From Staff Reports

MAGGIE VALLEY — The lawsuit filed to dissolve the latest Ghost Town in the Sky, LLC, “signals an uncertain future for the long-closed amusement park and Buck Mountain in Maggie Valley,” according to The (Waynesville) Mountaineer.

“Claiming insolvency, a lawsuit filed Aug. 8 in Haywood County Superior Court seeks to dissolve two limited liability corporations, Ghost Town in the Sky, LLC and Maggie Valley RV Park, LLC, established by developer Frankie Wood and the late Alaska Presley,” The Mountaineer reported on Aug. 11.

'The lawsuit was filed by Jill Holland McClure, Presley’s niece, who was to assume membership interest in both corporations after Presley’s death, according to operating agreements signed by both Presley and Wood in 2020, the law states. Presley died this April,” The Mountaineer stated.

Meanwhile, on Aug. 29 the Daily Planet called for comments on the latest twist from Teresa Smith, director of the Maggie Valley Chamber of Commerce, who declined to comment on the Ghost Town in the Sky restart project’s status — because it is in litigation. 

However, Smith referred the newspaper to Maggie Valley Interim Town Manager Vickie Best, who, in turn, referred the Daily Planet to Town Planner Kaitland Finkle, who provided some details on the Ghost Town in the Sky situation.

Finkle began by noting that she has worked for the town for about 12 months, so she could only address the amusement park restart project’s activities dealt with by the Magge Valley’s Planning Department during that period.

“In the last 12 months, absolutely no development plans have been presented to the town on Ghost Town in the Sky,” she said. “The only thing that has occurred is annexation of all of the lower parking lots into the town limits — and zoned C1.”

In addition, the Daily Planet called Dave Angel, the owner-manager of Elevated Mountain Distilling in Maggie Valley who has served as local spokesman for Wood and associates for the current Ghost Town in the Sky project.

However, Angel’s telephone voice mail was full when the newspaper tried to leave him messages seeking a callback on both Aug. 26 and 29. The Daily Planet also sent Angel a text message on Aug. 29, seeking comment, but did not receive a response by this edition’s deadline.

When questioned about Angel’s status with the Ghost Town project on Aug. 29, Teresa Smith, director of the Maggie Valley Chamber of Commerce, told the Daily Planet that “Elevated Mountain (Distilling) is closed and the building was recently sold” — and that she has not heard from Angel for some time.

In its Aug. 11 story, The Mountaineer reported the following:

 â€œWood, who as the managing partner of Coastal Development has been managing both Ghost Town in the Sky, LLC and Maggie Valley RV Park, LLC, said the corporations will not be dissolved.”

As for the lawsuit, Wood was quoted by The Mountaineer as saying, “We got all the right documents put in place a long time ago. Alaska Presley was my partner, not her (McClure).”