Village Green General Manager Melinda Thompson minced no words when asked to describe her feelings regarding the newest developments surrounding the resort:

“I’m excited,” she said. “It was good news, and uplifting. We’re going to be going in great places.”

Just where the Village Green is going remains a bit of a mystery, but what is clear is that a $3.2 million offer to buy the resort—from a prospective buyer that reportedly wanted to turn the local landmark into a truck stop—has been pulled off the table.

“I have no idea why,” Thompson said. Dirk Winter, owner of Moonstone Hotel Properties, which owns and manages the Green, could not be contacted for this story.

Reports have also surfaced about another offer to buy the resort, a $3 million offer, according to City Manager Richard Meyers. Thompson confirmed the existence of this offer but said she knew nothing of its specifics, including its dollar value.

These developments may muddy the waters for the City of Cottage Grove, which has recently sought funding to finish renovations at the Village Green, renovations they hope will make the resort more conference-friendly and bring its revenue to positive figures. Moonstone Properties placed the Village Green on the market in 2009; an online listing recently placed the resort’s price at $3.75 million.

“We are working on putting together a package to reduce the risk to the City of Cottage Grove and its partners while enhancing future revenue potential, economic development and tourism in Cottage Grove,” Meyers said.

In short, the City hopes to obtain funds, either through grants available through Lane County governmental sources or private investors, to act as security for a loan the City would offer to the Village Green for its improvements. Local investors have already pledged half the sum—$250,000—to make the required upgrades. The City would borrow the other half of the price tag, then seek a grant to establish a reserve fund to be utilized if Moonstone defaults on its loan payments.

This action, Meyers said, would put the City in the third position on the loan, allowing it the ability to bypass the risk of sitting in its second position. It would also allow the City to make money off interest charged on its loan.

The Village Green is a good investment on paper, Meyers said, and should eventually be successful.

“Everything indicates that the Village Green is not failing, but growing,” he said. “The hotel has been promoting a growing conference and convention presence and reaching out along those lines. The improvements already made on the property have brought about 3000 more room sales.”

Meyers said the hotel’s transformation from five-star hotel and destination resort to conference and convention center should fit well into the City’s new economic makeup. He added, however, that the City would back out of any further maneuvers if private funding was found to renovate the hotel.

“If some other person came along and said ‘We want to buy it and do this and this and this,’ and if that fit into the plan the community has for the property, we would be out,” he said.

Which brings attention back to the other reported offer to buy the hotel, details of which the City also currently knows little. This offer, and subsequent offers, could fit into the City’s vision for the Village Green. The catch—Winter and Moonstone Properties do not have to involve the City in any proceedings regarding the sale of the property. That the company has already done so is testament to Winter’s desire to see the hotel continue operations in Cottage Grove, Meyers said.

“It’s not often you get a property owner that’s amiable to letting a City be involved in a process like this,” he said. “But he doesn’t want us involved in telling him how to run the place.”

The possibility also exists that the City could offer a loan, Moonstone could accept and eventually sell the property, which would still leave Cottage Grove without a voice regarding the hotel’s fate. Another option involves the City buying the hotel, though talks in this vein are still premature.

“Should we be looking at buying the property?” Meyers said. “Would that be good or bad? Maybe public ownership and private management would be the answer.”

Meyers said some form of community ownership could ensure that the Village Green retains its admirable qualities indefinitely, and that he has heard both support and opposition to such a maneuver. Such a move would not be out of character for a City that runs its own golf course, and city ownership of conference centers is not unprecedented.

Meyers stated that the City could also pursue some kind of easement or historic designation to keep future owners from transforming the Village Green in a manner unsatisfactory to the citizens of Cottage Grove.

Meyers said no public comment has yet been sought regarding the Village Green because the City has not yet determined a clear course of action.

“It’s no use talking about things we can’t do,” he said. “If we explore our options and find something we can do, we’ll have a public meeting.”