The three golf management companies under consideration were Hampton Golf Inc., Ocoee Golf Holdings and Tamarack Golf Management. They had been shortlisted from an original group of six that had responded to the city’s request for proposals. Last month, the commission heard presentations from all three. Commissioners voted to hold a decision until the Nov. 18 commission meeting because Commissioner George Oliver III of District 4 was absent.

On Tuesday, Commissioner Scott Kennedy of District 1, a golfer himself, was the first to offer comments, saying that he favored Hampton Golf.

Oliver was next. Recalling when the city voted to outsource its waste removal and saw service decline, he floated the idea of the city operating the golf course. He said that hadn’t been on the table and warranted discussion.

“We would be remiss if we never sat down and had the staff look at if we were to bring this in ourselves what would it cost? What would be the benefits to the city? What is the risk that we take on and bring us back a full analysis to make a determination," Oliver said. "Right now we’re only talking about a third-party vendor to be the operator of the golf course, never looking at the possibilities of what it would mean if we were to take it on ourselves.”

Oliver noted that the city would have full authority to determine the pricing, the customer service standards, the operational decisions and the earnings.

District 3 Commissioner Richard Firstner picked up the thread from there, saying he hadn’t been “impressed” with any of the three golf management companies.

“I didn’t think that they really met the best interest of what we’re looking for up here and what we’re looking for for the city as a golf course,” he said.

Firstner said the companies all had “gimmicks” designed to make Forest Lake a “world-champion golf course,” but that the city didn’t need that. “Our sights are set a little lower than that,” he said pragmatically. He said they wanted an “outstanding course” that residents and visitors alike would enjoy playing.

Ultimately, he said he agreed with Oliver.  

“If we take the responsibility fully for providing a good product, I think we can do that because this city has a fantastic staff, and if we hire the right people to join our staff, I think we can present a golf course that everybody, whether they play or not, would be proud of,” Firstner said.

From that point, the discussion swung away from management companies toward the feasibility of self-management.

District 2 Commissioner Rosemary Wilsen, reminding commissioners — “I told you so” —  that she was the sole vote against outsourcing trash collection, said she didn’t want to make a “rash decision” and suggested asking residents for their opinions.  

[Ocoee resident Brad Lomneck later asked if the discussion was open for public comment, and Mayor Rusty Johnson swiftly replied, "No, sir."]

Johnson, who indicated he had been set to throw his support behind Tamarack Golf Management, got on board with self-management. But he said the city had to manage it correctly.

“If we want to do it, we gotta do it. There ain’t no dragging it out,” the mayor said. “We fix it, buy it, bond it. Then we’ll make money that goes right back to … this is not a profit-making thing for us. It’s a thing for the citizens of the city that we give them back and make the golf course a place you want to go.”

The mayor said many things had to be upgraded at Forest Lake, including the greens, irrigation, driving ranges and the restaurant.

“You gotta tear that restaurant down. It’s gotta come down. It is a dump,” he said. “You gotta go out there and fix the greens.”

But a golfer himself, Johnson saw a bright future for the municipal course that he regularly plays.

“It can be a treasure in our city,” he said.