Dear Editor,
After having read Mr. Parrott’s Letter to the Editor in the March 15th edition regarding the golf course, I felt compelled to make some comments and observations of my own. I have been a member of the St. Paul Golf Course since 1978, was greenskeeper for 21 years, manager of operations for four of those 21 years, involved in the planning, construction, fundraising and opening of the back nine as project manager and board member for the 2015 season so I feel I am qualified to provide additional insight into the history of the course.
It’s not fair of Mr. Parrott to state that the golf course is the only self-sustaining sports facility with barely any financial assistance from the Town. In fact the town leased land to golf course for $1, no other costs involved
* Town backed the back nine loan of $500,000 plus the clubhouse loan at Servus Credit Union
* In the 21 years that I worked at the golf course, the Town NEVER said no to any request for help: they lent their aerator for the fairways, air compressor to blow the irrigation lines yearly, a tractor to fertilize (eventually it donated the tractor to golf course), and lent graders and trucks to haul material (plus their staff who were paid by Town)
* Water & sewer to both clubhouse & shop
* Donated supplies such as gravel, sand, culverts
* Back nine – donated poly pipe, purchased 6.1 acre parcel of land from the government for the construction of the 10th & 18th holes at their cost, plus work provided to fix drainage, excavate/truck sand in, contouring of waste areas, survey work, provided backhoe, road tie-in to golf course, built # 9 tee-boxes, drainage to pond #11, etc.
* In the fall of 2014, Town donated $20,000 that was earmarked for a new pump for the irrigation system. Unfortunately, the pump was never purchased and the money was used for other purposes. How can Mr. Parrott state “there was never much financial assistance from the town”? They may not have donated money recently when the board asked but if the money is not going where it was earmarked for, you can’t blame them for declined any further requests for money!
And most importantly, there is a price tag attached to work in kind, it would be interesting to see how much the golf club saved by having the Town donate!! I wonder how many other non-profit groups have been so lucky?
Mr. Parrott stated that the grass greens and irrigation were installed in the late ‘60s; in fact, this was done in 1977 with the help of companies/individuals such as Henry Mytrash, Location Cats, Car- Ouells/Robertson Construction & Tarapaski Construction to name a few who generously gave either equipment (with staff) and/or donated material. In the following years, membership grew to over 300 members and a decision was made in 2002 to add the back nine to accommodate all these members.
Besides the Town of St. Paul’s donation of work in kind, the County of St.Paul & Robertson Construction also donated equipment/materials, plus 20+ major sponsors donated $10,000 each to provide capital for the back nine. Equipment was NOT doubled with the addition of the back nine, only three new pieces of equipment were purchased and only three more grounds staff were hired (went from seven to 10 staff). The following six years showed promise.
As for the Tin Cup, the golf board gambled when they decided to overspend on the clubhouse and they were hoping that staying open year-round would provide extra revenue that unfortunately never materialized (no golfer traffic during off season, too many restaurants in town at the time and being off of main street may have contributed to that fact).
Total wages with old clubhouse in 2008 were $299,660. The total wages once the new clubhouse was built in 2012 were $490,808, which grew to $512,107 in 2013 and $541,257 in 2014 (no records for 2010 & 2011).
Revenue went up in that time by $400,000 but when you factor in the cost of sales of $292,809 and utilities at $60,000 (minus half towards grounds), wages, supplies, repairs & maintenance for a total of $556,564 in actual expenses for concession, it’s easy to figure out that the restaurant was not making money. The accountant told the board as much at one of the last meetings before the town took over.
For Mr. Parrott to state that the Restaurant/Pro Shop sales were helping offset cost of grounds is in fact false, they were in effect sucking the life out of it!
I do believe the grounds were very much self-sufficient. Unfortunately, instead of sitting down to do some much needed homework and break down the financial statements to see where the money was going and making changes accordingly, they decided to increase the membership fees over the years (last increase brought a single membership up to $900). Not only did this NOT increase revenue, but the memberships went from 350 down to 155 this past year.
Some people did their homework and decided green fees were a cheaper option, others were unhappy with the condition of the grounds and decided to golf at nearby golf courses instead. It’s also easy enough to blame the weather on lost revenue but if the board/manager were so worried why didn’t they put their heads together to strategize on ways to cut costs/increase revenue…be creative?
How hard would it have been to use our very own local hero Jamie Sadlowski BEFORE last season? His talents would have surely attracted more golfers (not only at tournaments but also with the junior program) and he was more than willing to help out! Contact schools, businesses for fun staff tournaments, advertise at all the local campgrounds, etc. While we’re talking lost revenue, why wasn’t all the advertising throughout the course updated? There is advertising that expired two years ago…every little bit would have helped!
I must agree that the way the Town took over the golf club was not handled properly due to misinformation but in all fairness, I don’t blame them for being concerned about what was going on. When presented with a request by club representatives for more financial assistance is made, the Town expects ALL pertinent information to be provided. After all, they have to answer to the taxpayers (the majority of whom are not golfers) so to find out that the club’s payables were way more than was originally disclosed, one can’t blame them for pulling the plug!
As for Mr. Parrott’s comment about the club being built and operated by volunteers for 62 years, we are very fortunate to have had very dedicated volunteers who spent a lot of time doing what needed to be done to make a go of this course and I would like to personally thank each and everyone one of them, but let’s be honest, over the years, volunteer input decreased and more tasks were shifted to paid staff, hence adding expenses. (I remember work bees on Friday nights when volunteers would gladly prepare sandwiches for upcoming tournaments, volunteers would canvass businesses for tournament prizes, volunteers would man concession “booths” out on the course to provide patrons with not only food/drinks but also camaraderie, etc).
Mr. Parrott may think that “we have lost our sense of community where people help each other in times of need” but I know for a fact that now that changes have been made, people have stated they are willing to support the club. Course conditions are improving, so some are willing to buy memberships again, some have said they’re willing to advertise again, still others are now willing to sponsor events, etc. and I truly hope they will follow through with their promises!
I’m not sure how Mr. Parrott wanted his quote to be interpreted, unfortunately it comes across more as a statement of how things unfolded for the board members…they did not “see” that changes had to be made and turned a “deaf ear” to those who made complaints or those who were trying to offer suggestions.
As for the future of the golf course, I do believe that the new professionally trained pro-shop staff & new leasees of the Tin-Cup will complement the existing grounds staff (greenskeeper Randy Leslie & mechanic Rick Marchenko) and hopefully breathe new life into the golf club. This course has a lot of potential but the greenskeeper has a daunting task. Huge repairs are needed to the irrigation system, new equipment is needed to replace old equipment that was old when I was greenskeeper 10-plus years ago and a proper driving range would be a huge asset if the pros are to be successful in generating interest in the younger generation who are the future of the golf club. (Safety nets would need to be professionally installed for safety purposes and ensure they stay up in windy/snowy conditions though).
It would also be nice to see additional ponds added to help in times of water shortage and the front nine could use upgrading (new tee-boxes and fairways redone) after all, they are over 60 years old! The greenskeeper may also have other items on his “wish list” based on his vision for the future of the grounds so I’m hopeful that the Town is willing to discuss future plans with him.
It is sad to see how much this turn of events has divided the community - respect has been lost, friendships were severed and sides were taken. I am hopeful that time will heal all; in the meantime I’m hoping those who love the game of golf will throw their support behind the Town of St. Paul in their endeavor to offer a top-notch golf facility.
Pierre deMoissac
St. Paul
