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Council OKs PLGC loan
Published 11:01am Tuesday, November 20, 2012Despite the opposition of a few community members who spoke out, Pebble Lake Golf Course will have its line of credit doubled and loan payments deferred for two more years thanks to the Fergus Falls City Council’s approval Monday.
PLGC’s credit line will move to $300,000, which will make it financially possible to open new restaurant Tavern 59 and maintain the course throughout the winter, according to PLGC Board Vice President Aaron Sletten.
Fergus Falls resident John Strauch spoke out against the council approving PLGC’s credit line increase.
“To me, it doesn’t make business sense to keep borrowing somebody money if they can’t make the payments,” he said.
Randy Knutson, the former co-owner of Putter’s, the restaurant that operated at the golf course clubhouse, spoke at length about his dismay with PLGC.
According to Knutson, the PLGC board was unreasonable about contract negotiations and didn’t provide Putter’s with any opportunity to operate a successful business.
Board president Wade Jyrkas said PLGC was losing money every month with the previous tenant contract, and changes needed to be made in order to operate a profitable business.
“We couldn’t go to the city and say that we’re making our best efforts and say we have a tenant upstairs that is losing us money,” Jyrkas said. “We need to find a way to at least break even up there.”
None of the council members spoke to comments made by Strauch or Knutson, and the vote to approve both resolutions brought forward by the PLGC Board were approved unanimously.
Jyrkas said he is pleased that the council understood PLGC’s situation and acted accordingly.
“We’re blessed to have a city council that is willing to work with us,” he said. “We’re very confident that having this money will get us started and allow us to start making money through our new line of service.”
