Conneaut Lake Park will open Memorial Day weekend under the control of a court-appointed trustee, a panel of judges ruled.

A panel of three Commonwealth Court judges ruled last week that the financially troubled historic amusement park's former owner, Gary Harris, cannot take control of the 110-year-old park or its equipment. A court-appointed trustee, Herbert Brill, will continue to manage it.

Home to the vintage Blue Streak roller coaster, the park has had financial troubles in the past.

Two of the park's three private owners went bankrupt in the 1990s. Harris, the third owner, was sentenced to 27 months in prison in an unrelated federal tax-evasion case.

But Harris said if it were not for his work, the park would have closed in the 1990s. The park closed in 1995 and 1996 after one of its private owners went bankrupt.

Harris, who is out of prison, is suing to reclaim the park's rides and leases, which he says are his. A trial is scheduled for June, but in the meantime, Brill will continue with his financial plan.

The park made $2.15 million in gross sales last summer and had an operating profit of about $300,000. But the park still owes about $500,000 in debts.