Wichita golf courses to remain publicly run after City Council rejects privatization

Wichita’s public golf courses will remain publicly run.

The City Council on Tuesday rejected a contract with KemperSports that would have privatized operations of the city’s four municipal golf courses.

The proposal failed 5-2, with council members Becky Tuttle and Bryan Frye voting for privatization.

KemperSports, based in Illinois, is a national golf company that runs 120 courses, a quarter of which are publicly owned.

It was chosen by a selection committee and the park board to take over the city’s system that includes Sim Park, Consolver, Auburn Hills and McDonald courses. The system had five courses until the closure of south Wichita’s Clapp Golf Course in 2019.

Council member Mike Hoheisel, who represents that part of the city, said the Clapp closure appears to have turned the system from a money-loser to a money-maker and he wants to see how it works out.

“From the contacts I’ve had it’s been overwhelmingly supportive of keeping golf in the city services,” Hoheisel said. “I am curious to see just how golf would perform under the new model now that Clapp has closed down and just see if we can do something with it.”

City Manager Robert Layton has been exploring privatization of the city golf courses for a decade.

Layton has said the city lacks the expertise to successfully run its golf courses.

On Tuesday, he told council members that the city would project a profit of $400,000 this year if the city continued to operate its courses, but $750,000 under Kemper management. The city’s profits could end up being higher because the $400,000 estimate assumes the city fills all vacant positions.

The system ran deficits as recently as 2019, but has turned profitable since the COVID-19 pandemic as more people sought to play outdoor sports where the risk of infection is minimal. Last year, Wichita’s golf courses turned a profit of more than $1 million.

Park Director Troy Houtman said the question is whether the courses can maintain that momentum as the pandemic burns itself out.

Tuttle spoke in favor of the privatization proposal.

“Our mission at the city of Wichita is to be an exceptionally well-run city,” she said. “But I believe there are times when the private sector can do better.”

Nile Dillmore, a former state representative and Wichita golfer, said he doesn’t buy that the city can’t handle its golf courses.

“The city claims that they just lack expertise,” he said. “The city runs the fire department, police department, city water. All of those require expertise. But we’re told we can’t find the expertise to manage four courses. That doesn’t shine well for our city.”

Dillmore also objected to a non-compete clause that would prohibit the city from hiring Kemper personnel if it ever ends the contract, which he said would destroy the city’s golf management capability.

“I’m going to quote from the contract that those employees include the general manager, superintendent, controller, director of golf, head professional or assistant superintendent of the golf courses,” he said. “That’s about everybody. You lose Kemper, you lose golf.”

Kemper CEO Josh Lesnik said his company would be able to grow the game beyond its current base of older players.

“We really appreciate the passionate golfers that have shown up today and previously to talk about your golf courses, but we need to look to the future,” he said. “Who’s going to play your golf courses in the future?

“We hope in five years the group of people here to talk about golf don’t all look the same. They have different backgrounds, they’re younger and they’re passionate about the game of golf and what it can do for them in their life and in their future.”

Wichita golfer Shawn Aday said the Kemper agreement was focused more on money than on members of the public who use the city’s golf courses. He said it failed to protect everyday users’ rights to use the courses.

“There’s been a lot of talk about money, but I think the main purpose of municipal golf for over 100 years has been to provide access to golf for people who can’t afford or choose to play country clubs,” he said.

“The main motive for any management company to come in here and increase profits would be to promote more tournaments.

“I don’t see any provisions in this contract to respect the access of the public to their golf courses and to provide for the men’s and women’s groups who have done so much to promote golf in this town and to include more people in golf in this town and to respect their time on the golf courses — none whatsoever, no provisions at all.”

The Eagle reported Monday that the city had changed the terms of the proposed contract after the park board heard faulty profit data before voting; the change made the terms more favorable to the city than they had been previously.

What golfers had to say

At Tex Consolver Golf Course in west Wichita on Tuesday afternoon, golfers had varied views on the council decision.

David Koch, a frequent golfer recovering from a shoulder injury, came out to hit balls at full strength for the first time since his surgery.

He said the $200,000 management fee Kemper negotiated seemed excessive.

“For $200,000, it seems like they could hire somebody to run the courses and keep it within Wichita,” he said.

He said he initially opposed Kemper management, but eventually came around to mildly supporting the idea.

He said the company would probably be better positioned for a post-COVID world.

“Five to 10 years down the road when golf drops off, they’re the ones who could keep golf going in Wichita,” he said.

Pat Mormando, who recently spent a year in California, said the Wichita city courses are some of the country’s least expensive and he thinks city operation will preserve that.

“This is affordable and that’s one of the things you’ve got to consider,” he said.

Genaka Lindberg said she thinks the city whiffed badly by not going with Kemper.

The Sand Creek course in Newton is run by Kemper and is superior to Wichita courses by a long shot, she said.

“It’s everything,” she said. “The greens, the people inside the pro shop, the bathrooms, the food and drink are much better.”

Looking to the future

Tom West, board member of First Tee youth-golf training program, a partner with Kemper in the contract, said he believes Kemper would help increase the number of golf rounds and help the city get through tough times.

“When times are tough, that’s when private management is most valuable,” West said.

Eddie Fahnestock, president of the park board and chairman of the golf advisory committee, has been one of the strongest proponents of privatizing management of the city’s courses.

“Obviously, we’ve seen a lot of pushback. I believe there’s a lot of reasons for that. One being some misinformation out there and the other one being that big word, that ‘privatize’ word that comes with a certain stigma,” he said.

Mayor Brandon Whipple said he voted against it because he’s concerned that the price would increase for Wichita golfers and that under the terms of the agreement the city would pay a guaranteed $200,000 to Kemper each year while assuming the risk of any losses at the golf courses.

“It concerns me to go into this with a flat fee while we take on the risk,” he said.

After initially speaking in support of the proposal, Council member Brandon Johnson ultimately decided to vote against it. He endorsed an idea floated by Frye to appoint a board of governors to oversee the golf system.

“Although I personally believe this (privatization) is the right thing to do at this point in time, and those who’ve reached out to me overwhelmingly are more supportive of Kemper, I think the board of governors is a good suggestion going forward if this were to stay with the city.”

“I am going to take a chance and bet on us,” Johnson said.

This story was originally published March 1, 2022 at 12:51 PM.