The board operating the St. Paul Golf Course is back in charge of the keys to its facility and is opening the doors this Wednesday evening at 7 p.m. for the public to come find out more about what is happening with the course.
“We did get the keys back, but as of right now, we are not in operation,” explained Danny Gadowski, president of the board. However, he said the board wanted to address some of the rumours swirling around the facility and news reports, so that people “know our side and that the facts are correct.”
On Oct. 28, Gadowski and fellow board member Dale Drummond approached Town of St. Paul council and explained the golf course’s financial position, the debts it owed and the fact it did not have the funds to continue operating.
Coun. Edna Gervais noted during the meeting that town council had been advised at a previous meeting by the treasurer for the board that the golf course only had $60,000 in accounts payable, but from the Oct. 28 discussions, it appeared that further debts were outstanding. After an hour-long discussion in camera, council decided that it had lost confidence in the board to run the golf course, and terminated its land lease with them, taking control of the facility.
However, Gadowski said that in the immediate shock of the decision, he and the board did not realize that the Town of St. Paul did not have the grounds to terminate the club’s lease for use of town land.
“The lease that they had was not the same lease we had,” he said, noting that the Town of St. Paul was referring to an older lease document, rather than a newer lease signed in 2002 by John Trefanenko, mayor of the time, and CAO of the time, Wayne Horner.
The document sets out a clause that the town cannot terminate the lease unless there is action taken on the debt of the leaseholder, confirmed Mayor Glenn Andersen.
“Ultimately, it’s their decision. If they feel they can still operate, then that’s great too.
They want to continue on that clause – our legal advice says let them,” he said.
The golf course still remains without staff and still faces cash-flow problems.
Gadowski said while the board is not in breach of its lease, “what that means for us now, we don’t know.”
While the meeting is intended to be for information, he said the golf course’s board is also open to listening and hearing suggestions if people would like to bring them forth this Wednesday at 7 p.m.
