Bob E. Warner – a well-known Winfield businessman who over the years acquired loads of commercial real estate and operated a number of video-rental stores in the area – has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization, according to court records.
Warner and his wife, Frances M. Warner, are named in a May 15 bankruptcy petition filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for Kansas in Wichita. In the past eight years, Warner has done business in Kansas and Oklahoma under the names Mega Movie, Mega Tan, Warner Video and Antiques Plus Mall.
The Warners list $976,950 in assets and $1.1 million in liabilities. The couple owe $72,014 in unpaid taxes to various government entities, including the Internal Revenue Service, Kansas Department of Revenue and Butler County Treasurer’s Office.
When contacted for comment Monday, Warner told a KSOK Radio reporter that the filing was a private matter. Chapter 11 is an "accounting form of refinance that gives you time to do some stuff, that the banks can’t do," he said, "it’s not a negative. (It’s) to help when times are rough."
Warner questioned why his filing was different than any other recent bankruptcy filing.
"Why is it anybody’s business," Warner said. "What are you picking at?"
Asked if he would liquidate any of his properties to satisfy debts, Warner replied, "we’re going to do what we need to do."
Home National Bank is the Warners’ largest secured creditor and is owed just under $600,000 for three real estate mortgages.
The Warners own a total of nine buildings on Winfield’s Main Street, including the Mega Movies-Mega Tan location in the 1800 block of Main. The couple’s ownership interest in that building is worth $240,000, according to court documents. The couple also own a strip mall on the east side of Wellington that is home to the Antiques Plus Mall and a Dollar General.
That building is worth $179,000 to the couple. The Warners earned about $500,000 in gross income through the operation of their existing businesses in 2008, according to court documents.
Topping the list of unsecured, non-priority creditors is the city of Arkansas City which is owed $240,000 for the demolition of a building on Summit and the reconstruction of a wall associated with the demolition. The city took action to demolish the building several years ago after it was damaged. Warner and the city went to court over the issue and a judge initially ruled Warner was not liable for costs.
The decision was overturned on appeal.
The condition of some of Warner’s buildings have sometimes brought him criticism from tenants and those in the local business community.
Dollar General Manager Renea Thompson told the Wellington Daily News she would be thrilled to move away from the Wellington strip mall on 16th St.
"We get two inches of rain in here when it rains, and he won’t do anything," Thompson told the Wellington paper for a story published Friday. "He’s, to me, a slumlord."
Winfield city manager Warren Porter said he had heard criticisms of Warner in the past.
"I think some people have had issue with the way he takes care of his buildings, and those people have been upset over that," Porter said. "But I do feel bad for Bob. I really do. I don’t wish it on anyone to have to go through something like (bankruptcy.)"
The Warners are scheduled to meet with creditors later this week to discuss a plan for satisfying their debt.
