Friends of Fort Knox separates fact from fiction

The board of directors of the Friends of Fort Knox (FOFK) on Aug. 8 voted to ask Leon Seymour for his resignation. Since then a great deal of misinformation has been written about the Friends of Fort Knox. On several previous occasions, I considered responding to correct inaccurate assertions in articles and letters but decided to “hold my tongue.” I cannot do that any longer – too much is at stake. What follows are the facts:

? It has been suggested that “Fright at the Fort” has been a big money- maker for the fort. Actually, since its inception in 1999, the Fright at the Fort generated less then 7 percent of our total gross revenues. The point here is that, although the Fright has been an important community event, the revenues are a drop in the FOFK budget bucket.

? It has been reported that Seymour’s compensation for 2004 was $45,000. In fact $45,000 was only Seymour’s base salary; including benefits and bonus, the cost to fund the FOFK executive director position for 2004 was more than $58,000.

? It has been suggested that during Seymour’s six-year tenure, “he has raised millions of dollars” for the fort. The fact is that, over those years, the Friends of Fort Knox (not just Seymour) has generated total gross revenues of about $1.35 million. This gross revenue is offset by expenses including wages, gift shop inventory, heat, lights, phone, insurance, etc. After expenses, there was substantially less than $1 million left to fix the fort.

? It has been suggested that gross revenues for the FOFK have been trending upward. In fact the best year for FOFK revenue was in 2000 ($567,825) and revenues for 2004, as compared to 2000, were down almost 50 percent. This is a trend we need to reverse.

? It has been suggested that fort visitation has increased during Seymour’s tenure. The fact is, the best year for fort visitation was in 1998 (56,254 visitors). Since then, visitation has decreased annually and, not including the Fright, visitation during 2004 was down by more than 10,000 people as compared to 1998.

? Lastly, some people have expressed concern about the financial stability of the FOFK. The fact is, as of Oct. 20, the FOFK had more than $122,000 in cash on deposit in area banks. Without any additional income, this is sufficient to fund the FOFK operations for more than 12 months.

The Friends of Fort Knox is a Maine 501(c)(3) corporation that operates as a Public Benefit Trust. The information regarding our revenues, financial stability and fort visitation is a matter of public record. Historic information regarding FOFK revenues can be verified by reviewing our IRS 990 forms which were prepared by a CPA. Information on fort visitation is taken directly from data maintained by the Bureau of Parks and Lands.

The new bridge over the Penobscot River, complete with observatory, is scheduled to open in less than a year. Over the next few months, there is an opportunity for the FOFK, in partnership with the state of Maine, to blossom into a regional economic powerhouse. Please do not let this unfortunate dispute with our former executive director stand in the way of this opportunity.

Randall Poulton, of Winterport, is interim treasurer of the Friends of Fort Knox.