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Ocoee commission orders 30‑day mediation with Forest Lake Golf Club after inspection finds dozens of lease defaults
Summary
City attorneys and consultants reported 59 continuing defaults and significant infrastructure and environmental concerns at the city‑owned Forest Lake Golf Club. The commission directed immediate mediation — "mediation pending termination" — to be completed within 30 days and asked staff to return with recommendations on March 18.
The City Commission of Ocoee directed city staff and the Forest Lake lessee to enter mediation within 30 days, signaling a firm deadline after a consultant reinspection found dozens of continuing lease defaults at Forest Lake Golf Club and staff estimated millions of dollars in repairs would be required to meet the lease's "first‑class" standard.
Kurt Artemann of the Fishback Dominic law firm, representing the city attorney's office, outlined three options for the commission: immediate termination of the ground lease and pursuit of damages; mediation (with termination if mediation fails); or additional time for the lessee to cure defaults. "We think the first and second items are probably more appropriate than the third item," Artemann said at the meeting.
Robert Yutty of ZHA, the city's consultant, summarized multiple technical inspections and a reinspection that found 59 unresolved defaults across clubhouse, maintenance and cart facilities. Yutty quoted the lease language to frame the standard: "Lessee shall use the premises only for the construction and operation of a first class public golf course facility... Comparable golf courses shall mean first rate public and semi private golf courses in Orange and Seminole County." He told commissioners that, while some exterior elements appear serviceable, inspections revealed mold, termite damage, structural corrosion, exposed wiring, and environmental concerns related to two on‑site ponds where contaminants were observed.
A PGA consultant engaged by the city, Bob Doyle, provided a costed list of infrastructure work the city would expect to reach a "first‑class" standard. After accounting for contingency, staff told the commission a planning estimate in the neighborhood of $7.5 million would be a prudent budget figure to rehabilitate irrigation, greens, drainage, bunkers, cart paths, maintenance and storage buildings and replace or update maintenance equipment.
City staff also reported insurance and environmental documentation gaps. Yutty said the lease requires the lessee to name the city as an additional insured and to carry $2,000,000 in general liability coverage; the report the city had on file showed only $1,000,000 coverage. The required biannual Phase I environmental assessments were not consistently produced in the city's files (the city had a 2017 report and saw a lessee‑initiated study in October 2024), prompting further review and concern about permitted pond excavation and stormwater/drainage handling.
Representatives for Forest Lake disputed portions of the findings and urged continued negotiation. Logan Opsal, an attorney for Forest Lake, said the operator had begun or completed a number of the corrective items and sought pre‑suit mediation. Kenny Ezell, a principal owner of the lessee, described ongoing maintenance and recent repairs and disputed some of the scale of work the city's experts recommended, but acknowledged the parties had work to do.
Commissioner Kennedy moved to begin mediation for 30 days, "mediation pending termination," and Commissioner Wilson seconded. The motion passed unanimously. Commissioners directed staff, the city manager and the city's consultants to proceed with scheduling mediation and to return to the commission with a staff report and any proposed agreements at the March 18 meeting. City attorneys and the lessee agreed to split mediation costs and to participate; any settlement would still require commission approval.
