OTTUMWA, IOWA -- Recent reports of a dispute between the city of Ottumwa and the management company in charge of operation of the Bridge View Center are inaccurate according to the principals actors involved.

City Adminstrator Joe Helfenberger and Bridge View Center manager Nicole Pasqual both say there is nothing at all suspicious about the situation.

It has been reported that Centerplate Inc., the company that operates Bridge View Center is owed $450,000 by the city of Ottumwa.  According to both the city and the center, the article is false and misleading.

KTVO went to Helfenberger and Pasqual in an attempt to set the record straight.

The current contract with Centerplate Inc. is for 5 years.  The city has agreed to pay the company $85,000 a year or roughly $8,000 a month to operate and manage the center.  For the past 4 years the center has operated at a deficit.  That includes fees, salaries and expenses. 

Currently, the city covers the deficit until the center can make a profit.  Manager Nicole Pasqual noted that each quarter the city puts funds into the center, but all the funds don't cover the cost.  Just today, management processed a payment for June and July 2010.  That payment will go towards operating costs.  Therefore, the reason the city is behind in making payments to the center, is because the previous management team was not sending invoices to the city, which can only be processed every quarter. 

According to Joe Helfenberger, the current management team at Bridge View Center is turning things around.  Financial information provided to KTVO shows that just this past year, the center has had a 60% increase in sales.  Management has cut the staff by 10% and has brought labor costs down 55%, all while keeping the costs of goods down 20%. 

Manager Nicole Pasqual says that she wishes that her sales were up 120%, but notes that she and her team have made significant progress. 

"As sales increase, more funds are applied toward monies advanced by Centerplate Inc. for operating expenses which include the management fee," said Nicole Pasqual

In the next 3 months, Bridge View Center will be hosting a handful of events.  You can find information on those events here.  City Administrator Joe Hefenberger said, "That with each event that happens at Bridge View Center, more revenue is generated in the local economy."