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Marietta City Council Pays $1.5 million to Buy Out
Sentry Hospitality's Management Contract for City
Owned Marietta Conference Center and Resort
By Tucker McQueen, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News 

Jun. 27, 2003 - Marietta will pay the management company of the city-owned hotel $1.5 million to buy out its contract. 

In a unanimous vote Thursday, the Marietta City Council ended its agreement with Sentry Hospitality, seven years short of the contract agreement. 

The Marietta Conference Center and Resort has struggled financially since it opened seven years ago. 

During efforts to refinance bonds for the hotel, the city gave Sentry several options to continue its contract. The company opted for the buyout. 

Mayor Bill Dunaway said the conference center is an asset for the city, and no one wants to sell it. He said the city would like to find a brand-name hotel to lease the center. 

With the city's fiscal year ending Monday, Dunaway said the hotel will be in the red. 

The mayor said the approximately $21 million mortgage on the center will continue to be paid through hotel/motel tax money. 

He said the idea is to find a company to lease the facility and assume responsibility for its operation. 

"The city can concentrate on other things. This removes a source of conflict that has soaked up a lot of our energy." 

-----To see more of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.ajc.com 

(c) 2003, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News. 


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