The trust now exists for the sole purpose of running the Games in Whanganui every two years (Dunedin hosts on alternate years).
"It's not all dire," Mr Fell said.
"I think the change had to happen. The trustees had to step down and we've now got the foundation to establish a bloody good games in 2019."
The trust went into "hibernation" in May last year when it emerged the trust had let go all its staff, including chief executive Kathy Cunningham.
Ray Stevens, a board member at the time, publically raised concerns about the trust's financial problems.
The audited accounts for the year ended June 30, 2017 show the trust had operating deficit of $92,868 in a year when the trust also ran Artists Open Studios and Cooks Gardens.
"I stepped in and received all the information that I could," Mr Fell said.
The financial performance of the 2017 Masters Games was not separately defined within the accounts but Mr Fell estimated it would have made a loss.
There were major changes to the Games in 2017, including shifting the Games Village to the War Memorial Centre from its traditional Springvale Park home and big-name entertainment was brought in with band The Magnificent Seven, including Peter Urlich and Jordan Luck performing on opening night.
The exclusive use of out-of-town caterers was also controversial.
For all that the 2017 event attracted 4636 participants, 300 fewer than in 2015.
"At the end of the games there wasn't enough money at that stage in the bank and there was obviously creditors looking for money," Mr Fell said.
"We couldn't let any of these small operators down through lack of good governance or something else."
The trust was essentially loaned money before the building at Springvale Park was sold to get the trust back in the black, Mr Fell said.
"There was quite a lot of debt [but] the assets were quite high. It wasn't technically insolvent."
Since then the council has taken a more active role in organisation of next year's games with representation on both the boards of the company and the trust.
Two council staff, general property manager Leighton Toy (chairman) and communications and marketing manager Sarah Pomeroy now sit on the trust board along with Sport Whanganui chief executive Danny Jonas, James Bowen, Trevor Strong, Mike Cronin and Derek Pickering.
Councillor Philippa Baker-Hogan now chairs the New Zealand Masters Games company board which includes Mr Fell.
Whanganui Venues and Events manager Tasha Parker will be employed by the trust as games manager.
Meanwhile, a lack of a naming rights sponsor has been identified as a key reason behind the Games' financial woes and the company has commissioned the Giblin Group to help it find one.
"This revenue stream is considered essential to manage a financially sustainable iconic event," Mr Fell said.
The NZ Masters Games is estimated to inject more than $3 million into the host city each event.
Since the first Games were held in 1989, the event has brought more than 40,000 visitors to Whanganui.
