Pryor Creek golf course reports strong tournament revenues; council tables cart purchase decision

Director Dennis Goldman told the council Pryor Creek Golf Course is seeing increased play and tournament business and described a multi‑part capital plan for the course. After a vendor presentation on golf cart replacement and telematics the council voted to table the procurement to allow staff time to review lease and purchase scenarios.

“Good evening, everyone. The golf course is still doing really good,” Director Dennis Goldman said, opening the golf course report. Goldman summarized recent tournaments and fundraising: Wagner Special Olympics raised about $15,000 in April; other recent events approached $20,000 in fundraising and the course has hosted multiple junior and high‑school tournaments. He and staff said tournament traffic from nearby communities contributes to the course’s revenue and regional draw.

Goldman described five donated footbridges funded by a local donor, Jerry Cowan, and reported work to install approaches and ramps is underway. Councilors discussed capital items on a golf course improvement list, including replacing a demolished on‑site house (estimate cited at about $80,000), a pro shop roof (staff estimate about $25,000), bunker renovation, and other maintenance items. Goldman said the golf operation is run from its own revenues and capital improvements are funded from profits above operating expenses.

The council then heard a presentation from Yamaha sales representative Dennis Nelson on replacing and expanding the cart fleet. Nelson described the benefits of new gas Yamaha golf cars, trade‑in values and telematics (geofencing/GPS) options. Key figures presented by the vendor and staff included:

- Current fleet: 50 carts; staff said current demand supports increasing to about 60 carts. - Typical weekend green fee cited by staff: $44 per person. Nelson noted that fleet upgrades and comfort features can support revenue and player experience. - New cart price presented: about $6,725 per cart (base gas model); Nelson estimated current trade‑in value on the existing 4‑year‑old gas cars at roughly $2,900–$3,000 each. - Telematics/third‑party GPS control (Tag Marshall cited): about $45 per cart per month to lease the system; Nelson recommended leasing telematics rather than purchasing the system outright. - Production and delivery: vendor estimated 60–90 days to deliver new cars after order; supply‑chain variables could affect timing and price.

Nelson described advantages of gas cars for municipal courses (lower battery replacement costs and higher resale values compared with electric) and emphasized geofencing and maintenance reporting benefits: “Geofencing is a big thing now… it’s not for them. It’s for us. It’s for you all,” Nelson said, explaining how GPS can keep carts on permitted paths and provide maintenance telemetry.

Councilors discussed financing options including municipal leasing (vendor noted municipal lease rates around 5.25% were typical) versus purchase, warranty and residual considerations, and the option to extend coverage to a 60‑month cycle. Staff emphasized they would return with comparative 48‑ and 60‑month lease scenarios, extended warranty costs and the impact on the golf course budget.

Before a procurement decision was finalized, a council member moved to table agenda item 6 (recommendation to go out for bids/purchase new golf carts and maintenance vehicles). The motion was seconded and the council voted in favor. The formal outcome recorded at the meeting was: motion to table agenda item 6 — outcome: tabled.

Next steps: vendor Nelson said he would provide lease and purchase scenarios and a breakdown of costs and residuals; staff will circulate those figures to councilors by email ahead of the next meeting, at which the council expects to revisit the procurement recommendation.