
County Manager Kelly Kuenstler said American Family Entertainment Center notified her last week that the company was no longer able to meet the conditions of its management contract with the county.
Reportedly, officials with American Family determined they could not make a profit under the current contract, which required them to pay the county a fixed rent payment of $5,000 a month.
Prior to May of 2011, Luna County had been paying StarMax Entertainment Group $10,000 a month to manage the entertainment complex, plus $2,000 a month to cover travel expenses for StarMax officials.
American Family signed its management contract last May, but only began having to pay the county in January of this year.
The initial idea of the entertainment complex was that the county would build a facility that would attract an operator to lease it.The county, then, would simply be a landlord.
Now Kuenstler said the county will be hiring a general manager who will be under her direction. She added that all employees will have to reapply to hold on to their jobs, but she is hoping to make the changeover as seamless as possible to current
employees.
County Commissioner Oleo Milo, who is part of the transition team, had expressed concern over the deterioration of the
facility. He is quoted in a media release as saying that customer concerns will be handled more efficiently and in a timely manner if the facility’s general manager lives in Luna County.