Greetings Mayor and Council Members,
My name is Bill Fluharty and I currently reside in Cape Coral and have for over ten years as well as grew up in the general area.
I can also provide a unique perspective as I was part of the development, sales, and leasing team for Banyan Trace Condominiums located in the center of the Golf Club property.
I wish it to be known that in my personal, but educated, opinion, the only reason that course failed was due to poor, (and in the final years quite probably purposely poor) management of the course and its facilities. I believe this "failure to make money" claim was and is a red herring in order to attempt to force the city to change the land use, for pure developmental profit reasons.
I was personally responsible for leasing the bulk of the Banyan Trace condo's as well as sales, and literally brought hundreds of potential golfers to their door step every tourist season and throughout the year. Season after season I begged them for cooperation on rates or services and routinely was rejected or provided with packages or deals that simply were not economical or not in anyway attractive. I also received many complaints from my guests indicating poor treatment when they did play it.
In my opinion, their scheme was to close it and in short order the community will cry for something/anything to be done with property. As you are well aware the vast majority of the residents have seen through the scheme, as did the judge during the suit brought by the owners.
I hope and pray that you ALL also see through the scheme and do not let the passage of time weaken you. I only wish that the council had been more vigilant and demanding on their care of the grounds so as to make it rightly more expensive for them to maintain those grounds, and possibly this could have been advanced.
Never forget, as the judge found.. they KNEW exactly what the land use and history of that property was when they purchased it. They did zero advance due diligence on the likelihood of a land use change prior to closure. It flies in the face of reason that their lack of success in business should be REWARDED by granting a land use change, especially to the detriment of the rest of the citizens in the area.
This group was also presented with several opportunities to sell the course as is, they CHOSE to reject those and close and destroy the course. They are simply reaping what they sow and the city should stand their ground on the land use and maintain the overwhelming majority as parks and rec/green space in perpetuity.
Once they finally accept that reality I am sure suitable options that will maintain the green space component will present.
I am available for further discussion as needed. Thank you all for your time.
