Audit finds golf course lost $260,000 last year

With a report released Monday showing Atchafalaya Golf Course lost more than $260,000 in the fiscal year that ended September 2013 and is running a $1.2 million net deficit, parish leaders are looking for ways to address the issue, including proposing an additional hotel/motel tax.
The legislative auditor released its audit Monday of the Atchafalaya Golf Course Commission, which included the financial information of last year’s operations. The report was prepared by Pitts and Matte.
Paul Naquin, St. Mary Parish president, said proponents of the golf course “knew it would take eight to 10 years before we saw daylight. … We knew we would have to wait it out. … We are trying to sell St. Mary Parish and this is one of the things we have to attract people here.”
Parish Councilman David Hanagriff said keeping the status quo is an unacceptable solution, which leaves two other options.
“We can change who is running the golf course,” Hanagriff said. “The commission has done a good job to a certain extent, but we could bring in a management company to run the course.”
The other solution he offered is a motel/hotel tax the council could ask the state legislature to consider. Council members Glen Hidalgo and Steve Bierhorst agreed the tax is a possible solution to the annual drain on the council’s revenue from the golf course.
Councilman Kevin Voisin said the parish is committed to the golf course’s operation.
“It is a tough cookie. We are kind of stuck with it. We are between a rock and a hard place,” Voisin said. “You can’t just back out of a $7 million course. … This may not ever make money, but we subsidize a lot of things in the parish like the Kemper Williams Park.”
Henry “Bo” LaGrange, chief administrative officer of the parish, said the golf course is one of many jewels in the parish “for the recreation of people who live here, move here or visit.”
Rudy Sparks, chairman of the golf course commission, said, “People do not understand fully the picture of what is going on at the golf course.” The golf course and the restaurant whose operation is leased to a private company contribute to the quality of life in St. Mary Parish, he said.
There were about 20 golf tournaments held last year that raised about $165,000 for local charities and booster clubs, Sparks said. The course is the home course of Nicholls State University and is utilized by parish high school golf teams, he said. He claimed the course helps some “employers’ ability to attract people into their company” from outside the parish.
Bierhorst said he was not originally in support of the golf course, but he calls the course “an asset to St. Mary Parish. … There is a lot of business done on a golf course. A lot of big, huge business. ... This is more than just golf. Golf is a game. This is about business in the parish.”
Or as Naquin put it, “Big decisions are made on the golf course.”
Sparks said the course has made financial progress since 2009.
“We are not where we would like to be … although we’re getting better every year,” Sparks said. “Overall, we are seeing a positive increase in revenue. … As revenues increase so do our sales tax remittance to the parish.”
The course has seen total revenue increasing from $1.8 million in 2009 to $2.3 million in 2013, Sparks said.
“We are going in the right direction,” Sparks said.
At a September parish council meeting, Hidalgo asked Sparks to look into getting a management company to run the golf course, which he agreed he would do. Hidalgo said a company came in a couple months ago and made a presentation, but the commission later voted against seeking proposals for a management company.
“The guys on the commission are doing the best they can, but they are not professional golf course managers,” Hidalgo said. “I guess if they are not going to get a management company in here the next step is to look at a hotel/motel tax. Nobody wants to raise taxes.”
Hanagriff said an additional hotel/motel tax would not affect residents since most of the hotel occupancy is done by people traveling into the area.
The course was completed and the commission began operations on Aug. 14, 2005. The commission initially agreed to reimburse the council for salaries and other costs of the staff, the audit report stated. But, as of Sept. 30, 2013, the commission owed the council $1,344,566 in accrued reimbursements, which the council deferred repayment on until December 2014 and may again defer payment, according to the Pitts and Matte report.
The council also allocated the commission $250,000 and BP gave it $105,956, according to the audit.
Auditors cited the commission for a lack of documentation of revenues in three instances out of a random 40 that were pulled during the audit. The commission responded that it would be diligent in the future to make sure all required documents are properly completed and retained.
The audit report said no instances of improperly recorded revenue or missing funds was found.
Sparks said 49 percent of play in the past year was by St. Mary Parish residents, 51 percent by nonparish residents, which includes 6 percent by out-of-state residents.