Chickasha Municipal Authority approves user-and-maintenance agreement with Chickasha Golf Foundation

The Chickasha Municipal Authority voted to enter a golf course maintenance and user agreement with the Chickasha Golf Foundation, authorizing the authority chair to execute the document.

Pat Brooks, an initial board member of the Chickasha Golf Foundation, told the authority the group has filed articles of incorporation and applied for 501(c)(3) status; it has also established a fiscal sponsorship fund with the Communities Foundation of Oklahoma to accept donations in the short term. “The golf foundation will, at that point, take over those responsibilities, the payroll to continue to maintain it, improve it, and and manage it as a golf course,” Brooks said.

Board and council members asked detailed questions about uses, revenues, and controls. The agreement requires the foundation to provide annual reporting of green fees, tournament fees, admission fees and “other charges” to the authority. Amanda (city attorney) clarified that any revenues generated must be used “exclusively for the operation, maintenance, improvement, and support of the property and the activities conducted thereon,” and that no other uses are permitted without prior written consent of the Chickasha Municipal Authority.

Council and authority members discussed how the city will cap its exposure on water usage: the authority will compare summer-month water usage to historical averages for July–September; the foundation will be responsible for amounts above that baseline. Brooks said donors have pledged support and that early fundraising and proposed membership fees are part of the foundation’s startup plan; he said some six-figure commitments had been discussed with supporters.

The foundation said it plans to operate the course as a public facility, pursue youth programming and a practice area for students, and to use any net operating revenue to reinvest in the site. Council members asked specifically about safety and ball-control measures; staff reported the city plans to present a separate agenda item to install protective netting (roughly $8,000 cited in discussion) to reduce balls leaving the course.

Ending: The authority approved the use-and-maintenance agreement and authorized the chairman to sign. The foundation will begin operational planning ahead of an October 1 transition date referenced in discussion; details on memberships, rental uses and any for-profit vendors would require additional approvals by the authority if proposed.