Umar Paracha is anxious to have a reopening of his Antiqua Bay resort July 3, but until Tuesday he faced closing rather than reopening.

The obstacle was a disconnection notice from the city of Wisconsin Dells Electric Utility threatening to turn off the electricity July 1 unless, he paid past due bills in full. After meetings this week with city officials, Paracha worked out an agreement with the city to make weekly payments on those bills, said Mayor Eric Helland.

Paracha purchased the troubled hotel in December and then hired a management company to run it, he said in an interview Monday. After three months, he realized the management company was not paying the bills. He fired the management company and started bringing in his own people. He also started refurbishing the 40-year-old property in the Lower Dells.

Since then Paracha said he has spent nearly $2.1 million putting in new carpets in rooms, halls and meeting spaces, adding three Jacuzzi suites, 10 deluxe suites, adding two suites with kitchens and dining room/living room combinations, fixing and repairing the property’s pools and other maintenance task. He has hired 80 employees for the hotel and this week, hired Diane Johnson, former manager of the Wintergreen, to be general manager.

While giving a tour of the renovations to this reporter and his banker, a guest after asking Paracha about getting another key because she was locked out of her room, complimented him on the service at the hotel.

Another Paracha fan, is Pastor Jay Hesch of the Pine Valley Church. The church has been meeting at Antiqua Bay. He said Paracha has treated them “like gold. We appreciate what he’s done for us. He’s been a blessing.”

Previous owners left a $93,000 utility bill with the city, and Paracha said he paid that off.

When the Events wrote of the city’s decision to withhold his liquor license because of unpaid bills, Paracha said the person who was going to run the restaurant at the hotel left. He said Monday that he now had another person to operate the restaurant

The state Department of Revenue wrote the city last month saying it should not give the hotel a liquor license because of unpaid taxes. However, that bill has been paid and the department issued a letter June 23 saying Paracha had his seller’s permit, and the city did not have to withhold the licenses.

Paracha said he has been paying on the bills. He said he thinks it is to the city’s advantage to allow him to continue to operate because then it would continue to receive room tax, premier resort tax and property taxes. If the hotel has to close, the city will be out that money, he said.

“We’ll try to work with him,” Helland said Tuesday noon, adding that he was impressed with what was being done at the hotel and that Paracha was living there.