A decisive 4-1 majority of the Palm Coast City Council is opposed to selling the Palm Harbor Golf Club, but not to seeking to outsource its management next year if it doesn’t break even under city management. In essence, city staff at Palm Harbor faces an ultimatum.
The council’s history was not as clear-eyed.
The course was under the private management of Kemper Sports from its opening in 2009 until 2017. It was an unhappy history. It lost money every year, usually in sums even larger than it has since despite successive councils’ attempts to at least break even there: private companies charge management fees on top of operational costs. The city does not.
The city’s Dennis Redican Jr. has taken over management since spring. The course is on pace to run up a $100,000 deficit this year. The course lost $168,000 last year, $435,000 the year before that, though it all but broke even for two years in a row before that. Deficits must be made up through the general fund, whose reserves are large enough for a sovereign wealth fund.
“We have been in the hole. We continue to be in the hole, even year to date,” Council member Charles Gambaro said. “I’m always for finding a way to self- improve, but I think we needed to look at other options.”
Soon after his appointment to the council last fall, Gambaro–picking up where former Council member Ed Danko left off–has been pushing to sell the golf course, as long as the deed restricts all uses to golf.
In June the council deadlocked on the issue, with Gambaro and Council member Dave Sullivan favoring a sale, and Mayor Mike Norris and Council member Theresa Pontieri opposed. Council member Ty Miller was absent.
Miller was present when the council took up the issue again Tuesday–and fell on the mayor’s and Pontieri’s side. Sullivan switched camp. Any possibility of a sale vanished, at least for now: come next November, the council will have a new majority as three seats are up in that election.
“For me, the intent is not to sell the golf course,” Miller said. “I’d still be okay with an RFP either for outsourcing operations or the entire thing, just so we have more information about it. Ultimately, though, my intent is that it stays a public golf course in Palm Coast, operating in a great way so that we continue to enjoy this.” An RFP is a request for proposal.
That’s still a possibility. Norris wants to keep the course under city management and review its operations in the second quarter of 2026. “If things are not changing and moving in the direction we want, then put it out for RFP, for private management of the course,” the mayor said. Norris said he’s willing to revisit an RFP “for sale or outsourcing it for operations. But to me, I’m never going to agree to sell the golf course. It’s just not going to happen.” The audience applauded.
Gambaro saw no reason why the city would not explore selling it. Pontieri gave him two reasons why not.
“It’s a blow to staff. It’s not giving them the chance that they’ve been working very hard to prove to us they can turn things around and they can make this happen for us,” Pontieri said.
The city employs 13 at the course. They have implemented a series of changes. The group rate has increased from $43 to $46 for a round, summer rates increased on May 1, morning tee times have been added and 3 percent charges added to credit card transactions. There’s no appetite on the council to charge public school students to pay when they use the course to practice. Special Olympics athletes’ fees are also waived. Pontieri wants to see a full year’s worth of those changes’ effects before discussing the future of the course again.
To keep discussing a possible sale while that’s ongoing is also “kind of a gut punch to the residents,” Pontieri said. “They treasure this course. Our community has treasured this course for a really long time, and it’s almost like, well, we’re putting a price tag on something that’s priceless.”
“I think this golf course is a jewel, and it’s very, very important our community,” Gambaro said. “Why not make it better? Why not make it a lot better than what it is now? Is the city going to invest the funds to make it a greater destination than it is now and then? And then, you’re assuming the outcome of the RFP. We don’t know for a fact. That’s why I’m like, Hey, let’s see what comes back.”
Council members on repeated occasions have mischaracterized past management of the course, saying the city has not sufficiently invested in it or attempted at least to make it break even or attempt different strategies, even when it was under private management, to generate more revenue, or to include all expenses on its balance sheet. Council members have also been under the impression that previous councils were not as interested in making it break even.
None of claims are accurate. All those approaches have been tried at one time or another, by councils that year after year, until 2017, agonized over Palm Harbor as the current council has. The difference in 2017 was the council’s decision, prompted by then-City Manager Jim Landon, to fold the club into the city’s parks and recreation operations and consider it an amenity on the same level as, say, Holland Park or Ralph Carter Park, at least for accounting purposes: parks aren’t designed to make money. Nor should the golf club, went the city manager’s reasoning–flawed as the reasoning was: city parks don’t charge user fees.
But then as now, the fear of selling the course is hinged to a door that would open the course to development. Whatever restrictions a current council imposes can be overridden by a future council. Keeping the course in the city’s hands creates a greater barrier to that possibility.
The city appraised the course at $1.8 million. The value includes several restrictions on what may and may not be done at the property. “Pragmatically speaking, I don’t think we’re going to get a big bid with all of those restrictions,” Pontieri said.
Pontieri had floated the idea of revisiting the lease with Loopers, the restaurant at Palm Harbor Golf Course, so the city could get a small share of its alcohol sale profits. It’s not a new idea: Flagler Beach gets substantial revenue from the Funky Pelican, taking revenue of 3 percent on all gross sales in excess of $1 million each year, and thus generating well over $100,000 a year on top of rent. Loopers rebuffed the idea.
“There’s nothing in the contract that says that Loopers has to negotiate with us, and so they were okay with where they are at and very supportive and happy with their current contract that they have in place,” Interim City Manager Lauren Johnston said.
For now, the Damocles sword hanging over Palm Harbor Golf Course has once again been pulled back, but it still hangs over city management.
Gary says
We the tax payers should not be carrying it. Right now the million to run it is hidden in the maintenance budget. If you want to play golf pay for it. The cost should be divided among the players not the tax payers. A healthy membership fee / year and green fees to cover the maintenance of it. We ended up with it because 3 members a few years back on council wanted it. They played golf.
Robjr says
Same song different verse.
The town council sang a similar song after Flagler Live exposed the money losing golf course’s real numbers a decade ago.
Many are subsidizing the golf course for a few.
Golf of murikkka says
Can’t afford to golf, or even groceries, so who cares. I like the course but maybe we should focus on helping humans in our local community. Food and shelter have become unaffordable and republicans have criminalized poverty. What’s the plan to help local humans?………