Another Complaint of Non-Payment Filed Against Stillwater's Lumberjack Days Organizer

The list of complaints against the organizer of the and continues to grow.

This week, New Ulm Battery filed a complaint with the Stillwater Police Department alleging that a verbal agreement the nonprofit organization entered into with Dave Eckberg more than two years ago was never honored.

The First Lieutenant and Secretary of New Ulm Battery, John Fritsche, said the organization is still owed $1,500 from the 2009 Stillwater Fourth of July event.

During the 2009 Fourth of July fireworks celebration in Stillwater, New Ulm Battery brought six cannons to . Fritshe told police the verbal agreement with Eckberg—as the coordinator of St. Croix Events—stated that New Ulm Battery would be paid $1,500 to supply cannons for the event.

To fit the scope of a show during the Fourth of July celebration, New Ulm Battery paid two other companies for their services, Fritsche said. New Ulm Battery paid those two companies $500 each from a business account, but was never paid the $1,500 St. Croix Events owed to New Ulm Battery, he said.

Fritsche said he contacted police on Monday to file a complaint because he’s trying to get some of that money back.

According to the police report, Fritsche alleges that he only spoke with Eckberg once since the event, and was told Eckberg wouldn’t “issue a rubber check.”

“Not being paid means we have to do something else—or raise the rates on another community’s event—to get that money back,” Fritsche said. “Last year we had to take that hit. It’s not good when you rely on money you’re told you will be paid to be able to put into resources for events.”

Lumberjack Days Investigation Continues

The most recent complaint comes in the shadows .

In the midst of that investigation, Stillwater police met with Washington County Attorney Pete Orput and told him they could not complete their investigation for resource reasons.

At that point, Washington County Sheriff Bill Hutton agreed his office would take over the investigation, Orput said.

“The sheriff’s office agreed to take it and I have assigned Steve Norton from my office to be of assistance to the sheriff if they need any legal assistance during their investigation,” Orput said.

Charges have not been filed in the case.

“I do appreciate that many folks want this case evaluated and charged if the evidence is there,” Orput said. “But I am most interested in a thorough and complete investigation so I have not asked the sheriff’s office to speed up their investigation.”

In recent years Eckberg and St. Croix Events have also been named in a long list of civil complaints.

One notable debt came in the way of a civil judgment filed against St. Croix Events this spring in Washington County Court, , without getting paid.

St. Croix Events owes the city of Stillwater another $7,542 for public safety services provided during the in 2010 and 2011, according to public records.

The Lumberjack Days Festival Association also owes the city of Stillwater $20,000 for police and fire services from the 2011 Lumberjack Days Festival, as well as 35 percent of the gate fees.

As a result, the and the city.

Last week, the Stillwater City Council chose RES Specialty Pyrotechnics to put on this year’s Fourth of July fireworks show. But City Administrator Larry Hansen told the council they can’t sign a contract with RES until the situation with Lumberjack Days is settled.

The council is expected to take further action on the 2012 fireworks show during their next meeting.

Eckberg has said the city’s contract disputes are with the Lumberjack Days Festival Association, not him personally.

“We are working to get this resolved,” Eckberg told Stillwater Patch last month. “We don’t dispute the debt.”

The Lumberjack Days Festival Association contracts St. Croix Events to coordinate the event, Eckberg said. He, in turn, signs the checks as the event coordinator.

The festival’s proceeds were down dramatically last summer because of flooding, rain and hot weather, Eckberg said. “Anyone who was there saw that.”

“Indeed, I recognize that this is complex and involves potentially many folks, but I counsel patience, especially since the allegations that I’ve read about in the paper appear to go back for several years,” Orput said. “Once the sheriff’s office completes its investigation, I will have the case reviewed post-haste and consistent with my office’s speedy charging decisions.”