Commentary about the April 14 and April 17 Key Colony Beach City Commission meetings:

Golf Course Question is Very Controversial

Mayor Foster discussed "privatizing" the city golf course at the Town Hall. Many KCBers have noted that "Municipal golf courses don't make money after paying employees. [They] want to see Mayor Foster's numbers."

Here are two letters making the rounds in KCB:

Cynthia Catto wrote:

Dear Lady golfers,

The end of the winter/spring season at KCB is coming to a close.

On Monday, April 14th at 9:30 AM is the final town hall meeting.

At this meeting is a discussion item
Mayor Foster
Topic: Golf Course - Privatize vs. City Operated

I am not against having this discussion. But what alarms me is that this question is on the agenda of the City council meeting on April 17th for approval.

Three days from a suggestion to approval! What is wrong with this picture???

Just a little info on how the course is currently run.
Daryl leases the course for $40,000 a year.
He is responsible for all the course maintenance.
He hires his own employees
The course is open about 10 hours a day with an employee present
The course must be open 360+ days a year.

Just a few questions, I have
What will it cost to have city employees cover that time frame?
What will it cost for golf course maintenance?
Where will the city find a person(s) with golf course knowledge?

Please attend or zoom into this meeting. The future of KCB golf depends on citizen involvement.

You do not need to be a KCB resident to speak on this issue.

Cindy
Key Colony Beach

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Another KCBer emailed a call for action with a request for anonymity:

After receiving over 25 emails since last night from KCB residents and golfers in support of the current lessee of the golf course, the Mayor quickly backed off his original agenda item today at the town hall meeting and approached the topic from a legal standpoint that the golf course contract has expired… (2 years ago) and needs to be either re-bid or renewed! But after listening to Commissioner Colonell rave about the beautiful municipal run golf courses on the Eastern shore, this is far from over.

It's imperative that we speak up prior to Thursday's meeting where this item is up for vote. You can copy and paste the following sentence into an email to: cityclerk@keycolonybeach.net

I SUPPORT RENEWING THE LEASE OF THE KCB GOLF COURSE WITH THE CURRENT LESSEE.

The clerk will simply inform the commissioners that she has received (x number) of emails in support of the golf course continuing to be managed by Daryl Rice. The number of emails matters!

Name Withheld by Request
Key Colony Beach

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