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The commissioners also approve a lease agreement between the city and the club for the next five years.
By LEON M. TUCKER
© St. Petersburg Times, published October 23, 2000
DUNEDIN -- It was a surprise to city officials and the members of the Dunedin Country Club to learn recently that a $6,500 annual cap on taxes had expired -- five years ago.
"It sounded like something fell through the cracks there in regard to the $6,500," said Mayor Tom Anderson.
So instead of asking the club to begin paying more taxes, all but one commissioner voted last week to keep the $6,500 cap in place for one more year so a longer-term agreement between the two sides could be reached. The country club pays up to $6,500 in lieu of property taxes.
A lease agreement between the city and the club for the next five years -- without a specific tax amount -- also was approved. "I think we came up with a good motion," Anderson said.
Not everyone agreed.
Commissioner Cecil Englebert, the city's liaison to the club, said he believes the club should have gotten a five-year extension of the $6,500 cap. "I don't feel it's right" to demand more money, he said.
The city began leasing the property, which boasts an 18-hole golf course designed by premier course designer Donald Ross, in 1962. Ross, a Scotsman who designed the course in 1926, has designed some of the country's finest courses. The City Commission approved a lease with the country club and agreed that the club would have a restricted number of members, and tee times would be available for the public in a "semiprivate" arrangement.
The city and the club now have a 22-year lease that expires in 2017. It is re-examined every five years, and city commissioners are expected this year to extend it to 2022.
Under the former terms of the lease between the country club and the city, the club pays rent of 5 percent of its annual gross revenue and the payment in lieu of taxes, which totaled just over $82,000 last year.
"Only in the last 36 hours has it come to our attention the issue about the ad valorem taxes," said Raymond Rosa, president of the Dunedin Country Club. "If we were to be taxed or pay the full tax, this would add over $100 to my membership."
Rosa told commissioners that because collection of membership fees were down by $23,000 last year and initiation fees were down by $13,600, dues for a couple increased by $350. Dues for a single membership went up by $200.
To address the membership issues, the commission on Thursday approved allowing 30 percent of the membership to be from outside the city.
"Because the club is surprised by this, I think there should be a middle ground for us to take," said Commissioner Janet Henderson. "We don't want to put the club out of business nor do we want to put any undue hardship on members."
- Information from Times files was used in this report.