The light at the end of a three-month long tunnel was finally in sight for the St. Paul Golf Course board, after the Town of St. Paul accepted the board's latest proposal to work together, at last night's town council meeting.
The light at the end of a three-month long tunnel was finally in sight for the St. Paul Golf Course board, after the Town of St. Paul accepted the board's latest proposal to work together, at last night's town council meeting.
About 28 people were in attendance at Monday's night's council meeting, several of whom were St. Paul Golf Course board members and former staff.
“It is a very big relief off my shoulders. It's like a weight's been lifted,&” said board president Danny Gadowski in a phone interview last Friday afternoon, of the town's agreement to purchase golf course assets at a value of $140,000.
He said the board had gone back and forth with different proposals with the town, but had one main purpose.
“Our goal was to have the (Canada Revenue Agency) and the staff paid in exchange for the sale of our assets,&” he said. “I've been struggling, and I've been wanting to get them paid since Oct. 28. But it's a certain process, and I guess you have to wait, be patient.&”
The sale of the assets will cover the outstanding $27,000 in staff wages, severance and vacation pay, and $113,000 in funds owed to the CRA, said Gadowski.
Last October, the board had gone to the town asking for help after it ran out of money to operate the course. Town of St. Paul council decided it had lost confidence in the board and terminated its land lease with the club that night itself, Oct. 28. Following the closure of the golf clubhouse and restaurant, 15 members of the golf course staff lost their positions, with the golf course board unable to pay the staff.
While the board was deciding its next steps, in November, the Town of St. Paul sent a letter to golf club executives, stating that executives should pay from their personal resources, $36,900 to the town, based on what the letter described as “blatantly false&” representations of the club's finances. The letter stated those representations led to the town increasing its liability by $82,000 in guaranteeing the golf course's loan through Servus Credit Union. The town will be picking up at least $923,000 in debt as the guarantor for the golf course's loans.
However, the agreement stipulates the town will not seek legal action against the board or against individual board members. The town and board would mutually sign a termination of its land lease, following the acceptance of the proposal, said Gadowski.
“It's been a terrible three months, but at the same time, it's been a learning experience,&” said Gadowski, agreeing that it was a learning experience for outside observers too, about the responsibility involved in being on a board.
Mayor Glenn Andersen said town administration's decision to send the letter seeking restitution of $36,900 from the golf club executive was “part of the negotiation we went through.&”
However, he said the question was: “Is that the hill you're going to die on? Let's move on, this is where we're at today.&”
He said that the town has determined it is getting fair value on the assets belonging to the golf course, including golf carts, tables and chairs, greens keeping equipment, buildings in which people store equipment and other items. The town also has first right of refusal on pro-shop assets, which it will likely exercise as part of its plan to run the golf course.
Bylaw 1220 was given third reading on Monday night. The bylaw authorizes the borrowing of $815,000 from Servus Credit Union to cover the golf club's mortgage.
