Forest Lake operator reports positive first month; city outlines RFP and youth First Tee program

Officials and the interim operator of Forest Lake Golf Course told the Ocoee City Commission on June 3 that first-month operations were largely positive and that the city has issued a prescriptive request for proposals for a long-term operator.

Robert Yutu of EHA introduced the 30-day update and asked Nick Dunleavy, regional manager for interim operator Down to Earth, to summarize revenue and operations. Dunleavy said month-one revenue was "pretty positive," with a small year-over-year decrease "about $11,000" that he attributed mostly to weather. He added that operating costs should trend favorable in the coming weeks.

Dunleavy said the interim operator introduced a 10% discount for Ocoee residents (applied to four local ZIP codes) and had started summer rates. He described maintenance work under way, noted new equipment arriving, and said the company had added a credentialed superintendent and assistant. The interim operator reported ongoing hiring for service and kitchen staff and said food service hours are currently full-service between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m., with expanded hours planned once staffing stabilizes.

First Tee youth program: Scott Wellington, a PGA of America board member and First Tee board participant, and staff announced that the First Tee of Central Florida began free summer classes at Forest Lake on June 2 (program dates noted as June 2toJuly 29). Wellington described First Tee as a national youth program that focuses on life skills as well as golf and said the Central Florida chapter runs programs for ages 7 to 18; the commission was told the local sessions were offered at no cost to learners.

RFP and capital needs: Robert Yutu and staff said the city has released a detailed RFP for a long-term operator. The RFP requires a mandatory on-site preproposal meeting on June 16; proposals will be due Aug. 5. Yutu said scoring will weight capital-investment approach heavily ("30 points for the capital investment strategy approach"), and that proposers must demonstrate experience operating modern, multipurpose golf and food-and-beverage venues.

Deferred maintenance: Staff reiterated earlier assessments that the property has roughly $7 million of deferred maintenance needs identified in prior work; the RFP asks proposers to describe capital plans to address such needs. Yutu said the interim operator is tackling high-priority turf and maintenance items but that long-term capital investment will be required from the successful proposer.

Operational points raised by commissioners and residents: Commissioners and members of the public asked about pricing stratification for residents versus visitors, range-ball prices (raised from $9 to $10), beverage-cart hours, staffing timelines, and donation/publicity for youth equipment. Commissioner Kennedy asked for differentiated resident pricing; Commissioner Garson and others encouraged more resident discounts and asked staff to publicize equipment-donation options for the youth program. A public commenter warned the city against seeking a private-club model and urged clarity on how capital costs would be funded.

The city emphasized that the RFP will be prescriptive and that the commission will participate in shortlisting and final operator selection. Staff also noted that the mandatory preproposal conference is required for proposers to have a responsive submission and that details including on-site address and preproposal attendance rules will be part of RFP materials.