June 1, 2001
 
 In a conversation we had recently with Hans Mayer, the executive director of Rocky Gap Lodge owner MEDCO (Maryland Economic Development Corporation), we were told that the Rocky Gap “resort” cost $30 million to build, and that he would send us financial information about the lodge’s performance.
 
 It seems Mr. Mayer was less than honest with us. According to both the Baltimore Sun and the Associated Press, the cost of building Rocky Gap was over $50 million. And Mr. Mayer never did send us any financial information about the lodge.
 
 Apparently, Mr. Mayer doesn’t want Maryland taxpayers to know how the lodge is doing. He claims it’s doing well, as does the lodge’s manager, Chuck Ingalsbee. Their claims seem to be in direct conflict with the Allegany County Commissioners, however, who lamented in a public meeting recently that the lodge isn’t doing as well as had been projected.
 
 That makes it all the more annoying that we have to use Allegany County tax dollars to pay down the debt on that hotel. The Commissioners committed $1.1 million in funds this week to pay our portion of the lodge’s annual debt service.(Wonder what our School Board could have done with that money?)
 
 Mr. Mayer can assert that the lodge is doing well all he wants, but actions speak louder than words. When asked for a copy of a recent financial audit, Mr. Mayer challenged the Associated Press to file a request for the information under the state’s open records law.
 
 That’s pretty amazing, since, $16 million of the $50 million in Rocky Gap’s construction costs was taxpayer money, and that the state floated bonds to cover the rest (no private investors would commit to the project). And who knows how much more taxpayer money has been used to keep the lodge operating since it opened?
 
 Given the fact that the lodge is sinking into the lake on one end - the foundation has cracked significantly, so much so that doors and windows are jammed and carpeting is pulling away from walls - someone is putting some serious money into repairs.
 
 Who is paying for that? And who is paying the legal fees accruing in a lawsuit filed against MEDCO in regard to the construction of the lodge by the contractor, Whiting Turner of Towsen?
 
 We have a valid interest in how this lodge is doing. If it fails, guess who is going to pay the piper?
 
 Right. We will.