EAST AURORA, N.Y. -- Knox Farm State Park is a 633-acre gem in East Aurora, complete with a dog park, walking trails and stables for horses.
However, according to Friends of Knox Farm, a non-profit that works with the state to maintain the park, there are several buildings on the property that need renovations.
"One of the high priorities is replacing the roof of the main house, which hopefully is going to happen this year, but that's a $600,000 project to restore the roof," said Paul Battaglia, Friends of Knox Farm president.
Joe Rychcik, New York State Parks general park manager, estimates Knox Farm runs a deficit of $100,000 to $150,000 per year. The park makes money off weddings every year, but not much else.
"We recognize, and we have recognized for some time, that the only way this park is going to survive is to establish one or more public/private partnerships, and the question is what's the right fit for the park," Battaglia said.
Last year, a request for proposals was put out by New York State Parks, looking for that private sector partner.
Julie Ciolek was the only person to put forward a proposal. She and her husband, Lenny, own McKenzie's Hard Cider.
Lenny Ciolek spoke at the meeting about their plan, which he said would have included a $500,000 investment from them, a small brewing operation and new patios to allow for small concerts.
He insisted the plan would not have over-commercialized the park.
Several people at the meeting say if they would have heard those details sooner, they would have been more receptive.
"There was no information at all that was available to the public and with the vacuum that was created, The rumor mill sort of filled that vacuum, and that really is what caused that thing to fail," Battaglia said.
Ciolek says he is still interested in pursuing a project at the park.
Rychcik says at the earliest, they will accept RFPs again in 2018, but he adds the state must see significant interest to start the process again.
Meantime, Friends of Knox Farm will collect all of the ideas from the last two meetings on how to monetize the park and present them to New York State Parks.