27 Flags flap all about the green
City snatches up golf club with eye on future revenue; golfers left holding the bag
By Lynn Zerschling Journal staff writer | Posted: Saturday, April 12, 2008
"Closed" and "Keep Out" signs are posted at the entrance of 27 Flags Golf Course Tuesday. (Jim Lee/Sioux City Journal)
SIOUX CITY -- On a cold, snowy day in March, Art Hansen and his wife drove to 27 Flags Golf Course south of Sioux Gateway Airport.
When the retired packing house worker and his wife, acting on a rumor, arrived at the course, the flags were still on the greens. But something wasn't right.
"When my wife and I went up to the clubhouse and looked in the windows, everything had been taken out," Hansen said. "I started calling around."
Hansen and the rest of the 129 club members learned the course wouldn't open this spring when the city announced on March 24 plans to buy the land from its original owner. Hoohaa, Inc., which operated the course, had removed all of its equipment, and club members haven't heard a word from company owners Gerald and Dee Jensen.
On Monday, the Sioux City council authorized the purchase of the 183-acre tract at 2299 Alicia Ave. On Friday, the city and property owner Terry Johnson closed the deal for $1.46 million. Hoohaa had been buying the golf course on contract from Johnson. Johnson got the land back under a forfeiture action, according to legal documents.
The city plans to put the ground in its "land bank" for future industrial development and construction of a second water treatment plant.
'A complete surprise'
Golf course members are teed off.
"We liked golfing there because it had three different golf courses and the prices were reasonable," Stan Ahrendt said.
Members had to pay their annual dues by Oct. 1, the annual renewal date for the 2007-2008 year, he said. Membership fees ranged from $300 to more than $800 a year. If the members paid before Sept. 1, they received a discount.
Ahrendt, a retired East Middle School eighth-grade English teacher, said the first he knew about the course's closure was when he read a story in the Journal.
"It came as a complete surprise," he stated. "Last fall, I asked Dee Jensen if she was sure they would be open this spring, and we were assured they would be."
Ahrendt, Whitsel and other members said they have tried, but failed, to reach the Jensens.
The golf course's phone number has been disconnected. The Jensens live in Hubbard, Neb., club members said, but the Journal did not find a listed telephone number for the couple there. Messages left with relatives in Sergeant Bluff and Emerson, Neb., were not returned.
Chuck Corbett, Johnson's attorney, said Hoohaa Inc. collected the membership fees, not his client.
"We know we're not going to get our money back," Hansen said.
Club members have asked the City Council to help them get their membership money back, keep 27 Flags open this year or offer discounts at city golf courses.
The city is buying the land, not the golf course, City Manager Paul Eckert said. He has asked parks and recreation staffers to meet with the greenskeeper and board of directors from Green Valley Golf Course to explore options. City staffers will report back to the council in two to three weeks. Green Valley and Floyd golf courses are owned by the city but operated by private associations.
At least two council members, Brent Hoffman and Jim Rixner, said they would oppose using taxpayer money to operate 27 Flags.
A competing offer from Sergeant Bluff that would have kept the golf course operational was turned down.
Sergeant Bluff Mayor Dale Peterson said his city offered $1.55 million for the land and intended to maintain the course. However, the city would have had to put the issue to a public vote before completing the sale. Johnson found that offer "less attractive" due to the uncertainty, Corbett said.
"We were kind of a day late and a dollar short," Peterson said. "It's a real shame that we lose 27 holes of a functioning course."
A master plan
Jeff Hanson, the city's planning and neighborhood services division manager, said the golf course is on land that was targeted for future industrial development in the city's 2005 Comprehensive Plan. The golf course is northwest of the proposed Southbridge interchange at I-29, between the airport and Port Neal interchanges.
Some of that ground south of the airport is not within the city limits, including the 183 acres of the golf course -- even though the city owns the land. It is 900 feet south of the city boundary, Hanson said. The 27 Flags land has to be contiguous to land within the city limits in order to be annexed.
Eventually, the ground in between could be voluntarily annexed, he said. That area contains a mixture of uses, including farmland and some light industrial companies. No housing subdivisions are there.
The city already runs utility lines past the golf course property to large industries along the Missouri River, including Gelita and AGP, according to community development director Patty Heagel. The city also provides water to an Interstate 29 rest stop.
"We already made investment in this area. It's close to the interstate and the river," Hanson said.
Marty Dougherty, the city's economic development director, said Union Pacific runs a major rail line through the area and competitive electric rates are available from MidAmerican Energy or the rural electric cooperative.
The land, therefore, will be suitable for more than the second water treatment plant planned for 40 to 50 acres of the site, he said. It will also be attractive to developers. City officials envision major distribution hubs, food processing operations or facilities providing services to the military.
"It's still in the works," Dougherty said. "It takes years to accomplish something like this."
The proposed interchange would be the key to providing access to develop some 5,000 acres of mostly farmland beyond the city's southern boundaries. If that land develops, it will generate thousands of property tax dollars for the city (if annexed) and the Sergeant Bluff-Luton School District. The land, however, does not lie within the boundaries of the Sioux City School District.
Bill Stoneburg, the Sioux City district's finance director, said there have been some general discussions in the past about sharing the revenue, though no agreement has been reached.
"We're 358th out of 364 districts in Iowa on the amount of property value per student. We're sixth from the lowest. We're really property poor," Stoneburg said.
Lynn Zerschling may be reached at (712) 293-4202 or lynn.zerschling@lee.net
Why a second water treatment plant?
The city also plans to build its second water treatment plant on 40 to 50 acres of the newly purchased 27 Flags Golf Course parcel.
Ricky Mach, plant supervisor, said previous studies targeted land south of the airport near the river as the best location for new wells and the treatment plant. The city's plant is located at 1101 Tri View Ave.
By 2011, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources will require the city to have a second plant operational, producing 10 million gallons of water per day. A plant in that location will improve water pressure to all of Morningside, in addition to serving industries in the area, Mach said.
When the retired packing house worker and his wife, acting on a rumor, arrived at the course, the flags were still on the greens. But something wasn't right.
"When my wife and I went up to the clubhouse and looked in the windows, everything had been taken out," Hansen said. "I started calling around."
Hansen and the rest of the 129 club members learned the course wouldn't open this spring when the city announced on March 24 plans to buy the land from its original owner. Hoohaa, Inc., which operated the course, had removed all of its equipment, and club members haven't heard a word from company owners Gerald and Dee Jensen.
On Monday, the Sioux City council authorized the purchase of the 183-acre tract at 2299 Alicia Ave. On Friday, the city and property owner Terry Johnson closed the deal for $1.46 million. Hoohaa had been buying the golf course on contract from Johnson. Johnson got the land back under a forfeiture action, according to legal documents.
The city plans to put the ground in its "land bank" for future industrial development and construction of a second water treatment plant.
'A complete surprise'
Golf course members are teed off.
"We liked golfing there because it had three different golf courses and the prices were reasonable," Stan Ahrendt said.
Members had to pay their annual dues by Oct. 1, the annual renewal date for the 2007-2008 year, he said. Membership fees ranged from $300 to more than $800 a year. If the members paid before Sept. 1, they received a discount.
Ahrendt, a retired East Middle School eighth-grade English teacher, said the first he knew about the course's closure was when he read a story in the Journal.
"It came as a complete surprise," he stated. "Last fall, I asked Dee Jensen if she was sure they would be open this spring, and we were assured they would be."
Ahrendt, Whitsel and other members said they have tried, but failed, to reach the Jensens.
The golf course's phone number has been disconnected. The Jensens live in Hubbard, Neb., club members said, but the Journal did not find a listed telephone number for the couple there. Messages left with relatives in Sergeant Bluff and Emerson, Neb., were not returned.
Chuck Corbett, Johnson's attorney, said Hoohaa Inc. collected the membership fees, not his client.
"We know we're not going to get our money back," Hansen said.
Club members have asked the City Council to help them get their membership money back, keep 27 Flags open this year or offer discounts at city golf courses.
The city is buying the land, not the golf course, City Manager Paul Eckert said. He has asked parks and recreation staffers to meet with the greenskeeper and board of directors from Green Valley Golf Course to explore options. City staffers will report back to the council in two to three weeks. Green Valley and Floyd golf courses are owned by the city but operated by private associations.
At least two council members, Brent Hoffman and Jim Rixner, said they would oppose using taxpayer money to operate 27 Flags.
A competing offer from Sergeant Bluff that would have kept the golf course operational was turned down.
Sergeant Bluff Mayor Dale Peterson said his city offered $1.55 million for the land and intended to maintain the course. However, the city would have had to put the issue to a public vote before completing the sale. Johnson found that offer "less attractive" due to the uncertainty, Corbett said.
"We were kind of a day late and a dollar short," Peterson said. "It's a real shame that we lose 27 holes of a functioning course."
A master plan
Jeff Hanson, the city's planning and neighborhood services division manager, said the golf course is on land that was targeted for future industrial development in the city's 2005 Comprehensive Plan. The golf course is northwest of the proposed Southbridge interchange at I-29, between the airport and Port Neal interchanges.
Some of that ground south of the airport is not within the city limits, including the 183 acres of the golf course -- even though the city owns the land. It is 900 feet south of the city boundary, Hanson said. The 27 Flags land has to be contiguous to land within the city limits in order to be annexed.
Eventually, the ground in between could be voluntarily annexed, he said. That area contains a mixture of uses, including farmland and some light industrial companies. No housing subdivisions are there.
The city already runs utility lines past the golf course property to large industries along the Missouri River, including Gelita and AGP, according to community development director Patty Heagel. The city also provides water to an Interstate 29 rest stop.
"We already made investment in this area. It's close to the interstate and the river," Hanson said.
Marty Dougherty, the city's economic development director, said Union Pacific runs a major rail line through the area and competitive electric rates are available from MidAmerican Energy or the rural electric cooperative.
The land, therefore, will be suitable for more than the second water treatment plant planned for 40 to 50 acres of the site, he said. It will also be attractive to developers. City officials envision major distribution hubs, food processing operations or facilities providing services to the military.
"It's still in the works," Dougherty said. "It takes years to accomplish something like this."
The proposed interchange would be the key to providing access to develop some 5,000 acres of mostly farmland beyond the city's southern boundaries. If that land develops, it will generate thousands of property tax dollars for the city (if annexed) and the Sergeant Bluff-Luton School District. The land, however, does not lie within the boundaries of the Sioux City School District.
Bill Stoneburg, the Sioux City district's finance director, said there have been some general discussions in the past about sharing the revenue, though no agreement has been reached.
"We're 358th out of 364 districts in Iowa on the amount of property value per student. We're sixth from the lowest. We're really property poor," Stoneburg said.
Lynn Zerschling may be reached at (712) 293-4202 or lynn.zerschling@lee.net
Why a second water treatment plant?
The city also plans to build its second water treatment plant on 40 to 50 acres of the newly purchased 27 Flags Golf Course parcel.
Ricky Mach, plant supervisor, said previous studies targeted land south of the airport near the river as the best location for new wells and the treatment plant. The city's plant is located at 1101 Tri View Ave.
By 2011, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources will require the city to have a second plant operational, producing 10 million gallons of water per day. A plant in that location will improve water pressure to all of Morningside, in addition to serving industries in the area, Mach said.
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Sad Golfer wrote on Apr 15, 2008 7:51 AM:
How can they get away with this???? wrote on Apr 14, 2008 11:24 PM:
TimH (Part 2) wrote on Apr 14, 2008 1:47 AM:
"
TimH (Part 1) wrote on Apr 14, 2008 1:46 AM:
Isn't there any way to tie this land up in the courts until those ripped off are fairly reimbursed by someone? Maybe a class-action lawsuit.
Guess that is one of the benefits of setting up a corporation like HooHaa, Inc. you can take everyone's money then rip everyone off, sell off what little assets they had inside the clubhouse during the dead of winter when no golfer would notice, then bankrupt the corporation before spring and walk away scot-free with all the money in their pockets. Doesn't seem right at all.
"
Just wondering wrote on Apr 13, 2008 12:30 AM: