The CH golf course is an expensive money losing enterprise being carried on the backs of CH taxpayers since it opened in 2004. It promised $100K in profits year #1, and $400K per year by year #10. Yet, it has never made one dollar of profit — in any year of its 10+ years of operation! Not one dollar in profit!!
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Cedar Hills Citizens for Responsible Government has long wanted to understand who, how, what, when and why so many many have been receiving FREE Golf and Free Golf Cart use, — without success.
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The City doesn’t deny that it allows all City employees, the Mayor and Counsel to play UNLIMTED free golf, which they have been receiving for years. But getting at the public documents about it has been impossible.
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THREE attempts in five years have failed to produce one record accounting for the FREE golf. The most recent GRAMA request for 2014 Free Golf was received saying in essence, we had free golf records for 2014, but due to software issues, the records no longer exist. The only year that had records of free golf is the only year where they disappeared.
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See attached GRAMA request & City response PDFs…
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How can City Officials, if they are being responsible with the expensive assets they are entrusted, not have records who recieves FREE golf? How can citizens learn if any members of the “impartial” Golf Course Finance Committee have ever received any FREE GOLF?
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Recently, Councilman Crawley discovered that former Mayor Brad Sears has been receiving free golf for years. And apparently has been using some of the 30 free passes per week that he negotiated to give the original golf course developer Ken Briggs (seller). (see http://www.cedarhillscitizens.org/facebook-courageous-2001-ch-councilman-pete-cannon-golf-apology/ ) Historical Note: Most CH residents aren’t aware that the golf course would’ve been there anyway. If Mayor Sears hadn’t convinced the citizens to vote to buy the golf course from the Developer Mr. Briggs, he would have retained ownership and suffered all the losses. Instead, CH families have had to cover $550,000 per year in subsidies with their tax dollars to cover the losses. $12.3 million in taxpayers subsidies! Not one dollar in profit. What could we have done with in CH with $12.3 million?
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Reportedly, City Manager David Bunker implored the holder of the passes (The Briggs / Nelson group) to STOP allowing former Mayor Sears to use their free passes because he wasn’t part of the Briggs/Nelson group. Reportedly, Sears had golfed free while Mayor in 2004, and continued to golf free ever since. Sears had resigned his seat as Mayor early, June 1, 2004 shortly after the much anticipated promised profits, turned into massive losses on the city financial ledger. Thanks in part to Bunker, after years of free golf from it’s 2004 opening, Sears has not used the Briggs / Nelson free passes yet this 2015 season.
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Unfortunately, our revised GRAMA request response from the city for one randomly selected week in August from last year’s 2014 golf season, resulted in the City attorney acknowledging that those records were no longer available, apparently because the city had allowed them to be destroyed due to software changes. These issues pre-date the new, current attorney David Shaw of Kirton & McConkie.
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This is a troubling response for a number of reasons:
.1. When the original GRAMA request of July 2, 2015 was made for ALL Free Golf records for the 2014 golf season, the city responded saying the estimated cost to retrieve the records was $700 because it would take 20 hours to produce the records. Apparently, as in times past, this arbitrary high cost estimate was provided to discourage CHCRG in hopes that we would abandon our request, either that or, — the City is apparently selectively incompetent at keeping and managing records that may be questionable or controversial. We, CHCRG, didn’t blink and simply revised the request down to ask for only one randomly selected week in August of 2014. Only then, was the City forced to admit that they didn’t have records because the City apparently destroyed them due to a software issue. Our question is when did the city destroy them? Who allowed or ordered that to happen? What does Mayor Gygi, Council members / Candidates Jenney Rees and Mike Geddes know about Free Golf records and their destruction? Do they know how the records may yet be accessed or rescued? When were they destroyed? Before or after our GRAMA request?.2. About five years ago Ken Cromar (former CH Councilman 1994 to 2000) made the first GRAMA request for ALL records of Free Golf. The City responded that they didn’t keep records of Free Golf. The City was encouraged to respect the public’s expensive golf course asset and to begin accounting for all free golf. That did not happen..3. Approximately 2 years ago, Ken Cromar — while acting as CHCRG’s head researcher — dropped in to the Clubhouse and spoke with the previous Golf Manager Mr. Madsen and asked to see the Free Golf records. He admitted they didn’t keep the records of Free Golf. Additionally, he acknowledged that he had no idea how much the taxpayers paid each year to subsidize (keep open) the golf course. Two weeks later we were surprised to learn that Mr. Madsen had resigned as the CH Golf Club Manager and had taken another job at another golf course..4. Mayor Gary Gygi and public information officer Jenney Rees have never published the year-by-year golf course losses on the front page of the City Newsletter OR in the annual State of the City report, to correct the City’s misleading September 2011 Newsletter front page declaration that the golf course “cash flow positive” — just before the election. This misrepresentation helped Gary Gygi and Jenney Rees get narrowly elected on their 2011 campaign that supported “our successful golf course”..5. The City officials, specifically Mayor Gygi and public information officer Jenney Rees, and other Council members have refused to allow CH resident to be armed with golf course financial facts. They have refused to allow financial professional and accounting expert Councilman Rob Crawley to publish his thorough report on the golf course losses and trends, or to inform the citizens of that potentially less-costly alternatives to the golf course exist — in the Newsletter BEFORE the Primary this past August, or prior to the forthcoming FALL election. Why?
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The golf course has averaged over $550,000+ / year in losses (taxpayer subsidies), and stole the entire $2.9 million collected to build a “pool & Rec Center”, and instead built a golf clubhouse, golf grill & wedding reception center. Note: The golf grill closed in June due to lack of business. See… http://www.cedarhillscitizens.org/clubhouse-grill-elev8-permanently-closed/
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Most City Council members have refused to allow the Voters to become FULLY informed on the golf course at its $12.3 million in losses, or in the cost-saving alternatives with corrective publication in the front page of the Newsletter.
Only Councilman Crawley has fought to inform and promote a citizen VOTE on the future of the financially troubled CH golf course. He should be thanked for fighting in behalf of the citizens of Cedar Hills… RCrawley@cedarhills.org
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