They’re back – Virginia Golf LLC offers to pay County to run municipal course

Just three days after having their $25,000 annual County municipal golf course management proposal rejected by a four-person majority of the Warren County Board of Supervisors, the Virginia Golf LLC management group has submitted a second proposal to the County.

In a letter dated Friday, June 26, Virginia Golf LLC principals Louis Nicholls and Ray Nash have offered to pay the County $2,000 a month or $24,000 in the first year of a proposed five-year lease arrangement. That payment would go to $1,000 a month in the second year, with the management group adding 5% of any profits it makes paid to the County in that second year.

Ray Nash, right at podium, lauded for his work in bringing the FR Golf Club course back to a high maintenance standard, and Louis Nicholls at the Tuesday management proposal public hearing. Friday they proved their ‘labor of love’ description of their interest in preserving a slice of county recreational history by offering to pay for the opportunity to manage and turn the municipal golf course operations around.

“As we expressed to the Board members on Tuesday night, this project is a passion for us and a ‘labor of love’ and our way of giving back to the community,” Nicholls and Nash wrote county officials, adding, “We do hope we have finally helped resolve the County’s dilemma as it relates to the Historic Recreational Center of Front Royal and the Front Royal Golf Course. It is our goal to help the County of Warren preserve History while also achieving their goal of being good stewards of the County’s assets.”

Contacted by phone, Nicholls elaborated on the financial opportunity his group is offering the County to maintain golf operations at a historical site as was envisioned by William Carson Sr. in memory of his deceased son, 82 years ago.

“Clearly the County has no appetite for entering into a partnership agreement that would have any outlay of funds on their part. Therefore, we have recrafted an offer that overcomes the objections they voiced and creates a revenue stream of $24,000 and $12,000 in the first two years.”

Nicholls said in the appendix to their letter, they notified county officials that second-year arrangement would extend through the final three years of the proposed lease agreement. As noted in their letter, time is of the essence as July 1 approaches when the county board plans to shut down the golf course and clubhouse operations.

Why not? It seems too pretty, not to mention historical, to lose to ideological intransience.

Below is the full text of the Virginia Golf LLC letter delivered to all five of the county’s elected officials, County Administrator Doug Stanley, Parks & Rec Superintendent Dan Lenz and Board Clerk Emily Ciarrocchi by email mid-afternoon Friday:

Greetings Members of the Board of Supervisors of the County of Warren.

Once again, thank you for hosting us on Tuesday, June 23, 2020, to present our proposal to lease and manage the Historic Recreational Center of Front Royal and the Front Royal Golf Course.

We at Va. Golf, LLC came away from that meeting with many learnings including:
1. The County of Warren does not want to set up a dynamic of perceived unfair competition by subsidizing a golf course.

2. Fiscal Responsibility is of tantamount importance to the Board of Supervisors of the County of Warren.

3. The County of Warren’s Board of Supervisors feels that Va. Golf, LLC needs to have “more skin in the game”.

Therefore, we at Va. Golf, LLC has revised our offer as follows:
1. Va. Golf, LLC will take over the Front Royal Golf course on July 1, 2020.
(Please note, this time of year, the course cannot sit, unattended, even for a couple of days or, otherwise, the estimated $300,000 the County has already spent over the last year and a half to bring the golf course “back up to speed” will go to waste.)

2. County of Warren will enter into a 5-year lease with Va. Golf, LLC., per the RFP, with renewable lease term extensions, also per the RFP.

The terms of the lease will be as follows:
a. County of Warren will turn over the equipment and course in good order per the County of Warren’s original RFP stipulations.

b. Virginia Golf, LLC will pay the County of Warren $2,000 a month to lease the course for the first year of the lease. (This will take care of the $20,000 liability that the County of Warren already has incurred with the Horizon Golf, (Capitol Carts), as well also give the County of Warren a $4,000 budgetary surplus from the course.)

c. For the second year of the lease, Va. Golf LLC will pay the County of Warren $1,000 a month and, additionally, Va. Golf, LLC will give the County of Warren 5% of its profits.

3. County of Warren may feel free to make arrangements with Horizon Golf, (Capitol Carts), to retrieve their golf carts, or just leave them in place, at the discretion of the County of Warren.
We at Va. Golf, LLC do hope that the Board of Supervisors for the County of Warren will now see fit, in the spirit of fiscal responsibility, to approve this highly enriched offer from Virginia Golf, LLC.

As we expressed to the Board members on Tuesday night, this project is a passion for us and a “labor of love” and our way of giving back to the community.
We do hope we have finally helped resolve the County’s dilemma as it relates to the Historic Recreational Center of Front Royal and the Front Royal Golf Course. It is our goal to help the County of Warren preserve History while also achieving their goal of being good stewards of the County’s assets.

Many thanks for your consideration.

Sincerely,
Louis and Ray
Louis Nicholls, Co-Owner
Ray Nash, Co-Owner
Va. Golf, LLC

It would appear the proverbial “ball” is back in the county supervisors court. At issue is whether those elected officials will respond with a yell of “Fore” or “Forget It”.

Fore or forgotten? – THAT is the question as July 1 approaches.