Regarding Mace Meadow Golf Course

The objective of the new website UpcountryInfo.com is to bring attention to important issues facing District Three residents. So it is great to see our posted website issues such as Fire Hydrants, Construction Permit Fees, and the Transportation/Pine Grove Hwy. Improvement Project being brought up during this month's Upcountry Community Council meeting.  However, it is still distressing to see many issues not being fully addressed, like the fact that we that we are  still in danger of losing a valuable community asset in Mace Meadow Golf Course. 

At this month's UCC meeting I mentioned that the Golf Course Board was appealing to the community for contributions. I also mentioned that any Golf Course assessments to cover shortages or make bylaw changes could not be made without a 100% vote by the membership, and that they are currently critically short in their Annual and Voluntary Contribution Program effort. This may mean being unable to conduct the necessary winter maintenance on the course, having already let go their maintenance company.

Upcountry residents deserved to know about the Golf Course struggles long before now, at the point when their Treasurer is asking that the lights be turned off!  This is exactly how we found out that we were about to lose the Payless Market, when the sale was already in escrow and being described by Supervisor Ted Novelli as “a done deal.” Golf Course Shareholder/Members will need to commit to paying their annuals by Dec 15, or they will not be able to go forward.  Not only have we not heard a word from Supervisor Novelli about the Golf Course's immediate need for community support, but Ted did not utter a single word when I described the current status of the Golf Course at this month's public UCC meeting, nor has he mentioned a word about it during his four or more appearances on TSPN TV last week.

The current Golf Course Board has done considerable work getting their debt level down below $170,000, and are putting 100% of their focus on changing over to in-house maintenance service that includes upgrading the pump system, which will also benefit from the completion of the Gravity Supply Line.  Their newest plan includes reopening the restaurant, and creating more community involvement by providing tournament incentives and different types of membership categories.  For the first time, non-share holders can purchase an annual membership, single for $1,625 and couple for $2,730. 

I have heard all the ideas about how it might be better to let the course fail, with the hope that somebody else could buy it and then they could possibly sell memberships back to existing shareholders… I do not know what Supervisor Novelli believes, as he has been silent on the matter, and I certainly do not think wishful thinking is a strategy.  We cannot be certain that after it closed, that anyone would come to the rescue and purchase the course, but we can be certain that surrounding home values will drop, with our entire Upcountry community facing unknown circumstances from not keeping this attractive and valuable resource open.  A Golf Course housing development without a golf course is a failed community. Other failed golf course communities in nearby counties have never recovered and are still abandoned.

All voluntary contributions, of any amount, will be held and then returned if the Board finds that it is unable to go forward past December 15. My wife and I have already made a personal pledge ourselves, and can only hope that shareholders and members will decide to pay their annuals. It looks like they will find a way to keep the course going, not by looking back but by looking ahead. Our community can make a difference, by starting to take better care of our local businesses and each other, and in order to regain a more vibrant Upcountry identity.       

Mike Spence  

(209) 295-6221  

mikespence@volcano.net