Proposed Idlewild private management move tabled

A recreational facility in Patterson that has struggled to make ends meet since its creation nearly 10 years ago will have to wait to see if they will be receiving assistance in the near future.
At their meeting Wednesday night, the St. Mary Parish Council voted six to four to table a measure proposed by councilman Glen Hidalgo that would have looked at the feasibility of potentially bringing in a third party management firm to help the Atchafalaya Golf Course at Idlewild market themselves.
After listening to a presentation from Don Shirey of Troon Golf Management outlining what he thought his company could do to help the golf course, parish councilmen deliberated for nearly an hour before reaching the decision.
Shirey said he thought his company could bring more resources to the table to help the course expand their profile in the region.
“We have a plethora of ability to be able to market that facility,” said Shirey. “The golf course is great. The management is great. But we can market that course to increase revenues. That’s where third party management comes in. I came here tonight to encourage you to look at that option.”
While every member of the council expressed an interest in helping the golf course succeed financially, some members spoke openly about their concerns with the proposed amendment to examine the viability of third party management.
Councilman Glen Hidalgo, who sponsored the amendment, said he was disappointed the council decided to table the measure for a later date.
“This was just to look at proposals,” Hidalgo said. “We are not doing our due diligence to not look at the numbers. There is no reason, that I can see, to not try and make things better. They are doing a great job with what they have, but they are maxed out on their resources.”
Atchafalaya Golf Course Director Ed Selser said he thought the facility already has the capabilities to promote the course and increase their profile on the market. Selser said he thought bringing in a third party management firm would, in effect, be redundant.
“There are certain things that happened this year that affected us such as the weather and the economy,” Selser said. “We’ve looked at this and studied it and we just think, at this point, it’s not going to particularly help us.”
According to Selser, expectations for next year are high and measures are being taken to improve the financial well-being of the Atchafalaya Golf Course.
“We are being proactive in trying to market this facility,” Selser said. “Everyone who plays this course thinks it’s one of the nicest courses around and one of the best experiences they’ve had. I think given just a little bit of good weather, we would’ve had our best year yet. I think 2016 will be a much better year.”
Other items on the agenda included a brief statement from a Red Ribbon Week representative asking council members to support a variety of activities planned from Oct. 23 through Nov. 1.
There was also a representative from the Harvest Moon Festival urging council members to actively participate in the annual celebration.
Several preliminary and final subdivision measures were approved as well as three ordinances and a variety of resolutions.