QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“What I’d like to see is the condition of the golf course improve.”
Commissioner Steven Weems on his hopes for Chesapeake Hills Golf Course.
The Calvert County Commissioners voted 3-to-2 May 8 to reject a recommendation from county government staff to award a contract to a Florida consultant for the purpose of crafting a business plan for Chesapeake Hills Golf Course in Lusby. In the end, a majority of commissioners could not see the justification in spending $23,500 for planning when the money could be better used upgrading the facility.
“We wanted to see a business plan,” said Commissioner Evan K. Slaughenhoupt Jr., who made the motion to accept staff’s recommendation to award the contract for “professional golf course business plan services” to National Golf Foundation Consulting Inc. of Jupiter, FL. Slaughenhoupt, who had previously berated staff for the poor condition of the county-owned golf course, commended staff for their work in weighing the merits of four proposals that were submitted earlier this year. “They reached out to get some good advice for this business plan,” said Slaughenhoupt.
When asked by Commissioner Susan Shaw [R] what the contract covered, Parks and Recreation Division Chief Paul D. “Doug” Meadows stated the consultant was prepared to do a “soup to nuts” evaluation of the course. “They look at absolutely everything,” said Meadows, who affirmed the ultimate goal is to make Chesapeake Hills “self-sufficient. We should have a good map of where we want to go in the next 10 years.”
“I’m very encouraged by that,” said Shaw, who was one of two commissioners who voted in 2008 not to purchase the golf course. During the agenda item discussion May 8, however, Shaw called Chesapeake Hills “an important amenity” and important in terms of the county’s “tourism initiative.”
Department of General Services Director Wilson Freeland said the business plan “will give us the synergy to interact with businesses.”
That’s when the three commissioners who weren’t so enthusiastic with the strategy spoke up.
“I haven’t heard a compelling argument,” said Commissioner Steven R. Weems [R], who has a background in golf course management. Weems pointed out that a county taxpayer who doesn’t play golf might have concerns about the proposed $23,500 expenditure. “What I’
