[Durham INC] Hillandale Golf Course

[Richard Ford]

I think the following post from Mike Woodward on the WHH list summarizes the situation well and makes it seem a bit less dire/immediate.

Date: Fri, 02 Sep 2011 20:22:20 -0400
From: "Mike Woodard" <mike at mikewoodard.com>
To: whhna-list at rtpnet.org
Subject: [whhna-list] Hillandale Golf Course
Message-ID: <20110902202220.17309 at web005.nyc1.bluetie.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8

Neighbors:

I have read with great interest the emails on our listserv regarding Hillandale Golf Course over the last few days. There were enough concerns, suggestions, and misinformation that I wanted to take some time and share information and thoughts with you. Settle in: this is gonna be a long one!

Please understand that anything I share is current, but could change later. As we go through this process, I will share my best information to the fullest extent that I can.

First of all, while the thoughts of an abandoned course, McMansions on the fairways, Wal-Marts, 751 Souths, and five-lane roads scare us, we should all take a deep breath, relax, and resist the urge to flood the City with emails and petitions. The City Administration has been very busy working on this issue and is poised to take action when SunTrust, the executor of the Hill Trust, submits a formal proposal. The option of City ownership will play out first, long before we?ll have to worry about bad things happening to Hillandale?if they ever do.

There is the immediate concern of the course closing October 31 and the employees losing their jobs. No one wants to see that happen. However, there is nothing the City can do to prevent this, as least at this point. SunTrust is the decision maker on these issues, and the City must wait for a formal proposal from SunTrust. It is possible that the City could take ownership AND work out some sort of short-term management arrangement prior to October 31. However, in my estimation, that is a really big push.

SunTrust is working hard to resolve the commitments and contracts the Hill Trust has made that encumbers the golf course. The City Administration has made it clear that we would only accept the course with no encumbrances. And I fully support that position.

Once that is done, SunTrust will present a proposal to the Administration. Our senior leadership will perform further due diligence and conduct further negotiations.

Finally, the City Manager will make a recommendation to the City Council for consideration. Like all Council actions, this will be done in public meetings as outlined in State law and City ordinances.

The Administration has already begun analyzing the options the City has for owning and managing the course. My feeling is that the most likely option is to place the course and its operations in an enterprise fund. This keeps the business of the course out of the City?s General Fund, meaning that tax payers would not bear the burden of the costs or subsidize the fees for those who wish to use the course. Then the City would consider proposals for managing the course.

This is similar to how the DPAC is run. The City (taxpayers!) owns the building and hires a professional theatre firm (one of the best in the world!) to run it. All the financial transactions stay in the enterprise fund, away from the City?s budget and our tax dollars. I would favor a similar model for ownership of Hillandale.

Every indication I have expressed and have heard from the City Administration and some of my colleagues on the Council is that we maintain Hillandale as a golf course. Some of you have proposed interesting ideas, but those are unlikely at this point.

I?ve learned never to say ?never,? but the chance of any sizable or impactful development happening on the Hillandale property is remote. First, we would have to fully understand the implications of Mr. Hill placing the property in trust decades ago. Second, portions of the property are in a flood plain, have intermittent streams, and are restricted by easements. And most any significant development would require some kind of rezoning?and you can imagine how our neighborhood would respond to that!

Some have expressed concerns about widening Hillandale Road to four or five lanes from Club to I-85. Some have even posited a conspiracy between the City and Duke to widen the road in accordance with some long-range plan.

Hillandale Road is a State-maintained and ?funded road. As such, any plans and funding must come from the State. And you know how the State budget looks now! Having chaired the regional Transportation Committee when the last long-range regional transportation plan was approved, I can assure you that the State (or the City) does not have any widening of Hillandale Road in its long-range plans. NCDOT officials have made it clear to me that this is a battle they aren?t willing to fight.

This is one of the variables that could change (new Governor, new DOT secretary, new DOT board), but it would take many years with many points for public input before a widening could occur. We should keep our antennae up about this, but the chances of widening seem remote.

One neighbor suggested that the City Council or the Administration might make ?back door or side deals.? Those of you who know me know that I don?t play that way, nor do my colleagues or the City Administration. Any proposal to obtain the course will be presented to the public and fully vetted by the Council before action is taken.

To that end, I will commit to the following:
1)	I will be happy to answer any questions any of you may have, either individually or to the listserv. (Your choice.)
2)	Throughout this process, I will actively stay in touch with our Neighborhood Association leadership.
3)	When the City Manager presents a proposal, I will coordinate with the Neighborhood Association a public meeting so that we can discuss the proposal fully and have questions answered before the Council takes a vote.

Please stay in touch with me if you have concerns, questions, suggestions, or comments.

Mike Woodard
City Council

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mike Woodard
Email: mike at mikewoodard.com
Web site: www.mikewoodard.com
Mobile: 919.599.5143
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