After Four Hour Meeting, Sartell City Council Approves Sale of Pine Ridge Golf Course

(KNSI) — A divided Sartell city council approved selling the Pine Ridge Golf Course after a four-and-a-half-hour meeting on Monday night.

Councilmembers Tim Elness, Alex Lewandowski and Jill Smith voted to accept the $426,000 offer from Three Tees LLC. The city’s appraisal had the property valued at $775,000. Smith talked with KNSI News immediately after the vote.

“I think it was the best decision because we’re reviewing the financials, [and] our overall cash position is so dramatically improved with the sale. The alternates ended up in deficit over 30 years, and it’s just not something that I’m willing to have encumbered by taxpayers.”

City staff says while the property isn’t in any imminent threat of being closed, several maintenance issues need to be addressed, including a new parking lot and an irrigation system, and the clubhouse does not currently meet building codes. Smith says those issues and the demand that the property remains a golf course for the next 30 years make it harder to sell. “We have imposed significant covenants and restrictions through the purchase agreement. And with that, you inherently diminish the value of the land. And so, I’m comfortable with where it is, especially given the liabilities we talked about.”

If the property weren’t sold, Sartell would likely need to make significant investments, which the city hasn’t been planning for. Sartell uses the annual $31,000 lease payment for the Scheels Athletic Complex. Past city councils pledged that money for another ten years, and the sale will be used to cover that obligation, with the rest going to the general fund.

At the 11th hour, operator Boulder Ridge let the city know they planned to invoke a one-year early termination provision in their lease that allows them to continue to run the facility for the rest of the 2023 and 2024 seasons. After that, Boulder Ridge would need to sign a new agreement with Three Tees, and the two sides have been in conversation.

Mayor Ryan Fitzthum and Councilman Jed Meyer opposed the sale. Fitzthum told KNSI the city needed to hit the pause button for the dozens of people who felt they never got a chance to voice their concerns over the sale because the city never held a formal public hearing. “We’ve got a lot of rebuilding or repair that needs to happen between us and our community now. And bringing clarity as to why the sale happened.”

The city began looking for a buyer in August of 2022 and took bids for the land in January 2023. And while residents could have come to any council meeting or contacted the city at that time, few knew they could or that the sale was even being contemplated.

Fitzthum said the city got a letter from Minnesota Representative Tim O’Driscoll and Senator Jeff Howe, who opposed the sale and implied that the move could make it difficult for the city to get Legislative approval for a regional sales tax in the future. Sartell bought the 18-hole 160 acres course in 2008 for around $3.4 million, then split off and developed half of it into Central Park Boulevard and Pinecone Central Park, which is a regional park. The land was paid for with the city’s regional sales tax, which language dictated should only be used for regional projects. At the time of the purchase, O’Driscoll served on the city council.

Last week, the city released renderings of what the new facilities could look like and information meant to answer questions on the proposal from community members. The renderings also show an outdoor patio and pro shop, plus a new parking lot.

Fitzthum says no matter what side of the issue you’re on, it’s time to move on. “The council as a whole has made a decision, and now as a council, we need to get behind that decision and move forward in support it. The decision has been made. It’s final. Now we need to move forward and make that decision the best it can be.”

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