SARTELL (Minnesota) — After submitting the proposal for the sale of the Pine Ridge Golf Course (9-holes, 81 acres), the city is re-evaluating its appraisal figures and has released a factsheet before the anticipated vote on May 22.
City Council had been prepared to approve the sale of Three Tees LLC to Three Tees LLC at its meeting on May 8, but after concerns were raised over the value of property and information available to public, the board decided to postpone the sale until their next meeting.
Sartell is located about 75 miles north of Minneapolis.
At the meeting on May 8, Mayor Ryan Fitzthum stated, “This is huge — quite literally it might be the biggest decision I have been asked to take in my seven years as a member of the City Council.”
Brandon Testa is the son of Bob Testa and owner of House of Pizza. House of Pizza opened its first location in downtown St. House of Pizza opened its first location in downtown St. Cloud in 1964. It now has two other locations, one each in Sartell and West St. Cloud.
Brandon Testa has plans to build a restaurant on the course. He declined to provide many details, however. He does not have any experience operating a course but said that buying it was an opportunity to “not replace but to add to Sartell’s current restaurant portfolio.” The unnamed restaurant, he said, would be unique in the area and appeal to both golfers and non-golfers. He said that he will continue to run House of Pizza in Sartell separately.
Testa is a prominent local businessman who has a good relationship with many members of the city council. Jill Smith, a councilmember, said that her support for the sale was based on her desire to maintain Pine Cone Ridge as an amenity in the city.
She said: “I don’t want this burden to be on the taxpayers, and I see an opportunity for private buyers to make a significant impact from an economic perspective.”
Sartell would put a deed to the property that would heavily regulate the buyer for 30 year — the maximum time allowed by the state law. The deed devalues land by requiring the 9-hole golf course to be maintained according to U.S. standards. Golf Association standards, and the buyer must improve the clubhouse and parking lot as well as the irrigation system before 2025.
Nikki Sweeter, the engagement director for the city, said that Sartell started exploring the sale of the property last year. The equipment on the course is in good condition and does not require immediate attention. However, the parking area could be upgraded and the sprinkler system that has been around for 40 years could be upgraded into a more automated and labor-saving one. The clubhouse also needs to be updated.
Sweeter stated that Sartell will have to spend on various projects “in the next 3 to 5 years”. City Finance Director Rob Voshell also mentioned the possibility of a future need for a higher tax levy. The city subtracted several hundred thousand dollars to the appraised price in order to compensate for the estimated cost of the expenses. The golf course appraised for $775,000.
Alex Lewandowski, a City Council member from the 8th of May, said that he supported the sale.
Lewandowski stated that “this golf course is a liability for the city right now, and will continue to grow in the future.” We have an opportunity to choose a party who can fix the problems along the main road in our city.
Sartell purchased the 18-hole course for $3.425 in 2008. The funds came from the proceeds of the bond, the cash reserves in the city, and the half-cent regional sales tax, which was passed by the voters in 2003. This money would be used to build roads, trails, parks, and community buildings that were important in the region. Since then, Pine Ridge Golf Course has been divided up. The city transformed the back nine-holes into Pinecone Central Park & Central Park Boulevard. Sartell would retain those if the sale was approved.
Since the purchase of Pine Ridge, the city has leased its operations to Boulder Ridge. Boulder Ridge also manages the nine-hole Boulder Ridge Golf Course located in St. Cloud. Since 2020, the proceeds of the lease will be used to help the Sartell Youth Hockey Association repay the Scheels Athletic Complex and before that they were transferred to Pinecone Central Park Association. According to SC Times archives, the cost of this agreement was estimated at $482,384 in 2010.
Pat Schreifels, the manager of Pine Ridge, said that it has been profitable in recent years. He expects this to continue into the summer. He said that despite the late start to spring, membership was on par with past years.
Sartell will have to pay $60,000. Boulder Ridge would cease operations by November, and the sale would be completed in January 2024. Testa confirmed that he had preliminary discussions with Boulder Ridge regarding continuing operations under his ownership. However, he did not rule out any other options.
Anna Gruber, the City Administrator, said that city staff had brought up the idea of selling Pine Ridge in August 2022 to the city as a way to reduce debt and to build and develop capital improvement funds.
Sweeter explained that “it was just an option staff thought the council would be interested in. To just sell it now and allow the next phase of the golf course to come into light sooner”, Sweeter said.
At the City Council meeting on September 19, the council heard from Testa about a vision and concept for the course. They then instructed the city staff to create a process of public sale. The council approved the process on October 10, requesting that qualifications be submitted within a week. The council evaluated four letters of intention and three proposals including one from Boulder Ridge and selected Three Tees LLC as the winning bid on January 9, 2009. The city has been working to finalize a purchase contract since then.
City Councilmember Jed Meyer said that the land could have a higher value if it were developed for residential or commercial purposes. He also stated that the city should not devalue the land when trying to sell. Meyer, who was previously president of Sartell Baseball Association, and vice president for Pinecone Park Association, said that his opposition to this sale had nothing to do either with Testa’s restaurant proposal or the Sartell Baseball Association. “Just not at this cost.”
He asked “What’s the urgency?” and suggested that the city consider other options, such as selling enough land to build a restaurant while continuing the operations of the golf course.
Tim Elness, a councilmember, said: “We should be a city running its own business.” “To operate a golf-course and waste resources that we could be using to improve other public amenities or our public works seems to be a real struggle. Where would we find the money to fix a major mechanical problem at the golf course?
Smith said that she was disappointed with the lack planning of the costs of operations and maintenance, and felt the value of the sale is “appropriate.”
Former city leaders, such as former mayors Sarah Jane Nicoll and Joe Perske, wrote a letter opposing the sale. They were joined by former council members Steve Hennes, and Pat Lynch. Lynch, who served on the board from 2015-2018 for a single term, is the administrator of the Facebook group “Sartell – Stop the Fire Sale” which currently has more than 300 members.
There is also frustration with the sales process, specifically because decisions are made in workshops and not in meetings. The public is welcome to attend workshops, but the agendas of these meetings are much less detailed. During regular meetings, the public cannot speak about agenda items.
Officials from the city have responded by saying that there have been seven workshops or meetings held since December, where the sale was not on the agenda. Anyone could have spoken about any topic. The city followed its regular procedure over a period of several months, and issued numerous press releases.
Lewandowski, Smith and the other three voters all voted in favor of the sale. Elness was ready to vote for the sale, but after being accused of a lack of transparency in the process, he agreed to put it on hold while the city staff reevaluated the value of business and other aspects. The issue is expected to come up again at the meeting on May 22.
Meyer stated that “no matter what happens, our community is full of pride and passion.” “Once a decision has been made, I intend to support it 100%. I believe that through this process it is important that we come together as a group and support the decision and make it best that it can be.
By: Reid Glenn
Title: A Minnesota town bought an 18-hole course for $3.4M and is selling the remaining 9 holes for $426K
Sourced From: golfweek.usatoday.com/2023/05/20/minnesota-golf-sartell-sale/
Published Date: Sat, 20 May 2023 17:00:24 +0000
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