Incompetent city council is closing my golf course

[Golfing Dad]

The city of Victorville has got to have the most incompetent city council ever. They have lost billions of dollars on two powerplants that they said would bring the city billions of dollars, the city is losing over $40,000/month on just one of these powerplants. They are trying to sell them but can't because they promised the builder a percent of the profits and no buyer wants to pay that. They lost $15 million on a "road to nowhere" because they thought Burlington Northern Santa Fe was going to build a rail hub in the city. They are also getting sued for $33 million for breaching a contract. This is just part of the things they have screwed up!! I am sooo pissed. Now these morons feel they can save $350,000 per year by closing the golf course my son and I golf at. UURRRRRGGGGHH. What also hurts is the staff at the golf course are very friendly and some of them are losing their jobs.They are also talking about closing the second golf course in Victorville.

[pxc]

Time to move? I wouldn't feel comfortable living somewhere where people with so little sense had so much of my money to waste.

[David in FL]

The course is operating at a $350k annual loss?

Seems like there might be some opportunity to sell the course to a private management company rather than simply shutting it down. Unless they have some other use for the land in mind......

[kfowler]

And these are the same people we want to run our health care?

[ks8829]

They are considering closing the golf coures that I play in Pacifica, CA called Sharp Park because of frogs and snakes.

[zeg]

And these are the same people we want to run our health care?

No. No one is asking the City Council of Victorville, CA, to run our health care. Try again.

BUT, back on topic... That sucks. I agree with the other poster -- why not shuffle it off to private ownership? If it's really operating at such a loss, that might indicate lack of business, so maybe it's not so easy. I hope they at least have the sense to wait to see what happens to the other course after shutting down the first. How busy is the course?

[cougar978]

Situations like this are why many people like to see the spectacle of politicians getting fried for unethical behavior. Sorry about your course man.

[kfowler]

No. No one is asking the City Council of Victorville, CA, to run our health care. Try again.

I was referring to government officials in a broader sense. The city council are government officials. My post was very tongue and cheek.

[Fat Slice]

Staying on topic, perhaps the city could put operation of the course up to bid and see what different companies are willing to pay. A 20 year contract would be long enough to make it worthwhile for a company to fix the course up and would guarantee income to the city for that period of time. City governments are notoriously bad at running golf courses, sorry to say. On that note...once the golf is gone in Victorville, my God, what will be there to do?

[clubchamp]

Actually where I live in 2002 they opened a nice 36 hole facility and built a bunch of million dollar homes around it. 2007 course was going bankrupt and was about to go under when the county decided it was going to kill all those million dollar homes so they bought half the course. They forced the old management company and head pro out. New managment company and pro the course is jammed every weekend now. The send out emails almost weekly with some really great deals.

[anthony]

Sorry to hear that man. A 9 hole municipal course closed a few years ago here. It was 1/4 mile from work and I used to play all the time after work. A local college bought it, but never re opened. I feel your pain.

On a positive note, a private club went public(with very reasonable rates) under new management.

[Rob]

Why not issue every golfer a hoe- fits nice in the bag,and you could chop the snakes heads off,ignore the frogs,and keep on truckin`! My 2 pennies.

[jdjanda]

Any idea how busy the course is, maybe a slight fee hike will close the budget gap.

Sorry to hear, part of the reason we moved out of Cal was the politics and government.

[whetstone]

Fixed it for ya

governments are notoriously bad at running

[Duffy]

Wow, I'm glad I got the hell out of there. Yes the city council definitely has it's head up it's ass. Unlike me, my wife always says I have my head up my ass but last week I had a colonoscopy and asked the doctor to check. No, it's not up there.
Bye the way, I have a question for you. Are you sure you have listed your handicap correctly? I don't think I've ever seen a 72.

[enduro]

Why not issue every golfer a hoe- fits nice in the bag,and you could chop the snakes heads off,ignore the frogs,and keep on truckin`! My 2 pennies.

I nominate this for post of year.

[Dub]

Sorry to hear about your course closing.

That is a scary event.

[shankapotamus]

No. No one is asking the City Council of Victorville, CA, to run our health care. Try again.

You should try again. He meant government officials generally.

facepalm.