A Proposal for RedGate

I see that Joe Jordan is spreading meaningless statistics about in order to justify more subsidies from taxpayers. 

that the per-household cost to Rockville taxpayers for parks and recreation was $658, as if that justifies subsidizing the golf course. It’s totally irrelevant. Taxpayers made a decision to subsidize parks and certain recreation activities, and taxpayers made an explicit decision not to subsidize golf. That’s why the city has budgeted for the golf course in a separate fund ever since the city opened the golf course. It was never supposed to be part of the taxpayer-funded recreation program. The city opened the golf course with a commitment from golfers that they would pay all of its expenses and not saddle taxpayers with any of the cost. For the almost the first 30 years, golfers lived up to the bargain. But the golf course has run deficits over the past 11 years, and Joe wants to renege on the bargain.

Taxpayers do not owe golfers a dime. Golf is not an entitlement, nor is it an essential service. We may choose to subsidize Joe’s recreation, but it’s not our responsibility or obligation. And since he has plenty of other golf courses to choose from, I’m not terribly sympathetic to his request.

Let’s review the financials for the golf course. The golf course has been in the red for years, with the deficit growing by alarming amounts. Here are the estimates since 2007:

2007: $36,071

2008: $78,304

2009: $281,021

2010: $582,827

2011: $713,490

The 2011 amount is the estimate in the 2012 budget, excluding the $2,390,645 subsidy from taxpayers in September 2010 to pay off the golf course’s accumulated debt.

For those who don’t know the story of why we had to pay off this debt, go to my website at www.rocktrash.org and follow the links to my Sept. 6, 2010 email under “Art’s email.”

The deficits only get higher as you go out in time, assuming no change in the current operation of the golf course. The five-year forecast in the 2011 budget showed the deficit growing to $923,919 in 2015. The estimates in the 2012 budget assume taxpayer subsidies of “only” $490,000 in future years, but only if the management of the golf course is outsourced.

Take another look at those numbers, and you’ll understand why Joe uses the 2009 results instead of more recent data. The 2011 figure is 2.5 times larger than the 2009 deficit.

Joe likes to cite statistics that compare the total subsidy for the golf course and the . It’s an interesting comparison, but let’s make it meaningful. The 2011 estimate of the golf course deficit excludes a $165,750 admin subsidy provided by taxpayers. Add those two figures and you get a total subsidy of $879,240. The comparable figure for the swim center was $675,323. 

But wait a minute. The estimate for the number of rounds of golf played was 32,200, while the number of visits to the swim center was close to 300,000. Divide the total subsidy by usage and you’ll find that taxpayers were dunned $27.30 each time someone played a round of golf, versus a subsidy of about $2.30 every time someone took a swim.

Joe, why is it fair to provide a subsidy for golf that’s 12 times as much as the subsidy for swimmers?

And while we’re on the subject, why are we billing taxpayers for this huge subsidy when the says that non-residents account for 60 percent of the golf course’s customer base? Do you really think it makes sense to force Rockville taxpayers to subsidize golfers who do not pay city taxes?

I have a simple but serious proposal for the golf course: Instead of , let’s bring in someone who is will do anything to make the golf course successful. Who is the one person most committed to keeping the golf course open? Joe Jordan. Who knows more about the golf course than anyone else in the city, except perhaps for the city's Director of Recreation and Parks Burt Hall? Joe Jordan. Who has a strong business background? Joe Jordan.

So here’s my proposal: Let’s turn RedGate over to Joe. Give him a management contract for the next three years that gives him complete authority to make all management decisions. Further, let’s give him the $490,000 of taxpayer subsidies that are in the 2012 budget, but let’s give him a larger amount the first year and declining amounts the other two years. If Joe needs additional cash, he can set up an limited liability company and raise the money from investors. Joe says he has 2,000 names on a petition. If they are seriously committed to running a golf course, he should have no problem raising capital from them. Or he can ask for investments from golfers, local businesses and anyone else who believes in the financial viability of the golf course. If Joe turns the golf course around and runs a profit, all of the profit would go to his investors.

I will invest the first $100. Just tell me where to send my check. I will make my contribution, and I also will refrain from criticizing this waste of taxpayers’ money for the entire three-year period.

What do you say, Joe? Care to stop talking and instead start doing some real work to turn this golf course around?

Art Stigile

312 W. Edmonston Drive

Rockville