SEPT. 23 NOTE: We have published this story from our Sept. 10 issue in full to our website to give readers a better understanding of the City Council's decision to buy the golf course Sept. 22. We have backdated it to Sept. 9 to avoid confusion. Readers can find our follow up story here.
The Lebanon City Council has a new decision on its plate as of Monday’s work session: whether it will decide to purchase the golf course formerly known as Lebanon – GreatLife Golf and Fitness.
Supporters of the course – located at 16744 MO-64 – attended the session, where John Gideon, board president of Lebanon Area Community Golf Course, the 501(c)(7) nonprofit that bought the course Aug. 27, gave a proposal to the Council asking the City in turn to purchase the course.
“We don’t like being here asking, none of us do, but that’s just where we’re at. We don’t know where else to ask, so that’s why we’re coming to the City and trying to offer you what could be a nice asset with improvements,” Gideon said.
As Gideon explained after the regular Council meeting, the nonprofit bought the course in a total business acquisition. A shareholder group had owned the real estate while GreatLife owned the business and management. The nonprofit had bought the course with the help of four local banks – Heritage Bank of the Ozarks, Mid-Missouri Bank, Commerce Bank, and First State Community Bank.
Gideon said the first step towards Monday’s proposal had been a shareholder conversation about the future of the course with the City of Lebanon 18 months ago with former City Administrator Mike Schumacher.
Lebanon’s potential purchase of the course ($775,000) and payment of the golf cart lease (around $130,000) would relieve the debt on the course, Gideon said. Another $2 million in improvements – like building repairs, irrigation – would make the course sustainable.
After those improvements, Gideon thought that the City of Lebanon could add elements like pickleball courts and biking trails to make the course a community destination. He thought of the proposal as a way for the City to improve an amenity and options for residents.
City Administrator Troy Schulte predicted that the acquisition of the course would likely mean a cash lease purchase with economic development funds and some sort of financing mechanism for the improvements.
Winter, Gideon said, would be an optimal time to begin those improvements.
The reactions to the proposal from City Council members were mixed. Councilman Randy Wall was one member that advocated for the non-quantifiable value that the golf course brings to the community, such as the businesses he speculated would not be in Lebanon without it.
Councilwoman Sheila Mitchell was unsure of the economic benefit such a city acquisition would bring compared to the investment required and asked for more detailed figures concerning city management of the course.
To Councilman Dan Mizell, the city’s hypothetical acquisition of the course would result in an additional land asset worth around $1.2 million (with a deed restriction related to the playable portion of the golf course) regardless of whether the city’s improvement of the course was a success.
Mayor Jared Carr thought the prospective purchase was a great opportunity that the City of Lebanon should not miss out on.
The City Council took no action related to the presentation during the work session or regular meeting.
