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I am very happy to hear from a LOVE reader regardless of the viewpoint. However, I feel that Mr. Sterritt might be a little confused about the intent of my Watchdog Reports.
I have never been opposed to the Community Center portion of the purchase and I have never spoken ill of it except for the fact that it is still not ADA compliant. I stated that from the dais (when a council member) as well as in written communications. I do feel that we would have been better off building a new, state of the art, ADA compliant community center as opposed to purchasing a 1980’s building in need of updating and retro-fitting.
In my March Watchdog Report, I stated that “one might be impressed and think we are working ourselves out of this mess.” Mr. Sterritt asked, “What mess?”
The mess began in December 2014 when the minority council members (Bill Garner, Brendan Burns, and myself) asked to see the purchase agreement before it was signed, but the majority Hiremath group did not think that was needed. Mr. Sterritt, I would bet that you would put more energy and effort into buying a car. I’ll bet that you would study the market and determine what the car was worth based on comparable cars.
Prior to the purchase, in December 2014, I asked to see statistics on how many rounds of golf were played on the El Con courses during the most current year, and the response was “that’s proprietary information.” Imagine asking a car salesman what the estimated miles per gallon was on the vehicle you were considering purchasing and his response was, “that’s a secret.”
My point is that the Town purchased this property without any due diligence. The Hiremath gang also purchased it even though the majority of residents who expressed their opinions via emails to the council and during the public meetings were against this purchase.
The sport of golf is dying. This is echoed in the National Golf Foundation study that the Town contracted. The 170-page study concluded that:
“This facility is aging and has seen declines in activity and is now operating at a deficit, up to $2.1 million+. The loss on operations is a result of several influences…a recent recession, increasing competition, declining physical condition, and declining interest in golf.”Mr. Sterritt, I am going to assume that you and I are in the same generation. Our generation is the last generation to support golf.
You mentioned the appraised value, but there is a difference between appraised value and market value. As an example, Stone Canyon Golf and Dove Mountain Golf both sold for well under $1 million.
We opened the golf courses in May 2015. The Troon losses as of March 30, 2019 are $8,867,541. Promised capital improvements of $2,878,000 have not been accomplished. Troon desired to have 315 members by December 2016. As of April 30, 2019, the golf membership was only 236. It is not my Watchdog Reports that are causing this; it is the state of golf in the new millennia.
Since November 2019, the Town’s courses have had 22,008 rounds of outside play on 45 holes. A public golf course within 5 miles of the Town’s courses had 27,021 rounds on 18 holes. This is not being negative; this is merely stating the facts.
Again, let’s be clear. I have never been negative about the community center, tennis, fitness, and recreation. My focus has been on the financial drain that golf is doing to our Town.
Below are links to two articles that conflict with the notion that closure of the golf courses will decrease property values:
Repurposing golf courses
9 surprising things that add value to your house
The Town has owned the courses for 49 months. The losing trend for golf has not subsided. As such, we should work to minimize the drain that golf is currently placing on our town.
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Editor’s Note: You can read more of what’s in the National Golf Foundation Study at the below links. Part 1 discusses the options that were provided by the golf consultants to cut the losses. Part 2 contains a summary of their conclusions regarding the problems with the El Con courses.
Part 1
Part 2
