Tri-Mountain Golf Course Seeks Long-Term Operator

0:00This story was written by Cade Barker with the Reflector newspaper. Clark County is preparing to seek proposals for a long-term lease of tri-mountain golf course in Ridgefield, with the county looking for an operator willing to take on the course's day-to-day management as well as its maintenance and capital improvement needs. The county plans to release the request for proposals, or RFP, on September 9, with proposals tentatively due October 13. The selected operator would initially lease the county on golf course for 10 years beginning January 1, 2027, with the potential for four additional 10-year extensions, creating a possible lease term of up to 50 years. Michelle Schuster, Director of Internal Services, presented the proposed RFP to the Clark County Council on Wednesday, August 26. The county's goals include having management, operations, and maintenance performed professionally, with minimal county support, preserving the physical condition of the course, improving its facilities and amenities, and maintaining a quality, family-friendly experience at affordable rates for Clark County residents.

1:03The county also wants to maximize the return on the golf course as a county asset, while minimizing its financial and liability risk. Under the proposed RFP, prospective operators will be asked to provide information including resumes, experience operating similar properties, a business plan, proposed improvements to the course, and plans for routine maintenance and operations. The county is also seeking a significantly different arrangement from its existing management contract. Schuster said the current agreement pays the operator a flat operating fee, meaning the operator receives the same amount, regardless of how much business the golf course generates. So it really incentivizes them to get that course up, make it a great course, drive in tons of business, because they're going to see all that revenue, and then just be paying us a commission from it, she explained to the council. The longer lease term is intended to give an operator enough time to make significant investments in the property and recover those costs. That way we feel we would get someone who would actually invest in the course, bring the course up, build out capital facilities in the course, and bring stuff up. Council members acknowledge the importance of preserving Tri-Mountain

2:06as a community asset. I really hope that we can find someone that's interested that keeps the golf course running efficiently. I know our community really cares about this golf course, Councillor Michelle Bellcott said. Councillor Matt Little and Chair Sue Marshall said the RFP will be able to provide assurance to the community, contractors, and Clark County staff on the golf course maintaining operations. The RFP also shifts responsibility for the course's capital needs more heavily onto the future operator. When asked whether the selected company would be responsible for deferred maintenance that existed before the lease began, Schuster said, yes, we're wanting them to take on the full means of operation, capital improvements, whether they're existing, or ones that pop up in the future. The course's capital needs have been a concern for the county. Schuster said the most recent facilities condition assessment was conducted in 2019 and estimated the capital needs at approximately $2.7 million at that time. Rather than prescribing exactly how those improvements must be made, the county plans to allow prospective operators to develop their own approaches and include them in their proposals.

3:08They'll be proposing to us how they plan on doing that, Schuster said. Affordability also emerged as a priority during the Council discussion. Schuster said proposed rates will be part of the prospective operators business plans. The county has already received interest from potential operators. Schuster said about eight parties were currently on a planholder list, and the county intends to reach out to other professional golf organizations that manage similar properties. There are a lot of professional golf organizations that do this type of management, she said. I have been reached out to about eight different parties that are interested in getting this when it goes out. Counselor Glenn Young thanked the existing operator for its stewardship of the course and said the county had received positive feedback from residents about how it has been operated. I've gotten a lot of comments, a lot of emails from folks that really appreciate that course and how it's been operated, Young said. The current operator has managed the course for roughly two decades under various company names, Schuster said, including Indigo and Billy Casper before the company became Trune. The proposed lease would also give the county the ability

4:09to terminate the agreement with 90 days of written notice. If, in the county's sole judgment, the requirements of the lease are not being satisfactorily met. This report was first published by the Reflector newspaper. Recorder tape barker can be reached at taid.barker at thereflector.com.