Following on the heels of the announcement that Rosario Resort would be offered for sale by auction on Sept. 30, 2008, Rosario’s 98 full-time and 98 part-time employees were given 60 day’s notice on Thursday, Aug. 21. Laurie Cameron, Executive Director of the resort’s owner, Olympus Partners, said that they wanted to provide any future owners with a ‘clean slate’. “We have to give a potential buyer some breathing room.” The notice period, which officially ends on Oct. 20, complies with the Warren Act requirement that employers of 100 or more people give at least 60 days notification

Cameron, who made the announcement to the employees, said that Olympus had worked hard to keep it from coming to this, referring to the company’s seven-year pursuit of a Resort Master Plan. Olympus believed that the resort could only be financially viable if it were developed as a mixed-use residential resort and that having approval by San Juan County to develop it along those lines would make it more desirable to prospective buyers and help ensure its existence. Olympus itself never intended to develop the property.

Cameron said, “Getting the Plan approved took so long and cost so much and then the economy took a downturn. Although there have been several interested prospective buyers, no one has stepped up to the plate. Now we have no choice. “

Gem Stone Resorts, a management company hired by Olympus to oversee Rosario for the last 15 months, will be helping employees with the transition, Cameron said. “We want to make it the least impactful possible for the employees.”