup funds the Lighthouse advanced to Blue Mountain for operations and to get off the hook for its needed repairs.

The group initially put up three parcels of the land outside the park for sale but received no offers, even after lowering the price.

In December, the Lighthouse received an unsolicited offer of $950,000 for all nine parcels of land, according to court records.

Reddekopp says board members Don Windels, Lisa McCallum and Salman objected to the sale and it did not go through.

With no new money coming in to support the organization and infighting within the board, Reddekopp says receivership might be the only hope to prevent damage to the people the Lighthouse still serves.

"It is my sincerely held concern that if the board is left to govern the Lighthouse, any of the good that the Lighthouse has done for the community and all that it has built will be destroyed without any potential to ensure that the needs of our vulnerable clients are addressed."