Source: Kansas City Star
The golf course suing Olathe over plans to renovate the city's closed, public course to championship caliber has offered a settlement.
In a letter dated Jan. 3, Jim Orr, an attorney representing Prairie Highlands Golf Course, offered to drop the appeal if the city agrees to a smaller, 5,500-yard renovation on the existing 100 acres of Lakeside Hills.
Prairie Highlands is arguing that a city-subsidized championship course would be direct, illegal competition and put the three-year-old course out of business.
The lawsuit is awaiting a hearing in the Court of Appeals, after being thrown out originally. Asked to reconsider by Prairie Highlands, the lower court declined, upholding the previous ruling. The Kansas Supreme Court would be the only other available venue should the city prevail once again.
"If the city and Prairie Highlands both agree on the desirability of the Lakeside Hills Golf Course renovation on the existing 100 acres, then we can work toward the common good and save both sides any more legal expenses," Orr said.
City Attorney Tom Glinstra said the appeal hearing would cost the city just $5,000 to $7,000 more, and the city wants to be in position to build whatever course it sees fit, championship length or not.
"I don't know that we want to give up that option yet," he said.
The Olathe City Council has tentative plans to discuss the settlement offer Tuesday, in an executive session.
A recent city-commissioned study recommends that a full-length, championship course would be the best renovation plan, but no public course would operate without a city subsidy at first.
A citizen group led by Olathe golfer Terry Clark is examining a short 18-hole course that they think could be built for $3.2 million, less than half the city's $6.7 million plan that would require extra land. In the letter to the city, Orr says Prairie Highlands would publicly support the citizens' plan if the city agrees to it.
The citizens' group had hoped to come before the council in January.
Their proposal doesn't appear to fit the study's finding, but some council members might support a scaled-back plan. Mayor Michael Copeland and Councilwoman Marge Vogt opposed the championship golf plan in 2003. Copeland said it was a bad time to get into the golf business, was too expensive and too extravagant.
The letter indicates the possibility of other unrelated lawsuits coming forward if the golf course's appeal is successful, saying a ruling in their favor could set an adverse precedent that would hurt the city.
Orr declined to elaborate on that for this story.
Steve Baysinger, director of community and neighborhood services, said that the council will give direction on what options he will ultimately pursue. Until they meet to discuss the settlement or when the lawsuit is finally through the court system, he can't move forward.
"We continue to explore opportunities on a longer course," he said.
Baysinger said he wasn't aware of any scheduled time for the citizens' group to appear before the council and hadn't heard of any effort by the group to make that happen in the immediate future.
