Meadowlakes golf course shooting in the rough as debt mounts
MEADOWLAKES – Hidden Falls Golf Course officials asked the city Dec. 13 to help bail the facility out of debt or it could face closure.
Mayor Don Williams wants to hold a workshop next month to discuss options for the course, which is owned by Meadowlakes and overseen by the volunteers on the Public Facilities Corp.
“We still have to pay for it. We have to make it work,” Williams said.
Course personnel are grappling with a potential financial crisis, Meadowlakes PFC Treasurer Dale Fixsen told the council during their meeting.
The PFC reported about $34,000 to $40,000 in debt in 2010. This year, expenses continue to outpace revenue, he added.
“We have sat down many a night and said, ‘What would we do if we had to shut the doors?’” Fixsen said. “We would love to have an exit plan, but if we close the doors, we’re still not out the door.”
PFC officials say they need about $17,000 a month to cover operations and expenditures that include golf cart and equipment lease contracts.
Every month, the PFC owes money through lease-purchase agreements for golf carts and golfing equipment. Though Meadowlakes owns the course, the PFC pays vendors for equipment and services through the city. The PFC relies on membership dues and equipment rentals and sales to bring in revenue.
“Right now we have a money crunch. December, January and February we don’t get much play,” Williams said. “They have some bills and some commitments they have difficulty meeting right now.”
In 2008, the city approved borrowing $3.2 million to buy the course from a private company. The course has struggled financially even after the city purchased it.
“Right now, they don’t have the revenue to pay for it (the golf course),” Williams said. “It puts the city in a position to have to cover the losses.
“We certainly didn’t budget for that loss,” he added.
The council could hold the workshop in January to focus on the golf course finances.
“We have too much money invested not to make this thing go,” the mayor added. “We’ve got to find a solution. I don’t know what it is, so that’s why I asked the council to get involved.”