Sept. 14 at 7 p.m. is when the Harrison Town Board plans to hold a public hearing on whether to set up a local development corporation (LDC) to take over ownership of the town’s newly acquired golf course.
The town took possession of the former Willow Ridge Country Club at 123 North St. on Aug. 2 in an acquisition deal with a price tag of more than $15 million. It has changed the name from Willow Ridge to the Harrison Meadows Country Club and arranged for Troon Golf LLC, a golf management company based in Scottsdale, Arizona, that operates about 600 courses internationally, to handle day-to-day operations.
When the town was considering acquiring the club either through a market-based purchase or by exercising eminent domain powers, it set up a committee to study the matter and make recommendations. The committee used Troon as a consultant.
In addition to recommending that the town acquire the property, retain it as a golf club and discourage residential development on the property, the committee urged consideration of forming an LDC to take over ownership of the property after Harrison took title.
The committee said, among other things, that Harrison could transfer the property to the LDC and the LDC would issue bonds to pay off the debt that the municipality had incurred in making the purchase. It suggested that LDC bonds could be paid off by the golf club’s operating revenues. A pro forma budget prepared by Troon indicated that the club could be a substantial money-maker.
For 2022, it was indicated that the club might generate revenues of $6,670,628 with a gross operating profit of $909,163 and a net income of $689,464 or about 10% of total revenue.
The committee said that going the LDC route could help minimize exposure of the municipality, financial and otherwise while operating free of the restrictions of municipal law.
At a town board meeting on Aug. 5, the issue of whether to establish an LDC for the golf club was brought up. Harrison Town and Village Supervisor/Mayor Ron Belmont said, “It will not be a political organization. It removes politics from the club itself and takes it away from town board members. It would be a better management structure with no government involvement.”
Belmont did suggest that an LDC’s governing board should include two members of the town board.
“There are a lot of things that have to be accomplished over the next several months and if we don’t do this (approve establishing an LDC) we’re probably going to have to meet once a week during the next several months just to go over requests from our management corporation (Troon) that’s going to manage the Harrison Meadows Country Club,” Belmont said.
Councilman/Trustee Frank Gordon said that he was against the use of an LDC structure for the club. He was on the committee that studied the possibility of a Willow Ridge acquisition.
“I’ve definitely studied the issue and thought about it long and hard. One of the main features of the LDC when it borrows, the town really acts as a backstop or almost a guarantor of those funds,” Gordon said.
“I think I’d like to retain voter control over use of taxpayer funds, so I want the voters to have representation that they can remove or keep in when their tax monies are used to fund the debt of the LDC.”
He said he’d be more than willing to put in whatever time was necessary to deal with golf club matters as they came up before the town board.
“I’m certainly dedicated to seeing the successful completion of the club and successful opening next year so I’m more than willing to put in the time needed, two meetings a week, whatever. Happy to do it. I enjoy it and enjoy giving back that effort to the town so this turns into a world-class facility,” Gordon said.
Councilman/Trustee Richard Dionisio was quite blunt in expressing his opposition to an LDC.
“The elected officials should be running the club. The public put us here for a reason. They put their trust in us,” Dionisio said. “I think we’re more than capable of doing the job. I am not in favor of an LDC.”
Councilman/Trustee Fred Sciliano expressed support for establishing an LDC.
“I think it’s a good thing. We’re not taking it away from the town board but you have two town board members on it. I’d be in favor of that and you have some professional people from our community that will be on board,” Sciliano said.
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