Good evening everybody. It is Tuesday, August 4th, 26, 5:30. I'm going to go ahead and call this meeting to order. I'm going to ask the mayor to lead us in a prayer and pledge. Good. Please follow with me. Heavenly Father, thank you once again for blessing us
with this wonderful city we live in. We ask that your blessings on this council that the discussions and decisions be marked with wisdom and fairness. Help us to present patience, respect, and understanding in this chamber. May our words build bridges, not walls. We also give thanks to our dedicated staff who
serve tirelessly and keep our city running smoothly. And thank you for our first responders and ask that you lay their your protective hands over them. We all do. We do all we do in your name, Jesus Christ. Amen. >> Pledge allegiance to the flag of the
United States of America and to the republic for it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> Thank you, Mr. Mayor.
Can you call the role? >> Here >> if anybody is here who wants to talk about something that is not on the agenda tonight, please see clerk Haley. She has a form for you to fill out and later in the meeting we'll get to you. If you do want to talk about something that is on the agenda, we'll get to that
point, too. I will say during that time, we're going to limit it to to three minutes. Uh we'll go through more of that procedure uh throughout the meeting. So, going on to the mayor's report. >> Uh, not a whole lot to report from this angle. Just want to let you all know school starts next week. So, just be
careful with the kids out there and the buses. So, [clears throat] don't pass the red lights on the buses. It'll cost you $200. But, but uh other than that, summer's halfold. Hopefully, we'll keep getting some rain.
But that's all I have. Moving on to the council members concerns, comments leazison report start over here. >> No comment. Whatever no report. >> Yeah, there you go. No report. >> Roland David.
>> Nothing. I do have one thing to say. Um last week or I think it was in the paper last week. Uh there was a group of foreign exchange students from South Korea that were able to come to to Seab and my parents were able to host them. There's a little article in the paper. pretty cool. Uh, one thing that the
paper didn't say though I thought was fascinating, uh, I think there's a handful of students and some staff and some, uh, teachers who were with them, they went to Boston, New York, Washington DC, and then Sebring was the last leg of the trip. And by far, they
said Sebring was their favorite place to visit. >> It was fascinating they just said that there's green space, there's clouds, night they were only looking at the stars and they're not able to see that anywhere else. A few of them reported that when they're done with their schooling in
Korea they want to either come back and be nurses, teachers, educators and see so love to hear that. So it was just a fun report, not a negative one. So we live we live in a great city and I think sometimes we can maybe take that for granted and it's great to be where we're
at. So that's all I have. Uh moving on over to 8A for uh agenda item eight with the consent agenda. Do we have any comments, concerns about the consent agenda? >> Uh wait for a motion. >> Make a motion we approve the consent agenda as presented.
>> Second. >> Got a motion in a second. Is there anybody on wants to talk about the consent agenda? Questions? No. Okay. [snorts] >> Yes. >> Yes. >> Yes. >> Yes. >> Yes. There is no old business. So we're going
to move over to the new business with 10A with the public hearing to talk about resolution 2026-20. So Scott, would you mind taking it from there? So it's a public hearing. purpose of public hearing, city council is
considering a resolution that if passed will reimpose a special assessment for the provision of fire protection services within the municipal boundaries of the city. Assessment is currently levied at 35.5% of the maximum allowed.
Um and for this upcoming year, council uh gave us instruction to levy it at 35.5% again. So it will be the same levy if you will. Fire assessment is expected to generate 1.808550 million in net revenue and is used to
help offset property taxes. The purpose of this public hearing is to receive public comments on the proposed assessment. Following the public hearing, council will consider a final rate annual final annual rate resolution 2026-20
reimposing fire for the introduction. Because it was a public hearing, I'm going to open up public hearing. So, does anybody have any questions or concerns about fire assessment? What we're looking at?
This is your time for input. Let us know what you think. Hearing any comments from council fire assessment? >> I just want to re-echo that we are leaving the rates as they were this past year. I had a call about someone who had
received a notice and thought we were increasing the the assessment. It's the same same rate level as it was last year. Comments. I'm going to go ahead and this public hearing and looking for a motion.
I move to approve the final assessment resolution 2026-20 as presented. >> Second. >> Motion in a second. Any other additional comments? >> Yes. >> Yes. >> Yes. >> Stewart.
>> Yes. >> Yes. Moving on to the 10B which is another public hearing. Uh this is about ordinance number 1576. Um looking to applicant initiated a request to change
the zoning classifications on approximately 009 acres located at 400 grapefruit avenue from commercial district C1 to residential to allow the reconstruction for an existing family home. Go ahead and open this public hearing.
The ordinance is entitled an ordinance of the city of Cedar Court changing the doning classification for approximately 0.09 09 acres located at 400 grapefruit Avenue parcel uh got strap number from commercial district C1 to downtown residential DR providing for
severability providing for conflict and providing for an effective date Jennifer. All right, good evening. I'm Jennifer Cotto Salsbury with the Central Florida Regional Planning Council and we work in partnership with the city of Sebring and
review land development applications and I feel empowered tonight. So I'm going to go through our brief presentation. The the first item is mentioned in the reading of the ordinance is a reszoning of 400 grapefruit avenue. And this
property is about almost 4,000 square feet, but it receives significant damage um during the hurricane season and it qualifies for rebuild Florida. But in order to meet the requirements, we do
need to facilitate a reszoning to downtown residential and that allows for um a lot size comparable to this lot size. This is an older lot. Um so really the reasoning is to recognize the
property under the most fitting zoning and the setbacks within that zoning. This is a picture of the property and this home will be replaced uh through the Rebuild Florida program and this is a photo of of the street grapefruit avenue that it accesses.
Whoops. There we maybe oops there we go. Um this is a snapshot of the future land use. That's the umbrella overzoning. It is downtown mixed use which does allow for single and multifamily development as well as non-residential
development. and the proposed zoning is consistent with that future land use. Um the current zoning is C1, which does not allow for single family dwelling units, which is why we're requesting the
reszoning. And again, the downtown residential, the zoning proposed will allow for this home to uh be rebuilt. And as we look at the surrounding properties, the downtown residential would be compatible with the surrounding
areas. And just kind of a snapshot of the lot sizes, the downtown residential is most comparable to the existing lot size of the property. The uh impacts on public facilities and
services are uh negligible because it's a single family home today being replaced by a single family home. And this is the map. The existing map is on the left showing the the C1 zoning today and then the proposed zoning to
downtown residential. Uh on July 14th, the planning and zoning board held a hearing and recommended to the city council approval of this uh reszoning. And I'm available for any questions. And I'm not sure if the
applicant from [snorts] the state is here, but Thank you so much. Um, any questions from council? Any questions from the public? Hearing none. I'm going to close this public hearing.
>> I make a motion that we approve ordinance 1576 on first reading and schedule second and final reading for August 18th, 2026. Motion to second chance. Okay. Bishop. >> Yes.
>> Yes. >> Yes. >> Stewart. >> Yes. >> Yes. Right. We went on to Hy. Hennessy. Uh Bob, you want to introduce this one? Yes, sir. With your
permission, if you'll uh open the public hearing and if we could hold the public hearings for C10 C and 10D uh together, please we'll vote separately on the ordinances when we get to that point. Let's open this up. So, ordinance number 1579 is entitled an ordinance of the city of Sebring,
Florida, changing the future land use classification for two parts that total approximately 0.70 acres located at 1398 1399 Las Vegas Boulevard from mixed use to medium density residential providing for severability providing for conflict
and providing an effective date. Also under your for your consideration is ordinance 1577 which is entitled an ordinance of the city of Sebring Florida changing the zoning classification for two parts that total approximately 0.70 acres located at 1398 and 1399 lost VS
Boulevard from commercial district C1 to plan development PD for a sixunit multifamily development providing for separability providing conflict and providing for an effective date. Thank you. So Jennifer, you're going to do the report for both 10 C and both 10D and then we'll do separate motions.
>> Yes. All right. Once again, for the record, Jennifer Cotto Salsbury with the Central Florida Regional Planning Council. These two parcels are just north and directly adjacent to the existing Los Villa's development.
And it is, as mentioned before, a future land use map amendment and a resoning. The future land use today is mixed use, residential, and commercial. And that allows uh up to 12 units an acre and
with special approval up to 20 units an acre. And the proposed land use is medium density residential, which allows for single family and multifamily development, and it allows um up to 5 to 12 dwelling units an acre. So, a little
bit of a decrease in the potential of density on the parcels. And then the zoning as was mentioned is commercial C1 which allows for um development excluding uh single
family development and the maximum density per uh potential is 20 units an acre. So the proposed zoning is uh planned development. This are views of the property and the the addresses you can see
they're both sides of the road. And this is looking down Kennel Worth. Um so overall a total of six units are being proposed on the two parcels. Um on one side is proposed to
be a duplex and the other is proposed to be a quadlex. And this walks with a binding site plan and development conditions. So, just kind of going over that, the change in zoning, if it's approved, actually
decreases the development potential of the site by two dwelling units. And overall, the lot size in the proposed zoning um just drops by about 3,000 square feet. So, the maximum or the minimum lot size in C1 is 15,000
square feet. In the plan development proposed, it's it's a little over 11,000 square feet. Um overall in the proposal the C1 zoning requires 800 square f feet of living area. The proposed zoning would be 850
square ft of living area. Uh so that being said as we looked at infrastructure to serve the site there are existing water and sewer lines um available to the site. And again, there really aren't
anticipated to be significant impacts to the existing infrastructure since we're talking about six dwelling units. This is a picture of the entrance and kind of the entrances to both parcels
and it's right before the gates of the existing Los Phillis development. Uh and then if you see here where that median is, it gives folks who are visiting an opportunity to make a U-turn.
So overall, um a traffic impact analysis is conditioned. When this is approved, when the applicant comes in for further approval, um there will be a traffic impact analysis required. Um with regard to recreation and open space, um the
applicant does propose to allow storm water ponds to serve as recreation and open space. Um this is not within any environmentally sensitive areas. Um with emergency services, this is close to services and also uh close to public
schools. Um, so overall the land use change and the reasonzoning are consistent with the requirements of the comprehensive plan and we did our staff worked a lot with the applicant. We appreciate them
working with us. Um, but as you look at the property, it's it's a tough spot if you were doing non-residential development. uh with the site design, uh it does allow again for the duplexes and the quadlex, one duplex, one quadplex.
And I'll just briefly go over the conditions of approval. And you'll see on the plan here, there is landscaping consistent with the city's land development regulations with the type um
B, C, and D buffers. So overall a summary of the conditions again there will be a maximum of six multifamily units again one duplex one quadruplex u maximum living area is
proposed at 850 square ft per unit um the imperous surface is a little more than 50% the open space is 44% the maximum height of the building is consistent with the other development out there at 25 ft
Uh and then there are required setbacks and the landscape buffers. Um again a traffic analysis will be required and then following up there are detailed conditions regarding the buffering on site. Uh and again the recreation and
open space is required and then there will be a minimum of two parking spaces uh per unit. Uh the site lighting will be designed to focus on the site itself and uh not to illuminate outside. And then with regard
to um garbage collection, uh folks will roll out their trash bins rather than having a dumpster. On July 14th, the planning and zoning board heard this item. uh both the future land use and the zoning and both
were recommended by the planning and zoning board to forward to city council with a recommendation of approval. And I'm available for any questions. I know I went through that pretty fast. >> Thank you, Jennifer. Is there any public comment on either of these?
>> I have one. Victoria, >> if you could come up here and state your name for the record. Jackie stocking. I spoke before. >> I think we just wait up here just with the microphone. I just want to we we do have three minutes on this one. >> Okay. So, um Victoria Shaw, I'm speaking
for her right now. She owns the first unit um coming in. It would be on the side with the duplexes. She has concerns about the retention pond or whatever that is going to be on the other side of
the fence right by her her unit. So, that was one concern. And then then there still was the concern about um the palm trees and um what's going to be done with those. And then if the last
time you guys spoke, you talked about or not you, but they talked about the possibility of having to move that unit. something about the fire engine could not make the U-turn into the duplex or
something along that line. Whatever that question was, it if that if that key in spot unit thing has to be moved, who's paying for that? So, those were just three of the things that that in talking with
some of the people, they had questions about. So that's all I have. >> Thank you very much. Would anybody want to address those questions and concerns? >> Thank you. Dana Redell, owner of Stonehenge Land Development Consultants for the record, representing Green Group
Development LLC this evening. Uh the first thing that was mentioned was a retention area. So there is retention proposed to go around. Can I use this? Thank you. Okay. Was there a site plan? Yeah. Um,
so there's retention proposed to go around the rear of the duplex. Miss Shaw's unit that's in reference is on the duplex side, not the quadlex side. And there's a 10 foot landscape buffer between this and the retention pond. In
that buffer, the two feet will be left grass for maintenance on Miss Shaw's side, and the rest of the required landscaping will be set behind a fence. So, there will be a fence dividing the property. She will not see the retention
area aside from potentially driving past it as she enters Los Villas. Uh, I believe there was some additional correspondence regarding a palm tree between the owners of the property and Miss Shaw's residence. Um, that palm
tree is not part of the Lost Villa subdivision. It's part of the properties in question. As far as the intent to remove that palm tree, there is no intent to remove that palm tree at this time. Um, [snorts] if we can keep it, we'll keep it. We'll
do everything in our power to make to keep that palm tree, although it is part of this development, not part of Los Villa's development, and it is at the discretion of the owner of this development, but again, we'd like to try to keep it. And then
she was referring to the yes, the gate area. There's an area where you can enter the gate code and there's the potential that that might have to be moved back toward the intersection a little bit more so that
uh a full 90° angle could be made because right now it's a little bit of a Uturn in order to get back over to that side. But definitely the developers for this development would be responsible for any costs associated with moving
that keypad. >> And then what about the the fire engine issue too? Is there And I think it's just the U-turn in general too because that could be a pretty tight It looks like a pretty tight fit. Yeah, I think that's kind of what she was referring to is that gate code uh that the fire
trucks might have some issue navigating a lefthand turn into this development because of that gate entry point. Um so that's something that will be looked at during the commercial review process and definitely sorted out then. >> So it will be addressed and and chief
will be able to give his approval and his green light >> 100%. We do not build without approval from the chief. Any other Thank you, Dana. >> My name is Kathleen Dylan. I live in Los
Angeles also. And my concern is they move that gate back toward going to slow people coming into the development and moving forward. And there's no reason for them to move
it if they pull their entrance way closer to Kennorth. So the fire department will go right in their development in our if you would like to address that as well. >> Uh certainly. So these driveway access
points are already approved when Los Villas was established. Um these entry points and driveways were part of the approval including F dot in terms of distance from the intersection to Kennallorth.
Um so the intent would to try to be to avoid moving the access points especially because this is a planned development zoning. When you go for a plan development you do not want to move the access points after. Sometimes that can trigger an an additional amendment. But because we have to do the traffic
study and we have to do a circulation analysis, we will have to make sure that it doesn't create a stacking issue on Kennallorth. Again, Highlands County won't allow us to create a stacking issue. So we have a lot of mechanisms
and controls in place to make sure that they definitely have access to the property as well as not creating any stacking issues. >> Okay. >> Yeah. I think the developers have been really reasonable in communicating with
the HOA and like I said, they're willing to try to keep any landscaping as possible. >> I just thought and this is with traffic. If you could just wait until you until you can
>> as I was pulling off >> uh to go into town. Uh there was a big sod truck that we have when we're coming to get into Lasis, we we have a certain amount of room to pull over off the the
kennelorth and there was a sad truck parked there just sitting. So sometimes we have those kind of issues too where people seem to think just cuz that's a pulloff but it's kind of pretty minor
but it's there. So, thank you. Any other comments? Hearing none, I'm going to adjourn this public hearing. Council's uh questions, comments, concerns. I was I was at the zoning meeting for these. I believe they
were both unanimously approved. Some of these concerns were brought up then and I think that um developers done a good job of of addressing them. I know one consistent complaint of outlaws is their parking. I think site is almost maybe three or more spaces per unit. There's a lot. So, I
think they've done a really good job of trying to make this work and I think it makes sense for what it is. I mean, right now I think it's own commercial. I think it'd be a much heavier impact than what they are proposing. >> I agree. >> Any other thoughts?
>> I'll make a motion that we approve ordinance 1579 and first reading and schedule second final reading for August 18th, 2026. >> Second. Motion second. Additional comments. >> Yes. >> Yes. >> Yes. >> Stewart.
>> Yes. >> Yes. Looking at also ordinance number 1577. >> I'll make a motion we approve ordinance number 1577 on first reading and schedule second and final reading for August 18th, 2026.
>> Second. Motion. Second. Comments, concerns. Hearing none. Kathy >> Fish. >> Yes. >> Yes. >> Yes. >> Stewart. >> Yes. >> Yes. So, Jennifer, you're popular
tonight. So, uh, going on to 10. Uh, looking at the city comp plan. So, if you want to, we're going to open up the public hearing, give us an introduction, and Jennifer can take it over. Ordinance number 1578 is entitled an or
excuse [clears throat] me an ordinance amending the 2050 comprehensive plan of the city of Sebring Florida said amendment being known as amendment 26-01 CIE specifically amending the adopted capital improvement element by updating the 5-year capital improvements plan
transmitting set amendment to the Florida Commerce for information providing for several billability and providing for an effective date >> all right once again Jennifer Cotto Salsbury with central Central Florida Regional Planning Council. This is actually just good housekeeping. Um this
is amending or updating the city's capital improvement plan in the comprehensive plan and this is done annually to really respect uh capital projects that the city has already adopted in its plans, but it's reflected in the city's long range plan. And it's
also very helpful as you're looking at other funding opportunities. One of those key questions is, is it in your capital improvement plan? Um, so just we really appreciate the city working to um always keep this updated, but uh after this is approved, it will be sent to the
state for notification purposes only. >> Thank you. Any questions about capital improvement plan and the comprehensive plan? Hearing none, I'm going to close public hearing. Questions from council comments? Make a
motion that we approve ordinance number 1578 on first reading and schedule second and final reading for August 18th, 2026. >> Second motion second. >> Yes. >> Yes. >> Yes. >> Yes.
>> Yes. Okay. I do want to say thank you to Jennifer and finance for making this happen. It's a not a small thing to do. CIP. So, this gets us to 10F, uh, the lease
for the municipal golf course. Um, so I think before we go into this one, just want to make clear of a couple things. So, just make sure everybody's on the same page, the purpose of tonight's meeting is to go through all of these
proposals. What the council is not going to do is to make a decision about the proposals. Uh the intent is is to make the decision, think about all these things uh in the next meeting. So no decision tonight. Um if anybody from the
audience has any questions, concerns, comments, we're going to ask you to limit your uh comments to to three minutes. And if anybody else is saying something similar to what you're thinking, we just ask you to to limit your comments in that aspect. Um, we'd also ask uh for you to address
your comments to the council, not anybody in the audience or to anybody who's proposing. So, there's going to be time for questions and answers as well. Uh, for the presentation, how that's going to look, um, Roland has this very
fancy mug that he is going to be able to draw, uh, name things from, and that's going to set the order of everybody giving the presentation. So, we're asking everybody with presentation. Keep that to 15 minutes and then we'll circle back to questions
and concerns. Give you ample time to to respond to those. Bottom line that >> No, sir. Okay. Roland, do you want to go ahead make some decisions here?
>> J38 crew. >> You want Let's just pick all five of them and establish one. >> You want to do them all? Yeah, we can do that. >> Next one is Trune. Then the black ones. Next will be Commonwealth Call Partners.
I think that leaves H&L. >> Yep. H >> there's got to go. >> We don't have time for that. >> So, Mr. Lane, [clears throat] come on up. Introduce yourselves and
we'll start with the 15 minutes. What's technology work? Get it off the piece of bricks Go ahead. >> Good evening. Um, I probably should have let Jennifer give this. She went four for four tonight.
Residents, council members, Mr. Mayor, thank you. My name is Joey Lang. I'm the founder of J38 Group, a dis disabled veteranowned business, and I'm excited to be here tonight to talk to you about the future of the Sebring Municipal Golf
Course. Our offer is simple. $18 a year plus 30% of the profits from golf operations. We would take over on October 1st of this year. We're asking for a term of 25 to 50 years. And I want to spend the
next few minutes telling you exactly what we would do with the property, what we are asking of the city, and what the city gets back. This is the whole proposal on one page. We put $1,70,000 of improvement into a property the city owns in the first
phase. We pay rent. We share the upside. The city stops carrying the losses. Everything after this slide is the detail behind those numbers. A word about why we are standing here tonight. This is personal. Ever since my great aunt Iris put a golf club in my
hand. When I was eight years old, I haven't been able to put it down. I've taught golfers at military facilities on three continents. I've run clinics for juniors, beginners, ladies, and when I moved to Sebring in 2022, that did not stop. I co-founded the MUN Mafia, which
played this course every week and will return. You see, I'm not a management company that found Sebring on a spreadsheet. I play this course. My friends play this course. And that is the difference in the room tonight. Now, the honest baseline. Every
projection in this proposal is built from the city's own reported numbers, not from a target we picked. We noted that fiscal year 2324 saw 23,000 rounds, equating to 479,000 in green fees. 2425 had around 25,000 rounds and a little
over 600,000 in green fees. Those are your figures, not ours. But we built everything in this proposal on top of those. Our operational strategy is we see a public course with membership options, labor, and money go to the Greens first. We have a consulting superintendent
engaged already. And because the people in our community matter to us and we value the institutional knowledge that they have and the relationships they've built, the current employees will have a home with us if they so desire.
The Catty Shack stays. I want to say that again. The Catty Shack stays. The Mendoza family has built a loyal following and residents made that loud and clear at council meeting after council meeting before this RFP went out. We want to partner
with them and not replace them. What we wish to add is the halfway house for fast service options at the turn. Our plan is to take it from 25,000 rounds to 40 to 55 40 to 45,000 rounds a year. That's not an assumption. that has
a calculation of very specifically funded changes. The largest single driver is restoring playable conditions. Currently, this course loses rounds to its own condition. Once we turn that around, we will add organized play, tournaments, leagues,
and events we run internally. Membership revenue starts with the 2027 season. Full membership is forecast to cost 2500 a year and we will add a monthly payment option of 250 a month which represents a minor convenience premium to be able to pay monthly
instead of all at once. Winter seasonal membership is forecast to cost 400 a month and we'll keep a legacy rate for the existing Sebring Golf Association members. Our monthly payment option is there to widen the membership base not to raise the price.
A family rate is coming and it is deliberately not priced in this proposal. Every projection in front of you carries the uh single rate. If families come in at a family price that is upside we have not counted into our proposal. The revenue and expense details behind
you uh is in your packet. I would rather spend the time on what it buys. Here's where the money goes first. turf treatment and green recovery, including the nematode remediation protocol. That gets fixed first and is non-negotiable. Give us good greens and we'll play anywhere.
The column shows what we propose as city grant, what is a repayable loan, and what is our own private capital for phase one. Let me say something here that you will hear me say again. We are not asking the city to fund the course we intend to build. We are asking
the city to help us bring this course back to the condition generations before us love so that we can build the one future generations will be proud of. Phase two and three are funded by us, not by the city. New pro shop and restaurant, $3.5 million. We have a plan
to light 9 to 12 holes to increase play in the summer and in the winter. And the commitment behind it is ours. 50% of our profits every year will go back into the plan until we deliver. Our team has decades of combined experience
managing, caring for, and teaching at military golf facilities in the United States, Europe, and Asia. Our team has experience with semi-private clubs. Our new greens crew stander will be experienced with professional turf management. Joel Walkup is our consulting superintendent, and he is the reason I
can stand here and talk about dealing with the nematode issues with confidence. We plan to raise capital directly with the Sebran community. Our goal is to embrace 40 founding members, $1 million at zero interest. This is not debt financing. These are our neighbors and
friends becoming stakeholders in the course that we see to revitalize. $18 a year, $1 per hole, 25 to 50year term commencing October 1st, 2026. I know how that rent number sounds, so let me put the rest of it beside it. In
exchange of what we are asking of the city, the city takes 30% of the profit from golf operations calculated from the first dollar owned with no threshold, no hold back, and no cap. That is the whole idea. We are not asking to be a vendor. We're asking to
be a partner. The difference is a vendor sends you an invoice while a partner sends you a share of what he earns. On the right side of the slide, you'll see that the Sebring Golf Association, we fully intend to honor the city's 2004 agreement with a continued goodfaith effort to accommodate the association's
play and their tournaments. I want to raise something that you haven't asked me about. Development along US 27 is expanding impervious surface in the vicinity of the traditional drainage routes near the course and it could materially affect water flow across holes 8 and 9. Our
current rainy season understates this because the rainy season has been fairly light. I'm raising it now as a condition to be engineered for, not a loss to be claimed later. Here's our ask. $1 million and we are flexible
on how. Grant, repayable loan, or the hybrid we recommend, whichever the city prefers. Alongside it, we fund the halfway house, which is how the total reaches $1,70,000 of improvement into the property the city owns and keeps. A further request is on the right side
of the slide. We request a moratorium on property tax on the leaseold interest for the first two to three years because a task a tax assessed on the leaseold in its turnaround years is assessed against the very capital doing the turnaround. I want to be plain about that. We are
asking for the relief. We are not banking on it. Property taxes and insurance are carried in full and every year of the proformer in front of you. So what does the city get? First, the losses stop permanently. Your own adopted budgets show the general
fund carrying the golf course. That ends. Second, 30% of net profit from golf operations calculated from the first dollar. Our vision is a public private partnership. The timeline, we request 30 to 90 days of due diligence on award. However, we
understand that we're in a pressed schedule and we're fully prepared to take a uh assume full operation on October 1st. We plan to shut the facility down for 45 to 60 days to do the work of phase one, which is repair the buildings, be beautifification of
tea boxes and the greens. We plan to fully open in December so that we're ready for the January through April peak. But any December play we get, we have not calculated into our proposal because uh we're just going to view that as upside.
We do ask for one thing and it protects you as much as it protects us. We will be investing private capital in a facility we will ever never own in phase two and three. So we propose that if the lease is terminated at any time for any reason, the city remits 110% of what we
have spent on capital improvements. That clause is a reason we can responsibly spend this kind of money on your asset. And to be clear, it excludes the city's grant. Your investment is not respon reimburseable to us under any circumstance. We're asking you to be
protected on our own money, not yours. I want to address one item where our submission is short. We are not submitting a bank letter of reference and guarantee at this time given the recent press coverage and the present condition of the course. That constraint attaches to the property rather than us.
And it'll apply to any operator the city selects. It's not only the banks, it's local capital, too. There is a risk on this property right now that our own network is not drawn to. And I would rather tell you that plainly tonight than before you find it in a file. But I
will say this, city participation is what changes the math. The city helping return this course to a playable condition is what unlocks local funding and the optimism that comes with it. That's what I meant earlier. Help us bring the course back to the condition generations before us loved. And we will
build the one future generations are proud of. We all know the course is in rough shape. It was nice to hear something good in the news, but this article right here was mildly devastating. the worst I've seen it. See local money dry up. Let's put that
article out there. But I'll close with this. We do not view this as an opportunity for us. This project carries the weight of responsibility and we are up to the task. Make the first phase possible and we will use half of our own returns every year to
make our vision for the MUN a reality. This course has so much history over the last hundred years. Help us honor that by returning the course to the condition generations before us loved. And we will steward this course into the future.
Thank you. >> All of our questions right now. Okay. Um I got a few. So on the finance side um if we can't loan you or you know do some combination of grant loan for million
dollars do you have the availability to get that capital elsewhere? >> We have pursued it. Um it's possible but have to work through it >> from from my end that's a that's hard with the budget issues that we're dealing with.
>> I understand. Um the second one uh the founding family memberships, the title sponsors, the community partner sponsors. Do you have some of those lined up ready? >> We have three so far >> of the memberships
>> of the founding family members. >> Okay. To me, I I love the optimism, but I'm I'm involved in some um civic organizations that try and raise money every year, and you can pull that. I would like to invite you to join our
club. Um because they're they're pretty good. Um so I wonder if I wonder if those are a little optimistic. Um and I again admire the enthusiasm. I'm just wondering if the numbers make sense if you can't achieve that.
>> So the community money uh it speeds up the revival of the project. Our our proposal is not necessarily operationally based on receiving that. We can still be profitable without a dime of those. >> Okay. >> Uh but it is a program that we would
love to try and I can talk to you about later how we can try it at your organization. >> All right. So you can do it without that money. It just it speeds up your capital improvement >> plan. You're not using that money for operations. Okay. >> Just capital improvements. >> Okay. So all you need to get going is the the million in startup capital and
that can get you on the path to profit and you can use that profit to to continue on if you don't get those things. >> Yes. >> Okay. Um the the last question I have at this moment um I would definitely want to see some change to the language about
your capital investment protection. I mean it should at least be terminated at any at any time for any reason. You know we're absorbing a tremendous amount of risk there because you could have at it capital improvements and we owe you 10% if you cancel the lease. you reach
contract. Um, that freaks me out. I would if if we went forward with you, I'd want that a little more um lawyered up to where Bob is okay. >> Yes, we can tune that up. Yeah, >> those are all the questions I had initially.
>> April, can you talk about the halfway house or the what is the term of it? >> Yeah, so that's the halfway house. When golfers make the turn, they're looking for beverages, hot dogs, fast snacks, and it's kind of hard to currently do that with the Caddy. So, it's not a
service that's routinely offered. Um, so we're not jumping onto their economic position. Uh, we're just adding a a feature that supports the course. >> Now, help me understand that. Is it a brand new build that you're going to do that or is it >> Yeah, right between um so where the fence is near the first T. Are you
familiar with that? >> Um, there's some open land there. It's a perfect spot. Uh, every golfer goes by it. Um, it would be a very small building. Hot dog roller machine. Uh, few beverage things. Uh, but it could also be a place where we could move the range ball machine to
>> so that that that barn could be then rented to a cart owner. >> I think I was concerned about the price on that too. It's a brand new building. That just seemed lowless. I mean, >> it's it's a it'll be a very small building. >> Okay. >> More more gazebo-ish. >> Okay.
And I I do share the same concern with Josh too. Um like to know too if there's again since we're not making any decision tonight, we're not bound by any of it, what the flexibility is on that original million dollars ask of the city, what that could look like.
>> Yeah, we're we're willing to take it 100% as a loan. We've we've built this proposal based on a portion of it being a grant, a portion of it being a loan. Um the numbers look different in the tables based on whatever we come to. Um but we're super flexible in how to
obtain the city's participation. >> So on that note too, I think maybe just somewhere in the lease and agreement, making sure the city's on on board of new restaurant improvements too, so that like what Josh is saying that we're not responsible for 110% of it. We're
building something together. Yeah, we can certainly do all that together and we um we're looking at putting a fiduciary in place. Um kind of like an escro type thing. So the city the funding isn't received to us, but it's done in draws like a traditional
construction loan. However, we're applying it to rebuilding the course, not building a house. >> Okay. And then Okay. One more question, too. So your committee 50% of the profits reinvest reinvested and then in addition 30% going to the city. So is that saying that you're only there's
only 20% left >> 50% of our profits. So 50% of our share. >> Okay. >> So 50% of the 70%. >> Which we will do audited financials for. Got it. >> And uh yeah. >> You ever done anything like this before?
>> This is new for us. We've we've been a part of many golf operations, but taking one over Yes. is is a new thing. We have a very robust plan for it. And uh we're going to surround ourselves with people who are skilled at what they do. Um we've all been out to the course uh hole
eight, tremendous number of uh craters that you can see. I put my drone in the air 400 ft in the air and you can see the holes in the green. So we're going to put smart people in the right place and do the right thing to get that course back in shape. >> Going to open it up to the public if you
have any questions, concerns for Mr. Link. Again, keeping the three minutes address the questions and the chance to if anybody has any questions. >> Thank you. >> Going on to
virtually in person tonight, but thankful to everyone sh I do send in a request to share the screen so I can be approved. Can everyone see that uh correctly? >> Uh yes sir.
>> Wonderful. >> Well, thank you all for the opportunity. Uh thank you city council residents and and mayor. Um first and foremost for this thoughtful opportunity uh and thoughtful RFP process that has been ongoing for many many months now. Uh my
name is Grant Johnson. I'm a senior director of business development with Trune. Trina is the world's uh most experienced golf course operator, managing over 150 municipal golf courses across the country and over 500 golf courses worldwide. Um excited to be here
today to present a little bit more about our proposal which as I'll get into is a little bit different than what you all asked for and the other proposals which you received. Uh we'll certainly go in more in depth into that and the reasoning why, but um we are uh as I
mentioned, you know, we've been following the RFP process that the city of Sebring has been ongoing over the last 12 months or so. We did not, unlike some of the other respondents here today, respond to the initial RFP for a few different reasons. U Trun is
predominantly what we call a third party management company. We do own and operate several golf courses as well as lease municipal golf courses across the country. But u for a lot of reasons we felt that the lease was not the most advantageous structure for the city and
the operator. Uh I'll go in more into depth into that. But seeing the conversations around the golf course and the residents concerns, city council's concerns, the first goaround on the RFP and obviously the inability to meet successful agreement on a selected lease
agreement uh and the re-release of the RFP, we look at this at this as an opportunity to put forth our alternative bid for a third party management structure for the city council and residents to consider should they they explore a different option. uh that
would be more advantageous for all parties. I think as we were reviewing the RFP and uh analyzing the opportunity in front of us, we kept coming back to these three main goals that both the city has stated throughout the RFP in previous meetings and that we also
analyzed and came to. Obviously, the golf course needs to be financially sustainable. It needs to be an asset for everyone in the community, not just the golfers. Uh only 12% of the of the population in the US plays golf. We look at municipal golf courses as really an
extension of the park system and should be available for all residents of the community whether they play golf or not. And then finally, it needs to be an asset uh that can be stewarded for for generations to come. Plain and simple needs to make money. Everyone needs to use it and it needs to exist for the
future. This was the basis of our presentation and why we put forth the proposal for an alternative structure. Uh which I'll certainly go into a little bit more in depth. A little bit more about Trune. For those who don't uh may not be aware of us, Trun is the world's number one golf
course management company based in Scottsdale, Arizona. However, we have large presence all across the country. Um we manage golf courses on behalf of of owners and municipalities. And as I mentioned, we manage over 150 municipal golf courses all across the country,
including several in Florida. We are hired to be a solution for golf courses to bring expertise in all areas of operations, as well as all areas that that extend beyond just the day-to-day, whether that's renovations of golf
clubs, um designing and and renovating food and beverage facilities, clubouses, etc. We have extensive resources in all areas that we can afford to bring inhouse unlike many of our competitors simply due to our size and scale and can
provide and offer to each of our clients significantly more resources than than typically in a management agreement structure. And we deliver these benefits and these resources on the city's behalf, not on ours. And the structure that we're proposing, all of the
economics will retain and live with the city as they are today. The caveat is that you'll now have an expert operator in place that will be delivering uh you know bestin practice operations to the golf course that we have
delivered on and seen success at over 150 other similar golf courses across the country. As I mentioned across the country, um we do have a variety of structures that we operate within municipal golf, both on
lease agreements with about 50 of those across the country and over 100 third party management agreements. We maintain strong relationships with over 75 municipal clients across the country, several of which have multiple golf courses that we manage under a single
portfolio of structures. In the state of Florida alone, we manage 10 other municipal golf courses if for a total of 54 golf courses all across the the state. Uh locally, we manage Sun and Lake golf course which we've had a strong relationship there in the city of
Sebring with the improvement district for over 12 years now. Uh we maintain a a regional presence in our Jupiter office just a few hours away from the city of Sebring and have a regional presence in how we approach all of our clients. Each of our our clients are
presented with a regional vice president of operations, aronomy, food and beverage and marketing that all live within market in driving distance to the facility and oversight o oversee the on-site staff and the relationship with
our clients to ensure that we are delivering on the promises that we say we're going to. As I mentioned, our proposal is not what the city asked for. Uh obviously you all were looking for a lease and received several proposals for leases. So I
imagine uh the evaluation process and looking at our proposal might been a bit challenging and and a little bit uh difficult to navigate the comparisons across these proposals. I think when we look at golf courses, the structure has to marry the goals and visions of our
partners and and what makes the most sense for the golf course. When we look at municipal golf courses, we say golf is is obviously a very high fixed cost business. So regardless of whether Sebring is hosting 10,000 golf courses or 40,000 golf courses, essentially
takes the same amount of dollars to open the golf course on on an annual basis and host those rounds. When you're over that break even point, roughly 90% of all dollars fall to the bottom line. So when we look at any opportunity, the goal first and foremost is always to optimize re revenue. We have several
ideas on how that can be capitalized at the city of Sebring. But I think the the key point here is that whether we were leasing it, we owned it, or we're simply managing it for the city, we're going to operate it in the exact same manner under any of those structures to optimize revenue and optimize
performance of the golf course. as we look at how that revenue is then split up as pieces of a of the pie so to speak. Um certainly your largest expense is always going to be labor followed by operating expenses. But I think those are no different than under a lease or
management structure. Where we start to see differences between leases and management is that under a lease agreement, the cost of capital both for improvements um and funding those through interest rates if it's up on a loan uh or privately
fundraised. Regardless of of how the money is raised, there's going to be a much higher rate of return expectation on private capital versus public funding. That alone grows this pie when it becomes a lease versus a management agreement. And vice versa, under the
lease agreement that the city is requesting, the operator will be required to bring forth equipment, maintenance equipment, golf carts on their own books or purchase the existing equipment from the golf course. Again, that that is an added expense that would exist under a lease that would be
smaller under a management agreement given that the city already owns that equipment outright. Just just in those statements alone, these pieces of the pie become much larger and shrink the operator's ability to maximize profit and ultimately capital back into the
golf course. Our proposal is is essentially that the city would fund any capital improvements using their ability to obtain capital at a much lower rate with much lower capital return expectations using existing equipment at the golf course and taking advantage of training
size and scale to obtain uh improved pricing on inventory uh merchandise in the pro shop, chemicals and fertilizers on the golf course. And then finally, um, one of the largest differences is that the labor force
today at the golf course are all obviously city employees. The cost of employing public employees on public benefit structures is tremendously expensive and inefficient. And we see this time and time again with municipal golf courses when transitioning from the
public sector to the private sector with private benefits, no city pension structures, the cost of uh the savings potential there. It can easily be 20 to 30% on labor alone. When it comes to your largest expense, that's a huge
opportunity to save you money. All of these would be uh more beneficial under the Trune platform due to the size and scale that we bring to the table. And so when I think look back and think through the goals that this that we've identified for the city um certainly
under a lease agreement the the golf course would be financially sustainable to the city. The any financial losses will be removed and that risk will go away on day one. We also think that a golf course can be really successful with improved operations under a
management agreement and therefore the financial sustainability goals can easily be accomplished under our structure. Uh secondly, a community accessibility making sure that resident access is affordable, guaranteed uh and prioritized under a lease agreement is
not always a guarantee. the the lei is going to optimize performance of the golf course for their interests first and foremost where under a management agreement we are acting on your behalf as the city and keeping your goals and visions priority. So certainly in the agreement and in our annual plan
presented to the city, community access needs to be number one. And then finally, asset stewardship is certainly incredibly important. And you know, God forbid under a lease agreement where the less fails to meet their obligations or
their expectations. Um oftentimes we see lease agreements fall short and the facil this facility is handed back to the municipality in similar or worse condition than they when they handed it off to the le. So certainly you know under the wrong structure and wrong
agreement asset stewardship is certainly not guaranteed. We're following all of the agreement uh structure under the third party management that I've spoken to. We believe confidently that the facility can be maintained and stewarded for generations to come under our
proposal. As I mentioned, uh our proposal is such that the city will continue to own the golf course. Trin will be hired to execute on a daily basis, delivering on the goals and vision of the city itself. You'll have one operator operating the
entire facility for golf, aronomy, food and beverage, marketing, HR, and accounting with one point of contact and one leadership under a general manager on site at the facility. Residents will continue to get the same access and benefits that they've been receiving
over the years guaranteed in our contract. You'll have monthly financial reporting uh and aronomy reporting directly to council. You'll have full transpar trans transparency and visibility into the operations and you'll you'll retain the
ownership control and financial upside of the facility. I think all of us that are here today and presenting clearly have strong belief in the city of Sebring and the Sebring municipal golf course. Otherwise, we wouldn't be here presenting. We our proposal simply we
believe that the city should be the one retaining that entirely of the upside not the private enterprise that's coming forth. The key terms of our detail include our proposal. I won't go through them line by line here but the the thing I do want to call out is that our agreement is
simply a five-year term with some extension terms beyond that. We provide the most flexibility, short-term uh advantages to the golf course that allow the city to explore this option without committing to generations to come under one structure.
Our vision for success uh for Sebring, I'll go through these quickly, but transitioning the associates from city employees to train employees right away, we believe will provide over $100,000 in annual savings to the city. As it was mentioned previously, the golf course
needs to be improved from a condition standpoint. Without that, we can't deliver the experience that golfers are expecting nor the revenue expectations that we're projecting in our proform. So certainly bringing in a team of experts to analyze the golf course conditions
today, put an action plan in place to to deliver improved performance is critical. Enhance the marketing once the golf course is back to uh strong playable conditions. leveraging Trun's footprint of golfers throughout Florida
in the Seaburn community directly and nationwide. Uh over 15 million rounds of golf are played at Tron facilities across the country. We can use that scale to help marketing your facility and deliver more golfers on annual basis than any of our competitors. >> Hey, Mr. Johnson, what one?
>> Optimize the revenue to make sure we're getting the most revenue per opening. leverage our size and scale for better procurement deals and annual cost savings. And finally, elevate the experience with improved training and experience across the entire facility.
We'll provide a follow-up proform. We believe the facility can break even. >> You have one minute left. >> Am I I'm at time. >> One more minute. >> 30 seconds. >> Thank you. [laughter] We believe the facility will break even
in year three and significantly cut down on losses within year one. Again, we'll provide this proforma to follow up afterwards. We can transition the facility in 30 days and take over on October 1st guaranteed just like we do with all of our facilities worldwide.
And we've included we've we've done this before at several of our golf courses in Florida where we've turned around financial losses from over half a million dollars to turn around to making over half a million dollars in profit within two years. And we've included client references to
some of our long-standing Florida municipal golf courses that would happily speak to the strength that we've provided to their communities. I appreciate the time tonight. uh believe that there's tremendous opportunity for the golf course and would love to be a part of it under the rent structure.
>> Thank you, Mr. Johnson. >> Start with council's questions, comments. >> Yeah, I've got a few. And um Mr. Johnson, your pro-forma where you mentioned um you know, reducing losses year one and getting to break even by
year three. That's operating expenses only, right? not not capital any capital improvements to get back to a baseline. >> That's correct. Simply looking at it from an operational perspective. Um certainly the the capital plan we we have not factored through directly how
that uh what those costs would be in year one. But that would be part of our transition plan is to bring in the key leaders from each of those departments to put together a formalized recommendation and work with council to firstly prioritize the projects that need to get done right away and what
those cost estimates are, but then go build that five-year capital plan so that we are identifying those projects in a phased annual basis and and delivering transparent expectations of what we believe the facility needs uh in
order to improve performance. >> Okay. And the other question I had was on the pay structure. Um it is a little opaque. You got a lot of kind of alle cart options. And if I understand it correctly, it would it would have to be after an
award that you would determine we would be able to determine the the total cost paid to you to run the golf course. Is that accurate? Like you reference putting together? >> Yes. And no. Um we we provided optional services for accounting and IT. The
reason being is that uh you know some of our municipal clients prefer to keep those resources inhouse and we can operate in those those spaces if that's the case. Many of our clients we do provide those services for, but those are discussions that we would have uh as
we're going through the contract negotiations and understanding the equipment in place today, the processes and procedures and how we could incorporate into the city's accounting uh practices today. But, you know, yes, and those would be included in the
proforma that I'll send to you after this presentation. >> Okay. Do you often find that that you're cheaper providing those services than municipalities? >> Significantly, yes. >> Okay. All right. That's all the questions I have
answered or you ask the ones I had. Rea, do you have anything? >> Nothing. >> Any questions from the audience to ask Mr. Johnson? >> Come on up and give your name. I have a question. We're talking about how the the payroll city employees these
employees have been with the some for 10 15 20 years. So are you going to like they have some retired and have living their funds off to city retirement. Is that going to go away or these people going to be like
totally Okay, we're done. You're no longer city or people that are working for now as a city employee. Are you going to take up responsibilities of health care, retirement? These are questions that a
lot of them need to know because a lot of them right now are great great question. Um, ultimately we we remain flexible in that approach. Um th those are conversations that that typically unfold as we're going on an
individual basis for the golf course. Typically in in previous situations, we've had opportunities where there may be a few key employees that are long-term and they're close to fully vesting on those municipal benefits. That is a situation where either those
individuals stay on as city employees while the others that may not be close or they may have never been city employees. Uh you know maybe they're they're taken on as train employees on day one but that one individual retains a city employee and or the city finds
another role for them to ensure that they're not losing their their longearned benefits from the city. Um, ultimately it comes down to to having that conversation with the municipality individually and understanding the, you know, where they want to find land if
and they're able to find landing spots for those employees. But our our um our expectation is not to come in with a bus full of new employees and kick out everyone who's there today. That is not the case. As we all know, finding good quality employees in today's world is
very challenging. We would almost certainly retain all of the existing employees today, barring uh you know any any red flags or unforeseen circumstances, but certainly pres present all all of them the opportunity to work under Trune if they so desire.
But certainly we would navigate that tricky situation alongside the city if we are selected. >> Thank any other questions. >> Okay, I have a question. Thank you, Mr. Mr. Johnson, I'm going to
uh invite Black You have three minutes left. >> And the council's voting tonight. >> Jim Blackman, historic Harter Hall Hotel and uh the Wovia
uh bank downtown. That's 98% done. Good afternoon, Mayor Shupe, city council members, city administrator Natick, Attorney Swain, Clerk Haley, and members of the public. Thank you for your time, your service, your commitment to the
future of Sebring. On behalf of our entire team, I am honored to present our proposal for the future of the Sebring Golf Course and the city of Sebring. It's important to clarify the fundamental choice before you today. This is not simply a decision between
golf operators. It is a choice between just a golf management proposal or a destination resort anchored proposal. We are requesting a long-term lease that provides certainty necessary for us to invest
significant capital, improve operations, and attract visitors from across Florida and beyond. The city's RFP stated that its goals were to transfer operations to a qualified entity, enhance tourism in
Sebring and Highlands County, foster job creation and economic growth, and establish a financially sustainable long-term plan for the property. When measured against those criteria, our proposal stands apart. Other
proposals focus primarily on operating the golf course as a standalone business. Our proposal is the only one that addresses all three goals together. Long-term financial sustainability, tourism generation, and economic growth
beyond the fairways. Highlands County is an extremely competitive golf market with about 11 courses currently in operation. There's a reason public courses across the region struggle financially. Even experienced operators will tell you that breaking even,
letting let letting alone turning a profit is an uphill battle. You will hear shortly from our partners at DTE Golf Management, one of the most respected golf course management firms in the Southeast, actively operating more than 44 courses in Florida. Their
participation reflects confidence not in easily easy profits, but in our broader vision. We do not need the golf course itself to be profitable. We are willing to backs stop any and all losses that
may be incurred. That is why DTE has agreed to partner with us. They would be unwilling without that assurance. That distinction matters. Some of the other respondents still want the city to cover losses or even all expenses or they rely
on golf pro profitability to succeed. We do not. We are structured to absorb losses if golf continues to struggle because success is driven by the resort as a whole, not by golf margins alone.
We will use the course to support the success of Harter Hall as a destination. In doing so, the city benefits from job creation, increased tourism, expanded tax revenue, and a revitalized public amenity without carrying any financial
risk. No standalone golf course in this market can function as a destination driver on its own. A resort anchor changes that equation entirely. Our lease proposal, as you know, is a dollar a year. This is not a revenue tradeoff.
It is a risk transfer. The city does not give up income. It gives up substantial losses. If the course continues to lose money, we absorb those losses. That is a commitment no other proposal makes. Our team brings proven experience. Drew
Locker was the construction manager of Streamong. All of Stream Song's courses are ranked in ranked in the top 100 uh public courses nationally and one of their courses ranks as the number one public course in the state of Florida.
Streamong has become a nationwide destination and Drew will manage capital improvements here. Just as important as experience is commitment. Our proposal includes defined capital investment, ongoing reinvestment, and long-term stewardship rather than improvements
made only if operations allow. If another group is selected and the course continues to struggle, the city resumes the losses. There's no buffer. There's no backs stop. Under our proposal, the risk stays with us. It also provides the certainty required for us to continue
investing confidently in harder hall using local contractors as we have been creating good paying jobs and strengthening Sebring's reputation as a place to visit. Our goal is a true public buyin. While not every resident will stay overnight at the hotel, they
will come for drinks, dining, the golf course, the amenities. They will hold weddings and receptions, proms and dinners. That is how this project benefits everyone. This is not just a golf course contract but a cityshaping
proposal. I want to say that again. This is not just a golf course contract but a cityshaping proposal. We are looking 100 years into the future of Sebring to craft a brighter future for everyone. We believe this is the most responsible
path forward for the city of Sebring and we look forward to building a strong partnership together. Thank you for your time. Next, you will hear from DTE golf management. Hello, I am uh Joe Haynes with Down to Earth Golf, director of business
development for the golf division. Uh we're unique like Jim said, we do have got 48 facil golf facilities currently. 44 of them are in the state of Florida and nine municipal golf courses, most notably uh Dun Eden Country Club, which
has got ranked number two municipal golf course in the state. And uh the Winter Park 9, it's been in the news like crazy. Uh a nonDTE superintendent killed the greens and they've contracted with us to kind of bail them out and and regrow the greens.
um got a lot of history uh with municipal golf courses and we've got a very much proven track record of increasing greens fees uh by about 28% doesn't mean across the board there are some grandfather um rates and stuff in
there but also the number of rounds played by 25%. This is not inclusive of any capital expenditures or anything like that. Um, I got introduced to the Blackman's. I was actually, when the original RFP came out, I was actually looking at it, trying to decide what we
were going to do, and I was thinking I was going to propose something very similar to TRUS. When Mr. Blackman called me and asked if we would like to partner with them, I thought it was a great idea, and I think ultimately the benefit for the the residents of Sebring, uh, it's that's that's the best
option in my opinion for them. Um, now Sorry. >> Good evening, members of council. Uh, for the record, my name is Brian Sykes, attorney with the law firm of Meridian Partners Law in Clearwater, Florida. Um,
it's not the first time that my client and I have appeared before you uh in regards to this matter. Uh, in fact, in uh, March of 2025, we actually came forth with a unsolicited proposal to lease the golf course based upon some of the conversations that my client had had
with the city officials in the past. Um based upon the feedback at the March 8th presentation, um there was a uh workshop that was subsequently held on in May to discuss the proposal, get county input or city input, resident input, and I
think the the the meeting went well all in all for what it was. Um but probably rightfully so in November, the city decided to send this out for an RFP, which is probably right decision to do. Um after the RFP was issued, my clients
responded to it and uh my client was selected as a prevailing bidder respondent. Um that's when the wheels fell off the wagon. That's when things went sideways. Um the main issue was some changes in terms that occurred
between my client's proposal and what the lease uh proposed ground lease stated. And we're not here to point fingers. We don't want to create any animosity. The Blackmans have a lot invested in this community already with Harter Hall and with the bank property
downtown. They want to maintain a active solid amicable relationship with the city. I know that a letter went out from litigation council doing a reservation of rights uh with respect to the original proposal. Um our presence here
tonight is not to talk about that, not to bring up that issue. We don't want to pursue that issue. We're here to talk about the proposal that Jim talked about a few minutes ago. Um there were three main issues when we started discussions on the ground lease and negotiation of
the ground lease. One was change in the term of the ground lease and it kind of caught us by surprise. Um our response to the January our January response to the November RFP included a 99-year ground lease and when we got the first turn of the ground lease it was a
50-year term. this proposal or this RFP limits it to a 50-year term. So, we're traveling under that term and condition. So, that issue is kind of resolved. The second issue was that the ground lease tied the
hotel ownership to the leis's uh rights, if you will, under the ground lease. So in other words, the Blackman's had to always maintain a 51% interest in the hotel. If they ever wanted to assign the ground lease for the golf course
operations, it would have to be an Asne who owned 51% of the hotel. And it just creates some problems. They have no intentions of selling the hotel. They have no intentions of bringing in other investors. But you got to look forward into the future and what can happen. If
they have an opportunity to bring in a partner who brings a national presence, let's say, but that results in a 48% ownership for the Blackman family. Now, what happens? Now, all these years that they put into the golf course, improving it, operating it, bringing up to the
standards that they they've committed to doing so, that's all potentially out the window with the city having the right to terminate the ground lease. They lose their investment. they lose their hard work, they lose everything on that. So that was that was a very difficult pill
to swallow. Um the third issue related to subleasases. As we know, there's a restaurant on site. Um there's potential for potent doing a spa or or additional amenities not just for the harder hotel, but for the golf course and for the
community. We need the ability to be able to lease these types of uses under the ground lease. At the end of the day, it should not be an issue to the city. If the blackman's enter into a sub lease, the subles rights are only as great as what
the subless or can give. So, if there's a default under the lease, the city's not stuck with that lease. So, those are the three main issues that we were we were really kind of struggling with in the terms of the ground lease. Um, and incidentally, we have been going back
and forth on terms of ground lease since October of 2024, before we even did our first presentation. I think the last version is actually version 14, which is probably one of the most highly revised and negotiated leases that I've done in
a long time. To be honest with you, you've heard my client's response. You've heard their presentation. It's consistent with the first presentation. And the main issue or the main thing they should be focused on is they're going to take 100% financial responsibility, 100% operational
responsibility. You know, other responses to the RFP and the nature of a golf course management proposal, which I think TR did a very nice job with their presentation. They're definitely an excellent company, but that leaves you guys holding the bag. A hybrid golf course kind of management lease proposal, which would require you to put
up a million dollars. We're asking for nothing. Zero. The third proposal is a good proposal, but it has, in our opinion, an inadequate budget and doesn't really address future capex concerns. The path forward should be obvious. Let's finalize the terms of the
Blackman family under the proposal. We'll go with the 50-year term. We would like to have a potential for an option. If the city doesn't want to have an extension option, we understand, but we'd like to put that out there. But we'd like to eliminate the restrictions on entering into subleasases. eliminate
the restrictions which tie the least of the ownership of the hotel. And we'd also like to discuss one thing which is having some form of access from Westminster Drive to the golf course. It's been used historically. It's something we'd like to be able to continue to do. We understand the city
may have plans for what we call the boot property, but I think there's a way that we could all work together and make it a win-win. You as presented tonight, my clients assembled a team of proven professionals to manage and oversee the golf course, the operations and food and beverage
components. They have a vested interest in seeing the golf course succeed and are best positioned to promote the golf course as a destination for visitors. In conclusion, we'd respectfully request that if council approves of our proposal
that we have a meeting with attorney Swain, Mr. Natlick, my client, myself, and to iron out these last few issues of the golf course ground lease. We're in the position to most quickly proceed forward. The lease is 99% negotiated.
And in conclusion, my client stands ready, willing, and able to perform. >> [snorts] >> 30 seconds for me. Uh questions for council. >> I got some questions. Do I do I need to go first every single
time? >> Okay. Um so, a few things. Spent a lot of time this last uh week reviewing our timeline. We've spoken a lot had a lot of meetings and uh you know public meetings and one-on- ones
etc. Um I take a little bit of issue with the idea of being blindsided by the idea that council wasn't on board with a 99 release term mentioned repeatedly by members of this council at the initial RFP presentations.
Um and then on and that was on uh February 3rd, at least three members said they were not comfortable with 99 year the 99 year lease term. Um on the meeting where we awarded it, which was February 19th, um I specifically asked about different
lease terms, uh if you would be amendable to 25 years with potential renewals, etc., etc. The the response to that, and this is a direct quote by by Robert, is we know that If we don't play ball with you guys, how do these RFPs
work? They go on to the next person. So, we understand that we're going to have to get to a place where you guys are comfortable. Um that so it bugs me that that was considered a foregone conclusion because to me it was a foregone conclusion that that was a term that would have um to to
get a council consensus to vote for an agreement. The other thing and and maybe this is a a legal mechanism that has to be ironed out throughout the entire time that um you guys have spoken to us, it has been presented that the strength of your proposal is part of all and I agree with
that. Um that's that's ultimately why I voted for you in the RFP is I think that the overall economic benefit outweighs what some of the other respondents could could offer. But to do that, I feel like they have to be kind of linked together. Um, you talk about using that this is a
loss leader that you don't um, it's not just a golf course contract that you don't need it to be profitable. Well, the mechanism to cover those is Harter Hall. So, I have concerns about not tying it together in some way to where if Harter Hall goes away, if you guys
sell it, if you know, situations change, that the golf course lease doesn't just get abandoned. There are no penalties uh, really if you guys walk away from golf course lease outside of your own what you whatever investment you have put into it. Um and again that's part of why we at least
me myself um that push for that interconnection is to make sure that we are getting the package deal the resort um the vision that you've outlined which I think is a good vision and then the the biggest thing that that I have struggled with and that I would
like an answer for tonight. Um we're trying to get this thing to the finish line, right? We're 99% there. Um on our May 19th meeting, council went through and kind of determined what what issues would what what would be we be
willing to vote for. Right? There's been a lot of back and forth. I know [snorts] that um Mr. Sykes didn't want us to have that meeting. Again, we're trying to get to the finish line. We're dealing with budgetary issues like every other city in Florida. Um after that was done, our
attorney sent that red line version and then um stated in the email that council is willing to consider potential revisions especially clarifications to avoid misunderstanding. Proposed a virtual meeting u that time is of the essence that we were trying to get this thing to the finish
line before the start of our fiscal year and wanted some finalized language and a meeting before our June 16th agenda. You never responded to that. there was no response from your group in in any way until after our June 16th meeting where where we viewed your lack of
response as the response itself that you were not willing to to accept the terms uh that we propose and that's that's really why we're here tonight. So I am I'm a little bit concerned about voting and expecting negotiation and it
just going the same. What assurances could you give me that it it would be different this time? Or would you be willing to uh agree to the redline version of the lease that that we sent after our main um I'll go ahead and address the 99-year
lease issue and part of that I think had its genesis in what the RFP response was. Um, don't take this the wrong way, but probably procedurally when the approval occurred in January, it should have been
we'll approve it if that term is reduced down. >> I want to I want >> and I was not there for the meeting. I've just had a chance to review what was >> Well, let me interrupt you. the February meeting >> because I was um the the motion was I move that the city of Sebrin continue
conversations with the Blackmans to negotiate a lease on the golf course and there was clarification immediately after >> um from me or I said to clarify to the audience the Blackmans have been awarded the conceptual RFP and the city will now enter into the negotiation phase of
contract. To me that is expressly clear that we are not accepting this as is but we have negotiations to do. >> Understood. and we we agree with how this lease or this RFP has come out with a 50-year term. That's fine. At one point in time, it was starting at a
25-year term. And from my client's perspective, the issue of term, and the reason why they wanted longer term is to provide for longer term financing opportunities. Um, if you have shortened terms in leases, whether it's a commercial lease, whether it's a ground
lease, there is only certain amount that lenders will do knowing that there's a sunset coming up. 50 years gives us enough room, gives us enough runway that it's not a problem. So, that that issue is completely off the table. As far as
tying the golf course to the hotel ownership, there's just from my perspective and I think from my client's perspective, there's just some long-term ramifications to that. Um, we don't disagree that it's going to be marketed as an amenity to the Harter Hotel, the
Historic Carder Hotel. The historic Harder Hotel should have a significant influence in driving golfers to that course. There'll be people staying there that want to play at the course. It's associated with everything. We can market it together. If they were to enter into a sale of the hostel in the
future, I would presume, and I've seen this done in multiple other types of situations, that there would be some kind of continuing licensing agreement between the hotel and the golf course operator. The two are going to be separate um for liability reasons. Um if
you noticed uh in the last draft of the lease, we still had a blank as to what the less's name would be. That wasn't because we're trying to be cute or trying to hide anything. It's because we're going to set up a se a separate special purpose entity for that. So that the liabilities associated with
operating and managing a golf course, >> the time and the place to negotiate the lease. >> So that's >> I don't think so. >> That was kind of what was said at the last RFP award. And then once we got to the time and place to negotiate the lease, >> okay, >> things changed and uh communication
broke down. >> I I understand. Is October one a feasible target to start operations if you were awarded it? >> Yeah. Answer. >> Yeah. Uh operationally absolutely. I've
got um plane equipment and as we said in the previous RFP in this one, we want to retain as many of the current u employees as possible. But in the in the event that none of them want to stay, and to my knowledge, I think there's only three or four of them left. But in
in the case, uh I've got enough manpower where we can we can we can take this over for sure by October. >> Oh, are you are you willing to honor the remaining SGA contracts? >> Yeah. Can
>> you say that into the mic? >> Yes. >> Yeah. They they will honor all the existing SGAA cont. >> What would be the plan for for Katy Shack? Is there a plan or have you been talking with them at all or there? >> There has not been any discussions. My client would be open to having
discussions with them. Um but obviously without things being finalized with the ground lease, um there's there's nothing that we could do at this point in time. One of the things I've been asking for for a long time now too is I'm looking
at financials. Is there a reason that even though it was asked for in the proposal why that's not included either financial plan of supporting documents five-year performance letter? Not the not the not the letter from the Valley Bank saying that you
have the Yeah, both both proposals I believe uh well I know well I know that there was a 5year perform included in I think it was at the very beginning of the down to earth side
I can hear you this was provided that was it was a fiveyear sever municipal golf golf force 5-year performer for the years 2026 to 2031. >> You're right on that one. I'm wrong. Thank you.
>> Any other questions for council? When you talk about the jobs uh and the numbers in the perfect world and you are operating Carter Hall and the golf course, how many total people do you anticipate would be employed?
>> Didn't mean to stump you. No, I I mean you're looking at well over a hundred. It could be with part-time housekeeping, bartending jobs, valet up to 200. >> And have you guys looked at the uh real
estate tax revenue generated by Harter Hall and by the golf course? >> You think it'll be great news for you guys? >> Well, yeah. I was just wondering if y'all had looked at the number. We haven't, but you know, I was just curious. We're happy to pay it.
>> And you're not asking for any relief on property taxes or anything like that? >> If you're offering, we'll take >> I'm not offering. I'm asking. >> No. >> All right. Um, and how many hotel rooms are at Harter Hall >> as it sits? 106. But a lot of that's
because South Wing has been two and three to one. In other words, walls blown out. North Wing is one. So the original size. >> So when you consider the overall impact, you're going to have the hotel revenue,
you're going to have the employees, all of that plus the real estate taxes coupled together. That's the economic benefit to the city, >> right? And and I mean the other thing that you know we just thought is and and I mean this sincerely, everybody
who applied wants to do a great job on this. It's just you can't justify the expensive marketing. That was one of the the city's, you know, wanted stated goals when it's just a golf course. And it's always going to be hard to to stand out and shine as just another golf
course because there are so many in the county. Um, and the other thing that I mean, one thing that just personally I'm a little bit nervous about is not just the condition of the course today, but you know, the newspaper article that uh Mr. Lang brought up and all there a
stigma now and you're losing I mean Mr. Lang said he himself doesn't golf there because of the condition. So we need to bring back in locals as well um to try and get things back on track. So we we think that we have the marketing mechanism the marketing arm and the you know the financial ability and
commitment to do that because it is going to be I mean tough to to bring people back um not just destination but locals as well. Thank you. Just just wanted to add one thing and that's
the amount of contractors, local folks that we've been invested in who've worked at Harter Hall in the bank. I could list over a dozen and won't take time to do that, but whenever possible, we're using local folks
and we'll continue to do so. Any questions for the public? >> Karen Neil once again for the record. Tutter, sorry. At the last council meeting, I remember the city council
stating that y'all were more than likely not going to entertain an RFP from the Blackman group because there was no contact from the last meetings in between. If I'm wrong, I'll I'll say I'm wrong, but I think I interpreted it that
way. um because y'all had not had no communi any communication with them between I believe it was May and June and then we came up with the June y'all put out the new RFPs. Am I correct or am I wrong? >> I think that our motion was to u
>> I just want to make sure I have my >> record that's what I said. Okay. Second of all, I have not heard any response from the Blackman group on what their plans are for the with the RFP as I have with the
others for the Catty Shack, which is a main concern. Also, the golf course. Um, I have pictures of yesterday of the golf course in great condition where pictures were posted that weren't when
they killed the greens. The MO golf course is not getting the attention it needs publicly because it's not being promoted. It's being trashed and badmouthed. You have employees out there who are working night and day,
very limited, trying to do their best to keep the golf course open with uncertainties. Are they going to have a job tomorrow or next week? You have someone saying, "I'm going to give you $1 for a golf course, but that's it."
Okay, I'm not a member person. I kind of grew up with all the CRA grant stuff and redevelopment, all that. If someone's going to offer the city
$500,000 a year to maintain everything, take it over, take it off the tax rolls. I think I would take that over a dollar a year because you're guaranteed to have that off the tax rolls. You're guaranteed that 500,000. You're guaranteed city employees or people who
work there their jobs. Now, the CRA grant downtown, I don't want to start on that because I there's a whole another issue there. I just feel that the city is being pushed into a corner they don't need to be pushed into. I know I got 41 seconds, John. I'm
looking. I'm a good teacher. But my point is that this is not going to be entertained because they bailed. And I think you need to take a look deep downside and hard of who really wants to
put the money into it to make it work and to promote it to back to what it used to be back in the 70s, 80s when they had the good tournaments. It's not promoted like it needs to be promoted. And I feel that the city really needs to take a deep look into it.
>> Thank you for your comments. Anybody else? Come on up. Yeah, Christopher Toughley here. I don't play golf. I have no skin in this game. But sitting or listening tonight,
there are a bunch of proposals on, you know, being people have taken the time, companies have taken the time to propose uh plans to the city and it just seems that they're being run over
by the Blackman group. And no offense to the blackman group, but I I just I don't think that everybody is being treated fairly here. And and and
I don't see why a managed golf course. I mean, you can build your resort. There can be a golf course there. I forgive me. I just I'm just worried about the way this is going.
it it just doesn't seem to be straightforward or fair to everybody. Thank you. Any other comments on us? >> Tell us who you are. >> Uh David Greenberg. I have a question
just kind of on more of like because it's the transition to a resort. How would someone like me who's just I'm a teacher so no regular salary. Would there be accessibility to a resort course like it would be in MUN or are we transitioning fully away from letting
the local citizens that live right down the block be able to play that course or is it going to be out of the reach? >> Who'd you'd like to address? >> Speaking with the blacks. I think we have this, you know, we've talked about it many times and that yes, we're going to keep it, the goal is to keep it
affordable for all the local residents and whether they do that by a zip code type thing or or whatever. Obviously, uh you know, the game of golf is is business is supply and demand. So, um their idea is they're going to drive
demand and then they can charge more money, but they do want to keep it affordable for the local residents. So, they have a place to be proud of and play. Yes. Any other comments? >> Good evening. I'm Kim Pyik and I'm president of the Sebring Historical
Society board and I just want to express how much we appreciate all of the work that the Blackmans are doing to preserving Sebring's history, what they've done with the Wula Bank that when we look back it doesn't seem that
old, but it truly is part of our history as well as Harter Hall. and we just want to plant one little seed of our own. We're going to be looking for a place to have a golf outing. Can we have dibs on being first?
Anyway, we appreciate them and we appreciate everyone's efforts to keeping our city as beautiful is as it is. >> Kim, that's the Wakobia Bank, not the Wula Banks. >> Oh, thank you. >> That's okay. >> I can never get the name of your bank right either. [laughter]
Thanks, Kim. You just lost a member. [laughter] >> Hello guys. This is uh my name is Jose Salazar with Circle Park and Associates. I own a building on the circle signature floors on on the circle and just recently acquired the Liberty Plaza down
the road. I just want to encourage you guys to see if any of whoever gets awarded and I'm glad that you guys are doing it, but try to use local subs. You know, I've been in in the flooring business for about 20 years and I was in a one of my in my restaurant. We had a
meeting with a couple subs and we were like, does anybody got a invitation to bid and nothing had nobody none of the old school subs have been invited? So, uh, I will encourage you guys to encourage them, whoever gets awarded to
to, you know, use their local subs and their local, uh, employees and stuff like that. I agree with the lady that says that, uh, we need to secure the employees for the golf course. You guys are doing a great job. Thank you, [snorts] >> Kirsten. Just to let you know that they
have used the bought all the windows and doors from a local vendor. >> Excellent. And also the guy that's putting them in is a been us around here for 50 years probably. So they are using local people. >> Glad to hear that. >> So
any other comments? Final comments from council. >> Okay. Going over to uh >> Thank you uh Mr. Mayor and city council members. appreciate the time. We also not be there in person. So, we appreciate the opportunity to be
virtual. My name is Mike Bennett not partners in the company. With me is John Hilker. John's also one of our partners and um our third partner, Peter DJ is not available with us this evening. Um but u he'll you'll hear us reference him
a couple of times. I'm going to uh share our sub. Um let me see if I can make this magic happen. All right. Can everyone see that screen? >> Yes. >> Yes, sir. >> Okay. Great. So, just real quick, um you know, our our proposal um you know, is
also a lot different than um uh what u what we've heard so far today. But we uh we thought it was interesting enough for us to try to at least submit something. Um we uh we have a handful of properties that we're involved with. Um and the one that caught our attention is uh we're
involved with the city of Asheville uh in North Carolina where we lease their golf course and a very unique situation and um it's proved it's proved very well. It's it's done very well for all parties the community. It's done well for the city and it's been um it's just it started to get pretty good for us
until the hurricane came through. Um, so we thought maybe, you know, as another option or something for you'all to think about, we could put that in front of you. So that's really kind of the genesis of our offer, um, our proposal, if you will. So, let me just kind of page through and touch on a few of the high-end points of it. Um, you know,
obviously we between John, myself, and Peter, um, you know, we have a long background. Peter's in in the construction business. He he does a lot of golf course renovation work. His office is in Pinehurst, North Carolina. That's kind of our satellite office. and then John and I office up in Williamsburg, Virginia. Um, but we do a
lot of um our own work in house, but we are John and I are are more um operators or backgrounds in operations. Uh we've been in this crazy business for um you know, myself been 35 years. I happen to be a PGA member, so please don't hold
that against me. But uh John's been um at some of the high-end clubs in the area and around the world um at Kings Mill Resort most recently here in Virginia and um some super high-end club. So we you know we come at it with an operator's background. We formed this company several years ago um and just
kind of a pooling of all our efforts and as I said Peter's kind of our aronomy guy. He's built several golf courses and done a lot of um construction work on courses that we're involved with. So um so you know a very high level um what we wanted to do is you know we we tried to get as much information as we could out
of financials that were available um it was pretty difficult to really understand um you know quantity of rounds average rates um because everything was kind of pulled together into the city's um financial statements. So, we did the best we could, but nonetheless, you know, our our our
strategy with our businesses are really to try to um operate them where we um operate them as true businesses and not just um convenience fees and and um out of um you know, more of a you know, we want obviously service is tantamount,
but we want to make sure that it's really being run as a business and not the good buddy network, if you will. So, uh, we're, you know, we've gone recently to where, uh, all of our reservations are done online, uh, or via an app and we get prepayments for those in advance. Uh, we found that that was a very useful
way in cutting down, uh, the no-shows and and short showing. Um, you know, we do, as as all the folks that have presented today, you know, we'll we'll do, you know, utilize dynamic pricing and um, things of that sort. Um, one of the unique things that we've done in Asheville, um, is we've we've partnered
with them and we actually impose a $2 fee on every round that goes through there. That fee goes back to the city, um, and it goes into a a marketing bucket or excuse me, a capital improvement bucket um, that we later can use for future renovation work uh, that the city wants to get done on the golf
course. So, um, you know, thought that that was something quite unique. Um there was also a stated goal in the RFP um to grow tourism as one of the other respondents um mentioned. You know, it's very difficult to just, you know, plant a flag in the ground and say we've got one golf course, therefore we're a, you
know, golf destination. It just it doesn't work that way. But um I have been I've got firsthand experience pulling together golf courses in Williamsburg. We did at the Williamsburg Golf Association many years ago and uh partnered with all the area hotels and
um it's a co-op alliance alignment. it still exists to this day. Very, very beneficial. We just started having some of those conversations in Asheville as well, kind of doing the same thing, trying to pull the courses in Asheville and using the what's already there in terms of lodging. Um, unfortunately
though, as you'll hear me reference here in a little bit, Helen uh destroyed the front of our golf course, so we're in the process of rebuilding it. So, we've kind of tabled a lot of those discussions, but nonetheless, we we kind of understand how to do it, but there needs to be like, you know, one golf
course clearly does not, you know, make a destination. So, um you know, as I said, we're our financial projections were based primarily off what we could um take out of the uh the financials that were packaged in with the whole all the city's numbers. Um you know, we did
look at the equipment list that was provided. uh it was hard to really understand or see what was there, but if what was there um is all that's there was shown it's it seems like it's it's lacking a bit. Uh so one of the models
in our perform that we you know one of the things we did add in our performer was we did include some additional operating lease expense or operating expense for new equipment. um some pieces. We're pretty frugal. We don't need, you know, three fairway units, but we need, you know, we need stuff to
adequately groom the the golf course and maintain it like it should be. Um we did provide a proforma. Um again, you know, we're trying to take a very um a very conservative approach. Um, and I'll touch on our financial terms in a
minute, but um, at a high end, you know, we've heard a few of the responders talk about they're going to, you know, backs stop losses and, um, I want to be clear that that's, you know, that's a heavy lift and and good on them for for doing that. That's not what we're, um, seeking to do here. However, we won't be profitable. Our company, our little
company won't be making any money until the facility does make money. So, um, our lease is structured on a split of of profits, a 7030. Um, you know, we understand, we've heard clearly the golf course is in need of some um some improvements. Uh, when we took over in
Asheville, it was um it was her, you know, was about as bad as anything I've seen. Um, the city did have um some pathways, some avenues to uh put together some money for capital improvements for the golf course uh through some tourism grants that existed
um and some storm water drainage improvement funds that the city had. So, um, you know, we were fortunate to be able to work with them on on getting those dollars put together, um, and and make them come to fruition and then we did the work for them, um, through our
partner through through Peter's company, Signet. Um, so, you know, want to be clear that the, you know, any capital improvements that the golf course might need, which, you know, again, it sounds like Gard irrigation system might be a problem. Um, that's something that we would have to do, we'd have to look at. we would, you know, what we'd want to do
is kind of come in as part of the, you know, the lease due diligence is just, you know, kind of give y'all a reserve study if, if nothing else. It just says here's, you know, kind of what you're facing and here's what, you know, the future looks like so that we can put together a long-term plan that either
those facility maintenance fees start going towards um, you know, knowing that it's going to take a while to build those up to be able to do something of the magnitude of an irrigation system. But nonetheless, it's, you know, it' be helpful, I think, for everybody just to understand kind of truly what the the life cycle is, life expectancy of an
irrigation system is or cart paths. Um, you know, the greens even have a useful life. Bunkers of course. So, um, kind of moving along and, um, so we touched on tourism. This is just kind of a slide of, you know, what we did to
pitch the city of Asheville on, um, the economic impact of golf tourism. And again, I don't want to get too far in the weeds on that because it sounds like that's probably um not the focal point of tonight. And these are some golf partners that we found for them um for for tourism related golf
packaging. Um I want to spend a minute just talking about our relevant experience. You talk heard me talk about Asheville Municipal and that just happens to be the one that kind of we thought might be the most applicable here. Um Asheville Mun is a 100-year-old uh historic Ross course. Um that was,
you know, no other way to say it. It was bad. there was no, you know, fairways with no grass in them. Um, it was about as bad as anything I've walked into. Um, and we went through it with the city. We went through a negotiation with them. Um, they retained us. We leased the property from them where we we remit to
them a certain percentage of profits. Uh, we actually participated a little bit with uh losses. Their property, however it was, was close to breaking even. So, it wasn't um, you know, this I can extrapolate here. it looks like um Sebring's losing, you know, pretty good
chunk of money. So, um this was a little bit of a different um animal, if you will. And then as part of that, we also uh we introduced that facility maintenance fee with them. And um all went well. We, you know, we put the the money to work. We redid all the green or
excuse me, redid all the bunkers. We redid regressed a bunch of fairways, car paths, rebuilt some TE's that had gotten destroyed. Um remodeled the clubhouse in a little bit. and um everything got done and the model really worked. We were doing pretty good in June of 2024. Um
but when I say it worked, their revenue skyrocketed. It really um took off. You know, we were seeing people coming from all over the state of North Carolina to experience it. They had heard about it and um you know, the profit sharing plan that was identified in our lease worked
perfectly. um they were making money for the first time and um we were just finally starting to make some money and then Helen came through and destroyed our front nine. So we um we are now in the process of rebuilding that. Um we like to say a second time because we went through it when we first took over.
But um here's just if you've never seen an original golf course drawing, here's Donald Ross' handwriting right here from this is the first hole at our course. So it's kind of cool. we got to, you know, go to the archives and get these and we went out in the field with we had a an
architect come on board, Chris Spence, and he he helped us relocate everything. So, um it's kind of a fun fun exercise. This is what it looked like when we were all done and um again, it just recently got destroyed. Um some of the other municipal properties that we've been involved with, as I mentioned, Peter's
company is Signet. Um through them, we did we were involved with the city of Detroit on their three municipal courses. Um those were management contracts and Peter's company then did some capital improvement work for them as well. But um through my history and John's we've worked with several
municipal partners um and um you know like I say each one's a little bit different. So uh this is another one of our properties up in Fairfax, Washington DC uh where we did some storm water work and we uh we operate this golf course for the HOA. Um, so I'll just kind of
skip through it for the sake of time. And um, full client list is uh, is in here. Um, did some work with city of Dallas, Texas. U, few municipal, excuse me, a few military courses as well. We
have a bunch of experience between us on courses outside of the municipal world. Um, again, client list is included in our presentation. And I want to spend kind of most of the time that we have remaining just talking about the financial terms because as I said it is it is a little bit different.
Um it's probably not u you know easy to understand but what we would propose as I said earlier we're uh we're proposing that we would we would lease the property. Uh we're suggesting 20 years. Uh we're flexible with that can be more.
Um we would ask that we would allow or recommend the city approve our annual operating budget. Um, and we are asking and we're being realistic, city's going to continue to operate or fund the operating losses on a 12-month cycle.
Um, you know, our goal would be that the sooner we can get this thing to breaking even and making money, that's when, you know, John and I would actually start to, you know, make this profitable going concerned business for ourselves. Um, so we're motivated to to reduce that number. this isn't a, you know, we're
just going to come in and collect a, you know, a check and, you know, after five years just, you know, take our lumps and move on. So, we want to, you know, we want to be realistic and let you all know that, you know, it's there may be folks out there that can do that. Um, but just based on the numbers we are
seeing, it's a it's a it's a big number. Um, and so it's, you know, it's not something that, um, you know, we would represent that we would we would be covering. So, I want to be clear. However, we think that our approach is probably the most conservative and the most um um predictable uh model for you
guys to to to get your arms around in that um you sort of have a history. You'll know what the operating budget looks like every year um as we go in. So, our our goal would be to uh to remit 30% of all operating prop all operating income um to the city. U losses again
would be will be covered by the city. Uh we would ask that the city's, you know, wants to do some capital improvements, which it sounds like there's a good amount of that. Uh we would love to be able to do that with the city. We found again in Asheville and Detroit, some some other operators that um us being
able to manage the process has been a cost savings um for everybody and we can get it done um on time and and under under budget. >> Hey, Mr. One minute left. >> Okay. And then um thank you for that. And then um we touched on the facility
maintenance fee of $2 per round that uh would go back to the city um for their um their goals uh if there's specific you know marketing initiatives that they want to do or um something like that we you know it can go towards that and then you know we can gear up and ramp up as
you know within 45 days I would say. Does that sound right John? >> Yes sir. >> Okay. So that's us. Um sorry for the you running through it pretty quick. Uh we didn't do a you know slideshow by any means. We just figured we'd go through our presentation which uh all council
members have. So thank you for the time and u um you know very um learned a lot tonight. You got a great you got a lot of uh people that are very passionate about the property. We'd love to be part of it but um hope it works out. >> Thank you. >> Thank you Mike. Thank you John.
Questions from council. So, if I'm if I'm extrapolating your proforma, you wouldn't expect to achieve profit till year nine. >> We would, you know, so we built out a 5-year proform for you and it goes from as best we can tell um the facility is
losing in the area of about $600,000 today um annually. We think over the years in the first by the end of the f first five years we can get that down to where it's about a $200,000 loss. Um, after that, you know, that's a conservative number. Um, I'm trying to
get to it. Yeah. So, even um it looks like, excuse me, it looks like you're losing about 500,000 right now. Um, and we're proposing again year one, we think the loss could probably go even more. Um, and because it in what we could
extrapolate, it looks like there's some staffing deficiencies um particularly in the maintenance department that would need to be addressed. We also touched on the need for the operation to to have some additional equipment. Um so that will cause the operating expenses to go up and then we would slowly start
bringing that back down to where in year five um it's about 200,000 225,000. I think we could beat those numbers but this is what we're comfortable showing you. >> And to clarify, you don't get paid period until the course achieves profitability. Is that my understanding?
>> That's correct. Yeah. >> Okay. >> Yeah. >> All right. Thank you. Any questions from the audience? Nothing else here. Thank you so much for your time, >> thank you.
already. Thank you. All right. Uh with my new proposal, I'm presenting a 10-year with a 10-year option. Uh the 10-year option would be renewable on ourselves and you guys. It have to be agreed upon by both parties. Uh I would start off with $20,000 a year and that would go up to
$30,000 a year. The second year it go up to 40,000 then 50,000 then increase 3% after that. Uh for a commitment on my end, I would pay the first two years upfront in a certified check on the first day of the contract to make you guys feel a little more comfortable. Uh transition would start immediately on
August 19th if awarded on the 18th. I would work with the city on the next day to get this thing going as you saw in my proposal. I had September 1st as the target date to take over. That is feasible since I have all the staff in place basically already. I have a contract basically already drawn out with Gabriel at the Catty Shack ready to
go and I have Jason Layman doing the maintenance end of the aspect of the golf course. So him and his staff will be overseeing the maintenance side of things at CBR. All right. And unless the city wants to discuss any changes with my proposal, this is my offer. I don't need to negotiate anything. This is what I'm
giving you guys. If you want to if you guys want to make any changes, I'll discuss that with you guys. But this is my final offer basically. I don't need to change anything. Uh, my goal with this proposal was to be as transparent as possible. So, sorry if I overshared some things here and there, but I just wanted to get it all out
there so everybody was well aware of what was going on, what happened in the past, and what's happening now, basically. Uh, and with that, I'm just going to transition it to Jason. He's going to just talk a little bit about what he's going to do on the maintenance side. >> Hi, good evening. Uh, uh, for those of
you who don't know me, I'm Jason Layman, and I'm the owner and operator of Golf Hammock. uh golf and country club and also Layman Field Maintenance uh turf uh maintenance company. And uh I met uh Harry a couple months ago uh while we
were doing some verification at the municipal course and um he's a he's a straight shooter and uh he asked me right away if I'd be interested in in uh doing his consulting and I said our turf
company we consult anywhere. So, um, he has retain retained my services and, uh, if he gets the, uh, awarded, then, yeah, I'll be going every week and helping him make a plan to, uh, improve the
conditions of the course so that he can run it. >> Thank you, Jason. >> Yep. I mean, our goal is literally our first five things we want to focus on are the greens, greens, greens, greens, and greens. Uh, that's the main thing. That's what attracts confidence. Then we're going to move to the green surrounds then move our way back to the
TE's fairways and rough. Uh the buildings need a lot of work. They need a lot of attention. So while we're focusing on the greens, we'll still be giving them some attention like the uh chemical building that needs attention right away. So that would be done right away. And uh there's some other things.
So basically that was it. I mean I presented before but I wanted to keep it short and sweet and this is what I'm offering you guys. So open it up to questions. That is that was great. >> Um [laughter] >> all right, since I always get to go
first here, um I appreciate everything you wrote in the letter and I will say that having letters of recommendation from your creditors is um pretty awesome. Feels like a rare thing. Um one one question. So you're ready to hit the
ground running. Um to clarify, you're not asking for for the city to fund any capital improvements. >> No, >> you're going to handle it. I know the >> besides the besides the well that Mr. Black >> the existing Y >> um >> Okay.
>> I um know that the lease payment is less than last time to be honest made me feel a little more comfortable because that felt unsustainable. I think I I voiced my concern that it was not a sustainable number. This one definitely is. I don't think I have any questions. The
answer counts >> I agree with that last statement you just made. I I just didn't see how the math was going to play out, but this is a little bit more realistic for our area.
Jason, you probably have more golf knowledge than anybody ringing. What do you think it's going to take to get the force a turnaround? >> Well, it it's just going to take a common sense plan to do greens first. I
mean, it just hasn't been done. It's not even that much money. It's just doing the right thing and putting those first. We all know golf's about the greens. So, I think Harry realizes that. That's why he came. >> You feel you could salvage what's already there? Oh, it's it's already
been changed to the same grass that I redid at Golf Hammock three years ago. And ours, they say our greens are the best in the county. So, Oh, yeah. It's it could be salvageable. >> Any other questions, thoughts? >> I I echo Josh and Roland too. Um really
thankful for the transparency and that for me the I that wasn't as concerned too every everybody's one bad decision away from being in a bad spot but really clear honest about it um getting the the letters means a lot to
you so what I just great proposal >> thank you >> thanks for the flexibility and just want you to work with us hit the ground running on it >> um could I say one more thing I didn't really come here to argue for for Harry
to get the proposal. I came here because he contracted me to if he gets it to help him with golf course. So, you know, I'm getting paid to do it. But one thing I've noticed about Harry is uh he's said over and over again this is his first step. He's looking to get his company in
Florida and then he's looking to expand. So, he he needs to turn this into a success so that other people in the state can look at him. he can expand and as he does and my turf company gets bigger too. So anyway, just wanted to add that in.
>> And I think too uh looking at the RFP the one of the reasons too I mean you're not making you're not getting rich off of this but you got all the other ventures too up north that are the slow time up there and busy time here. >> That's what enables me to do this because this time up there I'm making a
lot of money and down here is obviously the slow season but their season down here is our slow season up there. So having that 12 month positive cash flow is very very helpful. Very helpful. >> Very good. I have no further questions.
Anybody else does? Uh any questions for public? Did I ask that already? It's been a long time. Come on. >> Really good teaching. Go ahead and unwatch the clock. trying
um I've listened to all the proposals and I've been around here for a long time. I've seen C start from nothing which my mother started uh the council 100 everything. Out of all the proposals
I've heard, only one person brought in one of the main things and that was Kattishack restaurant that's been there almost 20 years who's already willing to work with them. Nobody else really did. The golf course, he's ready
to go. He's guaranteeing you money. Less money than last time. He's guaranteeing you money. Not just one dollar. He's looking out for the community. Yes, we all want to see Harder Hall get big and pink again. I had my high school prom there. But you got to think about
other things besides just Harder Hall. You got to think about the golf course. Get it back into shape where people can use it and we have tournaments there again. They used to have lots of them. The catty shack is a welcoming place for everybody. We've all been there. We all
have memories there. I just hope that y'all use your good judgment and you go by what you stand what you said in the last meeting about maybe not entertaining someone's proposal. Nothing against the blackman's. I want to see
them do well, but I still haven't seen downtown. I know there's issues with that down there also. I just think that you got somebody that's shown willing and he's guaranteed money that we need to go with it and secure everybody's
future. Anybody else? >> I think I asked Bob this five times and he said he don't need to address it. So, I'm going to address it um with the RFP. Just want to make sure public knows too again we're not made a decision tonight
about ranking him in next meeting. But whatever the RFP that we we choose to go with too, that's not binding. So the details, the the terms, the agreements listed in what we just heard tonight does not mean that we're guaranteeing those terms. Going through negotiations,
we're going to talk through things, making sure that everybody's on the same page to make the best uh agreement with the city. So apologies, Bob, but just wanted to say that for the record. So that's all I have. Um, moving forward
over to the business. >> Yes, sir. So 12A, uh, city administrator and the project report. Scott, you're up. >> Good evening, council. Use the project report highlighted in bold. uh any
changes we've had. Uh you'll notice FDOT is now scheduled to begin August 31st on Lake View Drive at Kennorth. Staff is expecting documentation for the
appropriation for 126 West Center and staff is working on proposed language for uh open container ordinance. Look at having around the circle or in our downtown.
Any other questions for Scott? 138. Kathy pay the bills. >> Second. >> Any comments from the audience? Council >> dear. Have a great evening.