There was a relatively short meeting of the Evesham Town Council on Tuesday October 16, 2018. It began with a presentation by Bob Hennefer, Director of Golf, Recreation and Open Space for Evesham Township. Several months ago, the idea was floated at Town Council about building a miniature golf course at the Indian Springs Golf Club, and he was returning to Town Council to present the recommendations.
As he began his presentation, Councilman D’Andrea wanted to make the point that "the golf course makes money. The challenge... is sins of the past, still dealing with debt issues” from prior administrations. The current Council has done a “yeoman’s job” but is still dealing with bad decisions made more than 12 years ago.
Over the past several months, Mr Hennefer has met with engineers, golf course designers and a miniature golf course expert from northern Jersey. The recommendation they came up with is an 18 hole miniature golf course that is fully ADA Compliant.
The golf course would initially cost $750,000 for an eventual revenue stream of $225,000 annually. The recommendation is to finance the golf course using a 5 year bond option (though detailed pricing was also presented for 10 and 15 year bond options).
The course would be located between the parking lot for the driving range and the Gibson House, just off of East Main Street. There is money in the project for additional parking spaces if needed.
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| Green surface is 'carpet', with real landscaping throughout the course |
The golf course would initially cost $750,000 for an eventual revenue stream of $225,000 annually. The recommendation is to finance the golf course using a 5 year bond option (though detailed pricing was also presented for 10 and 15 year bond options).
The course would be located between the parking lot for the driving range and the Gibson House, just off of East Main Street. There is money in the project for additional parking spaces if needed.
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| Mini Golf (in yellow box) between parking lots for Driving Range and Gibson House |
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| Mini Golf would be located in the yellow box, next to the Parking Lot for the driving range |
Revenue projections were shown, with explanations as to how the calculations were arrived at. Estimates were done using 15% of maximum capacity - in other words, if the miniature golf course could handle 100 patrons a day, 15 patrons (15%) were used for the estimates. Calculations were made assuming the golf course would be open 120 days per year. However it was noted if the weather was nice, the course would be open more than 120 days - 120 days is a conservative estimate. By contrast, the regulation golf course is open 270-320 days per year. Prices were set at $8 for day time and $10 for night time, which is slightly more than Pleasant Valley Miniature Golf in Voorhees. The actual prices set when the course opens may be different, as research is still being done to set the proper price point. The course would be open from 9AM to 11PM – by comparison, the Driving Range is open from 8AM to 10PM.
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| Expenses without debt service. Expenses go up year 5, as carpet (fake grass) should be replaced every 5 years |
Money is also contained within the budget to create a concession area (pizza, ice cream, etc), though the form that will take is undecided. Possibilities include vending machines, freezers with ice cream snacks, a partnership with Cups n Cones, and other options. This would increase revenue from just course fees, plus allow events such as birthday parties to be held at the course.
In order to build the course, there were two resolutions on the agenda during the council session (both passed). Approvals were still needed from the County, but after that is received and contracts are signed, it is expected to take 2-3 months to build the course. The tentative target date for opening is by July 4th, 2019.
After the presentation, all resolutions and ordinances before the council passed by a vote of 5-0. You can view the resolutions here:
During open public comment, Sandy Student thanked the council and Town Engineer Tim Staszewski for the repaving of Kettle Run Road and I thanked Bob Hennefer for providing several golf carts to the Cherokee Marching Band Boosters for their Home Competition at Cherokee last month.
During the ‘Around the Horn’ at the end of the meeting, Councilman DiEnna presented Mayor Brown with a newspaper article cut out from the Courier Post. Noting that there was a lot of misinformation online, the article noted Delran’s settlement with the Fair Share organization over Affordable Housing. Mr DiEnna thought the article did a good job explaining for the average person what affordable housing and PILOTs were. The article can be found here. The article does give a cursory explanation of the COAH process. The only mention of PILOTs (tax abatement) is a mention that Delran agreed to grant a 5 year PILOT for their affordable housing project. By contrast, Evesham granted a 30 year PILOT for the affordable housing project on Executive Drive back in July.
Councilman D’Andrea recognized Tim Staszewski, who recently won an award for work that was done to create the new walkway at the Inglis House. His firm submitted the project to the Municipal Society of Engineers, and they won first place for “Project of the Year.”
Mayor Brown mentioned that the annual Turkey Trot will take place Thanksgiving morning at 9AM. 1000 shirts and medals have been ordered to award to all participants.
The next Town Council meeting is November 20, 2018 at 6:30pm.
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