November 21, 2009
What's Inside:
Golfers stand up for longtime Fairview pro
City Council members listened for more than two hours Tuesday as golfers defended their local golf pro.
Depending on which rumor one had heard in recent weeks, negotiations between Fairview Golf Course professional Mike Habermehl and the city were either dead in the water, or the pro had already been terminated.
The Council Parks & Recreation Committee held a meeting before a standing-room-only crowd in the council chamber so Parks Director Bill McKinney could explain the negotiations to the council and the public.
Mr. McKinney used budget figures to show why the city wants to take control of all revenue from carts, concessions and the course’s driving range. Mr. Habermehl currently receives the revenue from those sources. The city’s current proposal would give him a salary to compensate for the loss in revenue.
“For us to be $100,000 to $200,000 or more under these other courses in the area in operating expenses and revenue, we can’t give you guys the kind of course you deserve,” he said.
The city hopes to use the revenue to increase Fairview’s operating budget. Council member Roger Baker suggested the city try to pass a tax to pay for golf course maintenance, while Deputy Mayor Donna Jean Boyer proposed the course raise fees and asked the audience how many would favor a $1 increase in green fees. Nearly everyone raised their hand.
Naturally, the public had a few comments to add. Golfers talked about the countless hours Mr. Habermehl had invested in their course.
Mike Strong spoke not as the Buchanan County sheriff, but as a golfer and former president of the course’s men’s club.
“It does matter who we buy our clubs from, and it does matter who we get our lessons from,” Mr. Strong said. “We kind of like the way things are going on out there. We’re asking you to get together and work this out for us.”
Robert Tietz, a Fairview member since 1952, was the only golfer to speak in favor of the city’s proposal. He cited Duncan Hills Golf Course in Savannah, Mo., as an example of how increased revenue could improve a course. He said the course has controlled the revenue from cart rentals for six years and now has more money to spend.
“If you don’t have a good golf course, they’re not going to come,” Mr. Tietz said.
Mr. Habermehl took the microphone and told the council how he took a course that had hemorrhaged cash before he arrived in 1985 and made it profitable within two years. He talked about 95-hour work weeks, including shifts that did not end until 10 p.m., and that was on Thanksgiving. He remembered the junior golfers he had coached years before — some so long ago that their kids were now ready for lessons.
“I feel like I have given my life to Fairview Golf Course for 24½ years,” Mr. Habermehl said.
But for all the points he made, the longtime pro couldn’t hide two pieces of evidence from the council that proved his dedication to Fairview. They were right there on the floor behind the podium.
On one of the most important nights of his career, Mr. Habermehl never found time to change out of his golf shoes.
Clinton Thomas can be reached at clintonthomas@npgco.com.
This story has 14 comments. Click here to join in on the discussion.
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Roger Tietz is correct. The facilites/courses at Duncan Hills and Mozingo are far superior to that of Fairview. Mike's a great guy and deserves our thanks, but there has to be a compromise to this to allow more funds to go back into the golf course.
Most pros only receive revenue from the course pro shop. Perhaps $70,000/yr with pro shop revenue along with a $1 or $2 increase in green fees would be acceptable?
I would say and this is my personal beliefs give this man a fair salary and take comtrol of the revenue that is coming in off of these items and if everybody that goes there has no issue with the 1 or 2dollars more for fees then this is the way to go but taxing the public will not happen people will not vote for new taxes at this point.
a tax to support golfers,never happen in this town.
Mike's a great guy but, wasn't there an article on here just a couple of days ago that said the course lost money ? And they were gonna have to dip into the parks departments budget for $ 12,000. This is a business decision not a personal attack on Mike.
I would choose to not pay an additional tax just to keep Fairview running. I, personally, will never play there again. The people that work there are rude and snobby. They think that just because they work at a crappy golf course in Missouri that they are part of some fancy society that allows them to be extremely rude to people who might not be able to play golf but a few times a year. They think that everyone who plays at Fairview must be a professional, and be able to shoot par. And if you're not a pro golfer, they harass you every 3 holes for slow play. I will NEVER give any money to those stuck up snobs again.
sorry i did not attend this meeting, if only to have some questions answered..... but i was enjoying the glenn miler band.
how much is membership at the country club? what are the fairview greens fees currently? how close is the nearest course and how comparable are the fees? is use of a cart mandatory? what is the comparison on the current income the pro receives and the proposed salary?
is the pro considered an independent contractor, or is he Staff?
The deputy mayor wants to raise fees and taxes to help the golf course, but she didnt consider raiseing taxes or fees to give the city empolyees a raise!!!! What in the world is going on at City Hall? Bad city council, you need a time out.....
I was surprised to read the comments of wedge47, about rude staff at Fairview. I have always found them to be pleasant and accommodating. No one in my group is a par golder; individually, we might shoot around 50 for nine holes. We have never been harassed by a marshal. I think Fairview is a great bargain, and appreciate the work Mike and his staff do.
I have not played at Duncan Hills this year because last year hitting off the fairways was like hitting off the cart path. The cracks in some of the fairways at Duncan Hills were big enough you could lose a shoe!
I almost alway play Fairview cause they actually have a really nice course! I don't know what Savannah had done with all that extra revenue, but it wasn't anything to do with the course. Whatever happens, I hope Mike is still there.
This is typical St Joe thinking!!! Mike took a course that was not well maintained and not much fun to play and made into a money maker. He also put in a junior program that raised interest and brought a lot of new golfers who have continued to play and spend their money at Fairview. To think that the city can continue this success is total BS.
The only person making money at Fairview is Mike. To expand on that point, if Mike is getting jazzed about taking a pay cut all the way to $88K/year I would be interested to know what he is making now. Presently the city is subsidizing operations at Fairview to the tune of $12K/year. Another way to look at that is we, city taxpayers, whether we play golf or not, are putting $12K into Mr. Habermehl’s pocket that could go to Fairview operations.
I’m all for the dog wagging the tail, not the other way around.
with the gracious answer from the reporter i am able to supply some additional information
.http://www.fairviewgolf.net/Green_Fees.htm
Use of a cart is not mandatory. Also, Mr. Habermehl is an independent contractor and not considered city staff. His recent contract was put together after a public bidding process for the services as mandated by state and city statutes.
There are two other 18-hole courses in St. Joseph, but the nearest municipal course (city funded, no membership required) is in Savannah, but they do not post rates online. Mozingo Golf Course (Maryville) is the next-closest and their rates can be found at the site below. Membership info is also available if you click around the site.
http://www.mozingolf.com/golf/proto/mozingolf/rates/rates.htm
What is the comparison on the current income the pro receives and the proposed salary?
That seems to be the crux of the debate. Mr. Habermehl currently gets $250 per month plus all revenue from concessions, the driving range and cart rentals. Like any businessman, he purchases all the supplies himself (carts, beer, range balls). The advantage he has is that he doesn't pay a lease on his building and the golf course guarantees plenty of foot traffic in his pro shop. The city has offered a salary of $34,800 and forecasts Mr. Habermehl would make an extra $54,000 from lessons, etc., at the course, for a total contract value of $88,800. The city thinks this is fair, but Mr. Habermehl says the city is overestimating his other revenue and that the salary would pretty much be all that he takes home in pay.
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there is no way i would lose autonomy and control over the quality of my services to any government entity. it is almost certain that the amount forecast by the city for lessons would be a high end amount. the city wants to take the sweat and reputation of a loyal contractor and use it for their budget problems. how often has the city made the case that the golf case is vital to our attractiveness as a community? i seem to RECALL that the voters approved a CIP tax for this very reason.
The "independent contractor" makes his money without having to lease a facility. Does he even have to buy his equipment? The shortfalls are made up with taxpayer money and not his revenues. He "purchases" his supplies of carts, beer, range balls; each of which he rents or sells most definitely at a profit. And then he keeps the excess while asking the city to make up the "shortfalls"?
If he owned the golf course, then "his losing autonomy and control to any government entity" might make a little sense. But his "business" is owned by the city, the government entity in question. His autonomy ceases the minute he steps onto the city owned facility.
By the way, that really is funny statement coming from a screen name like "heritage", which implies some semblance of saving our heritage. I wonder how all those people that own homes in the forced historic districts like giving up their autonomy and control of their private property to some "government entity".
So although he took a course that was "hemorrhaging money 24 1/2 years ago and made it profitable in 2 years; he apparently has now turned that around, since he had to be subsidized, so where's the profits now?
Obviously there must be quite a bit of money to be made on the concessions and cart rentals; or he wouldn't be fighting so hard for it. Which if he paid for the carts, how in the world could the city possibly lay claim to them? If they are his, they aren't city property. If they aren't city property, then how would the city lay claim to them and collect the rental fees off of them?
Somebody's info isn't correct. Don't know whose, but it definitely doesn't add up.
Is there some reason not to "tweak" the arrangement so the City doesn't have to subsidize anything.....
An earlier comment suggested Fairview revenues were less than similiar courses....It would be Mr. Habermehi's responsibility and to his benefit to target increases to be comparable to other courses & the City would not be paying the $12,000.
At some point in the arrangement the City should realize something for providing the course including buildings.
It's not rocket science to rework agreements. Sounds like Mr. Habernehi is a good choice and it's just a matter of working out an arrangement that is good for everyone.