Source: The Miami Herald
Moving to staunch the flow of red ink from the city-owned Miami Springs Golf and Country Club, the City Council voted unanimously Monday to split the contract for running it.
The council picked Carlos Santana, owner of Holleman's Restaurant and the Parkway Shops, both in Miami Springs, to manage the food, beverage and banquet operations.
A separate contract will be awarded for the golf course, but the council postponed selecting a management company. Two bidders are in the running: Dan Bradley, director of DJB Management, based in Miami Springs, and Charlie Delucca, president of Delucca Enterprises Inc., based in West Miami-Dade.
DJB Management was ranked highest, and City Manager Jim Borgmann will negotiate a contract with him by the council's Jan. 10 meeting. If the negotiations fail, Delucca Enterprises will have a shot at the job.
At one stage, the council considered giving one contract for the combined operation, and Maryland-based Sunburst Hospitality was the main contender. But council members balked at the company's request for the city to pay $970,000 toward improvements over the five years of the contract and also between $2 million and $3 million in concessions and out-of-pocket expenses.
Bradley, who has already been managing the golf course, made a pitch for the contract based on his record.
'Three years ago I was given a mandate: 'Whatever else you do, Dan, take care of our golf course,' '' Bradley said. ''And, in that three-year time frame, we are now on track to break even on the golf side of the operation.''
Bradley told the council that within the next three years $350,000 will have to be spent on golf course maintenance equipment. Trees will have to be maintained as well, but he did not give an estimate of the cost.
Golfer Leon Shepard, a Miami Jai Alai player known as Tevin No. 25, plays golf regularly at Miami Springs. He believes the council was right to tap Bradley as the lead bidder.
''This place looked like a cow pasture three years ago,'' Shepard said in an interview Tuesday. ''There has been a [big] turnaround since Bradley has been here.''
Caddy Phil Terrel agreed.
''The place is a lot greener and the landscaping is beautiful,'' Terrel said in an interview. ''The course has character.''
In making his presentation, Delucca said new greens and sprinklers, costing $1.5 million, would only scratch the surface.
The city would need to invest between $4 million and $5 million in the course to bring the charge per round of golf to a level needed for profitability.
Delucca told the council he has been involved with golf courses since 1960 and has organized several tournaments. He would not bring those events to Miami Springs but would start new ones. His son Charlie III would be in charge because he has a contract with the city of Miami to run the Melreese Golf Course.
City Manager Borgmann will negotiate a five-year contract by Jan. 10 with Santana to manage the food, beverage and banquet operations.
''If negotiations go well, I could start as early as Feb. 1,'' Santana said in a telephone interview Friday. ''I want to bring elegance back to the country club and change it into a money-maker for Miami Springs.''
Santana envisions upgrading parts of the club into a premier destination for the wedding market. He believes there is a need in the community for a high-end banquet facility. Renovations could be finished in five to six months and be done for $75,000 -- which he will pay.
Part of Santana's plans include the city paying to relocate the golf pro shop. Borgmann estimated the move would cost between $35,000 and $50,000.
Santana plans to build a new bar and offer both indoor and outdoor dining space for golfers. He also wants to create ''a real Sunday brunch'' for the community.
The city bought the golf course and country club from the city of Miami in 1997 and has since had several management companies, but the combined operation has not shown a profit in seven years.
By 2003, the operation owed the city's general fund about $1.6 million, with most of the deficit coming from the food and beverage side.
Borgmann said in August during the city's budget process that the combined operation was expected to lose $300,000 in the new fiscal year -- close to half of what it lost in previous years.