Hidalgo: Golf course needs management co.

Published 6:00 am Monday, June 18, 2018

FRANKLIN — A St. Mary Parish Councilman says the time is now for the Atchafalaya at Idlewild Golf Course Commission to hire a management company because the facility has operated in the red consistently for 11 years.

After Wednesday’s council meeting, Councilman Glen Hidalgo commented on the parish’s premiere 18-hole fairway  located inside Kemper Williams Park in Patterson. Hidalgo also said the golf course commission voted to reject all proposals from management companies.

“I’m not against the facility. I want to see it succeed because it’s a win for our local economy, and our way of life,” Hidalgo said.

“However, after 11 years of negative publicity and losing money, something has to change. We can’t keep doing business as usual.”

No other councilman has remarked publicly about the golf course.

Last month, Hidalgo made a request to St. Mary Parish Chief Administrative Officer Henry “Bo” LaGrange, for the council to meet with the golf course commission, to discuss proposals from the four different management companies: Kemper Sports of Illinois, OB Sports of Phoenix, Billy Casper Golf Management of Illinois and Touchstone Golf Management of Austin. 

“Every one of them is willing to work on a performance basis,” Hidalgo said. 

“And, all of them indicate that in three years, they can have this thing in the black,” he said.

St. Mary Parish taxpayers paid $4.5 million in 2007 to build Atchafalaya at Idlewild. Seven years later, a 2014 study  showed the course pumping $5 million into  the St. Mary Parish economy.

In 2017, the golf course fiscal year ended with $771,863 in revenues with $1.179 million in expenses, generating a loss of $407,325.

And in 2016, the golf course fiscal year ended with $823,000 in revenues with $1.172 million in expenses, leaving a $350,000 deficit.    

“I hate to sound negative, but with our economy being as bad as what it is now, the golf course is probably on its way to losing way more this year,” Hidalgo said. 

The members of the Atchafalaya Golf Commission are Clay Caffrey, Ben Adams, Frank Guarisco, Rudy Sparks, Ken Conrad, Willie Edwards and Jerry Adams.

In other business Wednesday, Port of Morgan City Director Mác Wade announced the federal government has awarded $9 million in additional dollars to deepen the Atchafalaya River Channel. 

 The total award is now $41 million, which will be earmarked for the most part, to open a channel in the river for ships to enter the port. Wade said each ship that uses the port represents $300,000 for the parish economy,  and the last time that occurred was roughly five years ago. 

In other matters Wed-nesday, the council passed an ordinance amending the sale and use of fireworks in the parish, over the July 4, Christmas and New Year’s holidays.

The proposed ordinance reads that fireworks may be sold at retail from noon to 10 p.m. June 28 through July 3 and from noon to midnight on July 4. 

Fireworks may be used, set off or shot from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. June 28 to July 4 and from Dec 22 to Jan 1. Additional hours for fireworks use will be allowed from 10 p.m. on July 4 to 1 a.m. on July 5 and from 10 p.m. Dec 24 to 1 a.m. Dec 25 and from 10 p.m. Dec 31 to 1 a.m.

Under the previous ordinance, fireworks are allowed from 8 a.m. to 1 a.m. Christmas, New Year’s and Fourth of July nights.