Mitchell City Council honors mayor's veto to reject $670,300 bid for Lakeview Golf Course improvement project

Jul. 14—MITCHELL — The second phase of the Lakeview Golf Course master plan improvement project has been halted after Mitchell Mayor Bob Everson's veto to reject the bid was upheld by the city council.

During the July 5 Mitchell City Council meeting, Everson said the city has repeatedly transferred funds to the golf course in excess of $500,000 to make up the deficit. The $670,300 bid — the lowest bid of the two that were submitted — for phase II of the golf course master plan improvement project came in roughly $180,000 over the budgeted amount, which also factored into Everson's decision to veto the project.

"That was done because it's an enterprise fund that should be standing on its own, and we've had to put half a million dollars into the golf course. This requires another $180,000 coming out of the general fund to do the work," Everson said.

The project aimed to bring major renovations to the back nine of the 18-hole golf course and turn it into a par-71 layout instead of the existing par-72 setup. According to the bid tabulation, the costliest portion of the project is the $52,800 that would install paved cart paths for holes 14 and 15.

Everson's veto was a response to the council's approval of the golf course project bid at the June 20 meeting. While the council approved the project bid in a 7-1 vote on June 20, two of the council members who voted for the project were replaced with a pair of newly elected council members.

Council members Susan Tjarks, Mike Bathke and John Doescher voted in favor of Everson's veto, while council members Kevin McCardle, Dan Sabers, Tim Goldammer, Jeff Smith and Marty Barington voted to override the veto. For the council to override a sitting mayor's veto, it requires a two-thirds vote from the council, equating to a 6-2 vote. The council voted 5-3 to honor the veto that rejected awarding the $670,300 bid for the golf course improvement project.

According to Parks and Recreation Director Kevin Nelson, contingency funds would have been used to cover the additional costs above the roughly $558,000 budgeted amount.

Although the council had little discussion about the mayor's veto request on July 5, Tjarks explained why she was against moving forward with the golf course improvement project during the June 20 meeting.

"Historically, when an organization comes to ask for improvements whether it's for the hockey arena, swimming pools, every time we ask for that group to put skin in the game. This is a sizable project that's more than half a million dollars, which we committed to. Another $180,000 is a lot," Tjarks said at the June 20 meeting when she made the lone vote against approving the project bid.

Tjarks urged golf course officials to come up with some form of fundraising mechanisms for her to reconsider approving phase II of the master plan.

Sabers, who was the former council liaison for the Golf and Cemetery Board, has been pushing for the second phase portion of the golf course master plan from the moment it was presented to the council during budget hearings in the fall. Sabers said doing phase I, which is in progress, without phase II "makes no sense."

"It needs to be done in order for the project to look good, and I think it will be a great addition to the city of Mitchell," Sabers said.

In Everson's letter explaining his motives behind the veto, he noted there are "better, more important projects" the city is pursuing that the funds could be used for. Although Everson didn't name any projects that he believes are more important than the golf course improvements, the city's goal to take on a multimillion-dollar Lake Mitchell dredging project has been a major focus for Everson and city leaders over the past few years.

Everson also noted the golf course has yet to pay back funds for the $100,000 worth of new golf carts it recently received.

In the wake of the council's decision to veto the bid, the Golf and Cemetery Board met Wednesday for a special meeting to discuss a new proposal that reduces the amount of project costs the council would be asked to cover.

Joel Reinisch, a Golf and Cemetery Board member, explained the board will be asking the council to approve the original $670,300 bid, along with a roughly $114,000 contingency cost. The initial contingency cost for the project was $180,000.

Goldammer, the council's liaison for the Golf and Cemetery Board, said he's worked with Golf Course Superintendent Jason Gunnare on developing a long-term payment plan to pay back the addition of the new golf carts.

The council will ultimately decide whether to approve the new proposal for the second phase of the project at a future meeting.