Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
CNJ staff photo: Gabriel MonteRobert Cordova, a Clovis animal control officer, plays golf Thursday at the Colonial Park Golf Course. Cordova said he has been golfing for five years and played regularly at the Clovis municipal and Farwell golf courses.
Above objections by local restaurant owners, the Clovis city commission approved keeping restaurant management at the Colonial Park Golf Course tied to management of the course.
CNJ staff photo: Gabriel Monte
Robert Cordova, a Clovis animal control officer, plays golf Thursday at the Colonial Park Golf Course. Cordova said he has been golfing for five years and played regularly at the Clovis municipal and Farwell golf courses.
By a 7-1 vote, the city commission approved awarding management of the Colonial Park Golf Course and all included properties to Real Golf Management and Charlie Maciel.
The management takeover is one more step in the revamping of the city's parks and recreation facilities, which began with the purchase of the 18-hole country club last summer. That allowed for the shuttering of the nine-hole Clovis Municipal Course and its repurposing into youth sports fields, a dog park, a splash pad and a zoo expansion, among other functions.
Colonial is the city's only full-length golf course.
Nobody who spoke had any issue with keeping management under the care of Maciel, who has been working on an extension of his original contract with the municipal course. But detractors wanted the restaurant and ballroom portion of the former country club to be separate to avoid creating a government-subsidized restaurant that would compete with local eateries.
"I have an extreme problem with city giving a business away,," said Gary Kelley, owner of Kelley's Bar and Grill, "like you could do here tonight."
Food services will continue to be provided at the course by Mike Mendoza, Maciel's business partner.
"All I want to do is just run a little restaurant," Mendoza said. "I don't want to compete with you guys."
Carolyn Spence of Clovis said she was concerned that the contract was not as advantageous as it could be for the city, and asked about specifics of the three-year contract, which includes annual renewals.
Real Golf Management receives a $60,000 salary for Maciel, who must purchase dining equipment for $3,000 and rent maintenance equipment for $250 per month with the understanding he would own the equipment when the contract expires.
City Commissioner Randy Crowder, the lone dissenting vote, said the company receives:
"All of that is reasonable (for the golf course)," Crowder said. "I thought it was well-negotiated by the committee. If the city subsidizes the golf course, that's probably a quality of life issue, and that's all right. The restaurant part, I have serious trouble with."
Crowder noted that the restaurant, which includes governmental alcohol license, offered in part with the bidding process, is essentially rent-free property with city-funded water and garbage service and a 25 percent share of the power bill. It also gives Real Golf Management:
Crowder called that, plus infrastructure already at the course, a significant advantage over other restaurants.
"They can make a hamburger for a lot less at the country club," Crowder said. "They can make a lot better hamburger at the country club because they don't have debt service.
"I can't see that as a fair thing."
Carol Bare of Clovis said she was told that when the area was rezoned to allow for alcohol sales, that it would just be for beer carts on the course. But she said the city's action would go far beyond that intent, and the commission should vote the proposal down.
"Without the correct language," Bare said, "we're allowing it to become a fully-functioning, open-door business."
Golf course users did not feel the golf course food services would have an impact outside of the course.
"I have no use for libraries," Eddie Gutierrez said, "but the city provides it. I don't visit the zoo, but the city provides it. You finally provide me with something I like, golf, and I approve."
He continued that when he is golfing, he just wants to have a hamburger and a drink, and "I get it everywhere I go except Clovis, New Mexico."
Ronald Dickson, a Clovis business owner, asked how much taxpayer money was going to the golf course in a two-year stretch. City officials noted $300,000 in annual operation fees and $235,000 in sprinkler system improvements, but could not answer questions on seeding expenses yet.
Melissa Ham of the Clovis Ladies Golf Association said the course is in such bad shape that it's difficult to get tournaments scheduled, and Maciel has been working to improve the course and share his passion for the game with everybody who uses the course.
"I do go out there for a hamburger, but that's because my kids are there sun-up to sundown," Ham said. "It's the only chance I have to spend 30 minutes with them.
"This is not a perfect scenario; it's not a perfect world. This is for a few years. I don't see the golf course making hundreds of thousands of dollars on hamburgers."
Walter Bradley asked if an outside party had reviewed the contract, because the infrastructure appeared to be a possible violation of the anti-donation clause. He said as the new owner of Twin Cronnies, he understands the difficulties of running a restaurant and doesn't want to compete with a government-subsidized eatery.
City Attorney David Richards said he did not see any such problem, since the dining facility items were offered for usage under the terms of a service contract.
Ed Tatum of Clovis said there are certain things a city must do to compete with other cities, and noted that Maciel has put personal time and expense into improving the course during the request for proposal process, knowing full well somebody else could come in and take the bid now or in three years.
He also didn't believe the nightmare scenario given by detractors would happen.
"You can argue philosophically, but philosophy and practicality are two different things."
Commissioner Len Vohs didn't think doing a new RFP to separate the golf course and restaurant would work.
"The golf course is in such disarray you have to take this as the whole thing," Vohs said. "You can't separate it out."
Vohs asked Maciel if the restaurant management was a necessity to make the golf course a success. Maciel said he simply answered the RFP as it was presented, but noted that he wasn't sure of the course's prospects.
"That place hasn't made it in 20 years," Maciel said, pointing to the troubles the course had as a country club. "We don't know if we're going to make it either. We're going to work like all get-out."
