Source: Telegraph Herald (Dubuque, Iowa)
A new management deal for the Lancaster Municipal Golf Course is in the works.
"The City Council directed me to work with one of the proposals from Darrin Mihles on a full-lease operation," said Lancaster City Administrator Scot Simpson. "That would be complete operation by the operator of the golf course, for the maintenance of the club house. In exchange, the city would receive a lump-sum lease payment from that operator."
Under the option to be negotiated by Simpson with Darrin and Sue Mihles over the next month, the city would be paid $55,000 per year.
That includes a clause that allows the Mihleses to raise fees at the golf course 8 percent every year without consent of the City Council. It would be a five-year lease.
Simpson said he hopes to have an agreement worked out to give to the Lancaster City Council at its meeting on March 21.
Pending the negotiations, the council has taken no action on recommendations to raise fees at the golf course for this year.
While the management agreement for the golf course is being worked out, what still remains is the debt the golf course has incurred because of the construction of the second nine holes.
It appears taxpayers will end up footing most of that bill.
"There's still going to be a city subsidy or loan, so to speak, for some time, until we can get ourselves on the right track," said Simpson. "But at some point, hopefully, there would be no subsidy from the city."
Simpson said the total debt for the back nine, with principal and interest, is near $1 million.
But he said the City Council still has to decide how it wants to restructure and refinance that debt. So the actual amount taxpayers will have to pay isn't known.
Some of the money from the lease payments could be used to pay the debt.