The management company that ran Dickinson’s Hawks Point at its inception will soon be in charge once again.
Dickinson Investments LLC — the group that owns the senior living community on the Dickinson State University campus — announced Thursday that, beginning April 1, Senior Services of America will take over management of the facility.
Senior Services of America managed Hawks Point from its inception in 2007 until 2013, when the company was terminated by Dickinson Investments. From that time forward, the DSU Foundation managed the facility.
However, Dickinson Investments has been searching for a new management company since last November when North Dakota Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem forced the Foundation into financial receivership.
Members of Dickinson Investments declined to comment, though Peter Pichetti of Dickinson Investments stated in a news release that he echoed statements made by Douglas Walker, executive director of Hawks Point.
“I’m looking forward to a long-term relationship with Senior Services of America,” Walker said. “We are going to continue to focus on serving our residents, meeting their needs and providing excellent customer service.”
At a Nov. 24 meeting held at Hawks Point, some members of Dickinson Investments argued that the company should sell the facility to Senior Services of America for $20 million.
The Press reported on Dec. 7 that Hawks Point caused the Foundation to become jointly liable for a $1.7 million arbitration ruling and an estimated $2 million in operating expenses after former DSU Foundation CEO Kevin Thompson advised shareholders in Dickinson Investments to terminate the organization’s contract with Granville Brinkman, the facility’s developer, and Senior Services of America.
At the Nov. 24 meeting, Linda Steve of Dickinson, a former DSU Foundation chief financial officer and board president, was appointed co-chair of Hawks Point along with DSU Foundation CEO/CFO Glen Young.
“We are very excited to be involved with Hawks Point again, and look forward to working with the team that is in place,” Randy Trettevik, Senior Services of America’s CFO, said in the statement. “Our philosophy is to be a good partner with the university and support the staff and management on-site (sic).”
Messages left for Trettevik, who also attended the Nov. 24 meeting, were not returned Thursday. At that meeting, Trettevik said the management company was interested in coming back to Dickinson to run Hawks Point. He also said Nov. 24 that he believed Senior Services of America “could bring an investor to the table that would be willing to pay a price sufficient enough to repay the investors.”
Sean Smith, a Bismarck attorney appointed as the Foundation’s receiver, declined to comment.