The operators of Shiloh Springs Golf Course in Platte City, Mo., and Bayou Vista Golf Course in Gulfport, Miss., are both seeking new management in the new year, and are accepting applications until January 23 and 20, respectively.
Platte County has been losing money on its Shiloh Springs Golf Course in Platte City, Mo., and is considering a partnership with a professional golf company to manage the course, the Kansas City Star reported.
In its request for proposals, the county is also asking for alternative ideas that could include a lease/purchase of the golf course. County Commissioner Duane Soper said the proposals will give the county the “opportunity to see what options (it has) to run the golf course” and to fund the operating costs, the Star reported.
The county built the 122-acre, 18-hole course, which opened in 1995, as a recreational facility for the public, said Brian Nowotny, director of the Platte County Parks and Recreation Department.
This year, the county has the option of using park sales tax revenue to pay off the remaining $1.3 million debt on the bond money that financed construction of the course. Until the debt is paid off, terms of the bond issue require the county to manage the course with its own employees, the Star reported.
The county will require any new management group to maintain the facility as a public course and continue to make it available for youth programs, the Star reported.
“We feel there is potential for a greater revenue opportunity (at the course),” Nowotny said, adding that the county is looking for a “bigger operator…who would be interested in including Shiloh in their offerings of courses.”
The county wants any new arrangement to “at a minimum, return sufficient revenue to the county to cover (the) county’s costs to maintain the golf course,” as stated in the request for proposal.
“We have excellent people out there, (but) government may not always be the best person to run a business,” Soper said.
In 2011, the course operating expenses were $89,928 more than the revenues, according to the RFP. These losses increased steadily since then and in 2014 through November, the course had lost $128,856, the Star reported.
The total number of rounds played has decreased since the recession, Soper said, partly because several Northland courses “went public” to attract additional business. “It really comes down to the recession,” he said. People have had less money to spend on “pleasures,” Soper said, but he believes that situation is improving, the Star reported.
The county’s debt on the course will end in 2018, Nowotny said. The annual payments are about $450,000, the Star reported.
“This financing is tax-exempt, giving the county the best possible interest rate,” he said. “As such, the county is required to manage the golf course with public employees. Once the bonds are paid off, the county has the option to consider management alternatives and new partnerships.”
The county issued its request for proposals December 9. All submissions are due January 23, the Star reported.
Some changes could be coming to the Bayou Vista Golf Course in Gulfport, Miss., the Birmingham (Ala.)-based WBRC Fox 6 reported.
On January 6, the city council approved a resolution that opens up the possibility of new management. The city has been running the course for several years, but wants to hand over the operations, WBRC reported.
Two years ago, the City of Gulfport picked up the task of getting the Bayou Vista golf course back in shape. “So, we went ahead and opened it up again and did the work that was necessary to get it back as a golf course,” said Councilman Ricky Dombrowski.
The city brought the course up to par, but city leaders are now hoping that it can be taken even further. “We would rather have someone else that knows the business come in and run it and continue to make it successful and then just lease it from the city,” said Dombrowski.
The deadline for anyone interested in taking the reigns is January 20, WBRC reported.
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