Council, gift cover $300K shortfall at golf course

The Atchafalaya Golf Course Commission had a roughly $300,000 operating loss for the 2014-15 fiscal year, according to an audit, but a grant from the parish council and donation from the Kemper and Leila Williams Foundation covered that loss, officials say.
Pitts & Matte CPA firm completed the audit for the fiscal year ended Sept. 30, 2015. The audit was released this morning on the state Legislative Auditor’s website. The commission operates The Atchafalaya at Idlewild golf course near Patterson.
The audit showed a $308,779 loss for the fiscal year. The commission had about $891,000 in operating revenues compared to roughly $1.2 million in operating expenses. The St. Mary Parish Council made a $250,000 grant to the commission to help make up that operating loss.
The commission also received a $100,000 donation from the Kemper and Leila Williams Foundation that closed the rest of the operating loss, Parish Chief Administrative Officer Henry “Bo” LaGrange said. That donation paid for new golf carts, LaGrange said.
For 2013-14, the commission had about a $184,000 operating loss. The increased operating loss in 2014-15 was mainly because of new golf cart purchases, LaGrange said.
As of Sept. 30, 2015, the commission also owed the council about $1.34 million for salary and benefit reimbursements incurred through that time, the audit said. The council has agreed to defer repayment of this amount by the commission until December 2016 at which time the council may again defer repayment, the report stated.
Those reimbursements owed occurred over multiple years, LaGrange said. The parish council owns the course, its clubhouse, and certain maintenance equipment.
The parish council recognizes the great recreational and economic benefits the golf course provides, the audit report stated. There-fore, the council has committed to continue funding a portion of the course's salaries and benefits, as necessary to insure continuing the course's ongoing operations, the report said.
Parish leaders wish the golf course would break even or be profitable, but they still recognize the course brings a “quality of life” recreation opportunity to the community, LaGrange said. The course has facilities for other events as well, including the Atchafalaya Restaurant, he said.
Golf Course Commission Chairman Rudy Sparks provided The Daily Review with the results of a study that showed $5 million in economic impact to the regional economy during the 2013-14 fiscal year. University of Louisiana-Lafayette Economics Professor Will C. Heath conducted the study.
The economic impact includes $1.2 million that the golf course spent during the 2013-14 fiscal year and the $1.89 million that golfers and the public spent at the course for a total of $3.1 million in direct spending, the study said. The course created 106 jobs, generated $187,250 in sales taxes per year and made about $116,000 in charitable contributions through golf tournaments during that time, the study stated.
The course induced another $1.93 million in indirect spending in the 2013-14 fiscal year, the study stated.