ACE donates $10k toward Conneaut Lake Blue Streak, needs $100k to renovate

He meant he didn't know what they as a group stood for, not what ACE the acronym stood for.

Exactly. I suppose it makes sense for a club of coaster enthusiasts to want to raise money for such a thing, it just seems like a weird "cause" to me.

ACE's mission statement.

http://www.aceonline.org/MissionStatement/

Yeah, I get it. Just seems like a group with that many people could commit to loftier goals. That's just my opinion, of course.

Yeah, and as I mentioned on the podcast, unless there is a solid plan in place to demonstrate how this project is actually going to make it to success, I'm not sure it's wise to put any money toward it. CLP, whether we like it or not, has a steady track record over the past several years of borrowing more than they can pay back in order to operate. I find it difficult to believe this project would be any different for them.

I wonder what the time line is on the renovations that have been done thus far. How long until it becomes obsolete and would have to be replaced while waiting for the rest of the fund raising to occur? It's interesting.

What?!? An enthusiast organization doesn't agree what another is doing?!?

That's totally unheard of! Im shocked... Amazed... bla bla bla ;)

Afterthought:

Personally I am not a fan of any organization using my member funds to donate to something I didnt specify/agree to.. However, in that same line of thinking, I applaud when organizations donate to causes with good intent.

Im sure any donation reasoning can be picked apart, but honestly if we did that all the time, the cause would lose in the end.

Well, ACE members donate the money specifying that they want it to go to a particular fund. In the case of the Preservation fund, it is the decision of the preservation director and the Executive committee to decide what situations are deemed worthy. These people are all elected by the members to represent the club.

The only other situation that I can think of where ACE had a huge role in was bringing Leap the Dips back to life. So, an individual member doesn't have the ability to make a decision as to a specific cause. But, if they wanted to be that specific, then they could just donate the money directly instead of putting it into a general preservation fund. No one is being forced to do anything. There are plenty of people who never donate anything.

Jason Hammond said:
Well, ACE members donate the money specifying that they want it to go to a particular fund. In the case of the Preservation fund, it is the decision of the preservation director and the Executive committee to decide what situations are deemed worthy. These people are all elected by the members to represent the club.

We also elect our president of the United States.. Yet decisions are made that I dont always agree with, and shouldnt be De facto OK just because they are elected. I find that justification of being elected to best choices faulty from the beginning.

Again.. I have no problem with charity contributions (good for them as they felt its best), but I always feel better when I decide what exactly that contribution of my funds should be. But this is one of those age old issues I've had that will probably never change on either side.

I would be surprised if donations such as these dont also come from members dues and such to some degree. Not just the preservation checkbox.

LostKause said:
I still say that if the park can't sustain itself as a viable business, it should close. A private business shouldn't pretend to be a charity.

If that is simply not acceptable, then maybe they should get creative, and find unique ways to get people through the gates. It's pretty apparent right now that that's not happening.

Another words, try harder, or quit trying.

I completely agree. I may be even a bit more pessimistic though... in my opinion, Conneaut is long past the point of pathetic, and has arrived at the point of should-be-put-down. I understand that the park has history and that the Blue Streak is considered a classic coaster, but nostalgia aside, what does this park have going for it? An aging and dilapidated collection of flats on par with or outclassed by most local fairs? A coaster that the park can't afford to operate?

I also don't see how throwing money at the Blue Streak makes any sense anymore either. The park has consistently proven that an operating Blue Streak does not equal park success/profitability, so what's the plan? Throw another $100k at it, hope to open it for the last month or two of summer, and then (surprise!) not make enough money to open it next season? That's a laughably poor way to run a business, park or otherwise, and I don't think handouts from ACE are helping fix what's really wrong.

For me personally, the vibe I always got from the park even when Blue Streak was operating was something akin to an enthusiast guilt trip: "Come ride the classic Blue Streak (before it's too late!)". It almost worked too, I was planning a trip a couple years back... but then Waldameer opened RFII and my priorities got rearranged. Now, I have almost no desire to visit, as I just don't see the attraction. Would I like to ride Blue Streak? Sure, maybe once or twice, but I doubt I'd need even an annual fix to satisfy my classic coaster needs. Now, I'd say that the only thing that would get me to Conneaut would be if I were already going camping near Conneaut or Pymatuning... it's an if-I'm-there-anyway sort of place.

Plus, the park is, like it or not, quite far from anything that can even be considered a (major?) population center, and from a GP perspective, literally every one of those population centers has a better amusement park option within a shorter or comparable drive. Erie? Waldameer. Pittsburgh? Kennywood, Idlewild. Cleveland I guess you could argue, but what Clevelander chooses (or even knows about) Conneaut with Cedar Point nearly the same distance away in the opposite direction? Plus let's not pretend that the Cleveland area (or... anywhere) is exactly blanketed with Conneaut marketing...

I dunno, this post turned out a lot longer than I intended, but I just don't see Conneaut becoming even marginally profitable with the way they insist on doing business, and if the park isn't interested in putting forth the effort and creativity needed to become successful, I don't think it falls to enthusiasts to save it.

ridemcoaster said:

I would be surprised if donations such as these dont also come from members dues and such to some degree. Not just the preservation checkbox.

I can state with certainty that they do not. Our financial records are open book to any member. They are very detailed. Again, no one is being forced to donate anything. And everyone who does, knows they are not the ones who will be making the decision as to where and when funds are distributed. However, anyone in the club is free to make recommendations. Everyone that's been on the Executive Committee since I joined in 2005 have been very approachable and open to suggestions. This is a volunteer club. No one makes any money here.

Jason Hammond said:

No one makes any money here.

I dont think that was even a topic of dispute. Just in how donations are appropriated though which funding medium.

ridemcoaster said:

I would be surprised if donations such as these dont also come from members dues and such to some degree. Not just the preservation checkbox.

I can also state with absolute certainty that money for preservation does not currently come from member dues. The preservation fund makes enough from donations, auctions and sales of certain items. We have not had to transfer any money from the operating expenses to the preservation fund in well over 15 years.

I doubt that anyone joins a coaster enthusiast club expecting that they're going to be raising money to find a cure for some disease. I'm not sure what the issue is. If ACE states upfront what their purpose is, it's the choice of the individual whether or not to join in that pursuit. If you don't agree with that cause, don't join. It's as simple as that.

How many thousands of communities try to raise money to save some landmark building? When it comes to "choosing" how money is spent, what about union members whose membership dues are used to support certain political candidates and lobby for certain causes that have nothing to do with their employment?

As far as defining how lofty a cause is, isn't that for each person to decide for themselves?

It is, and I decided it's not very lofty. :)

Im more upset that Jeff beat me to that softball.

I doubt most people decide to join any hobby group based on how much they plan to make the world a better place or what charities they support. I'm sure most people are looking at what benefits and opportunities they get from the group. Anything else is just gravy. Yeah, I said gravy. :) That being said, ACE also donates to charities in situations like when Will Koch and Barbara Knoebel died.

Jeff, and if someone else decides it is, it's really none of your business now, is it?

I meant that it's up to each person to decide which causes are deserving of their money. Who's to say what kind of causes individual members of organizations support? It's pretty presumptuous to assume they belong to only that one group and care about nothing else.

ridem, we all know softballs are about all a Hokie can handle anyway. ;)

It's not my business. Who cares? Doesn't mean I can't have an opinion about it. You know what they say about opinions, after all.

Mine is always right?

And now apparently part of the plan is to try to win some of the money from Pepsi.

http://www.refresheverything.com/conneautlakeparkbluestreak

Pepsi! Proud sponsor of every theme park related cause you can think of.