Mar. 12—MITCHELL — A 12-year debt carried by the city of Mitchell since 2013 should have come off the books years ago, even as it has caused strife between city leaders and the Mitchell Golf and Cemetery Board.
So after a recent comment by Mitchell Mayor Jordan Hanson irked some of those board members, the issue was researched further and has been the responsibilities of the mayor’s office in that time, including Hanson now.
The unresolved $75,000 golf cart and greens mowers debt on the city of Mitchell books since 2013 has fueled the city council and the mayor to make comments about Lakeview Golf Course not paying its debts to the city during budget-related requests by the golf course in past years.
However, a 2013 city resolution calls for the city to loan the golf course $60,000 for golf carts and $40,000 for a greens mower at a 2% interest rate.
The resolution states, “when monies are available, the general fund will be reimbursed without further action on the part of this council.” The resolution was signed on Jan 21, 2013 by then-Mitchell Mayor Ken Tracy and then-Finance Officer Marilyn Wilson.
In 2014, $25,000 of the $100,000 debt was paid off. At that time, many key jobs in city leadership had turnover and Hanson said “it just got forgotten about.”
“Mistakes can happen. In the past, it was used against us as kind of a black eye, when the fact was we had nothing to do with it. It was strictly an administrative issue. And you know, I mean, there’s nothing that says that something like this couldn’t happen in the future, but in the past, if they would have researched it, then I think we could have avoided this,” Golf and Cemetery Board president Jeff McEntee told the Mitchell Republic.
In 2021, the golf course staff sought to trade in the course’s used golf carts two years early
because the carts had a high exchange value at the time.
In late 2022, the golf board asked the city for funding for the 2023 budget to renovate the golf course, and some council members
stated that the golf course still hadn’t paid back the 2022 interfund loan for the golf carts.
“I finally went up at one of the council meetings and said, you know, we don’t have the ability as a board to write a check to the city. This is an internal thing, and we were never provided as to what the terms were of that interfund loan to begin with, let alone we have the inability to pay for it,” McEntee said.
Afterward, it was discovered that the money had already been transferred from the golf fund to pay the city for the golf carts for the 2022 loan, but it had not been recorded as such. While looking at the 2022 loan, they found $75,000 from 2013 that was unpaid, according to McEntee. The $75,000 debt was not resolved when discovered at that time.
During the regular meeting of the Mitchell City Council on March 3, Hanson said, “You promise to pay it back?” as the council approved a multi-year interfund loan to the city-owned Mitchell Lakeview Golf Course.
The comment sparked Golf and Cemetery Board president Jeff McEntee to reach out to Hanson after the council meeting.
“When (Mayor Hanson) brought it up at the prior council meeting about us not paying our bills, it kind of struck a chord with me, and I know that this has occurred on at least two other occasions, and to no fault of ours,” McEntee told the Mitchell Republic.
Hanson apologized to the Golf and Cemetery Board on March 10, as well as to Parks and Recreation Director Kevin Nelson and Jason Gunnare, the golf and cemetery superintendent.
“I mentioned $75,000 never getting paid back, and that the golf course may not ever pay their bills. Well, I’m glad Jeff stopped into my office and explained to me what was going on, because I probably should have done that research ahead of time,” Hanson told board on March 10.
“I do appreciate you coming here and saying that, because this is unprecedented in city government. I worked for the state government for 27 years. This has never happened. It ends up being your responsibility, it’s not your fault,” said McEntee, who worked as a conservation officer and wildlife investigator for 27 years.
Many have commented over the years about the Mitchell Lakeview Golf Course not paying its debts, according to discussion during the Golf and Cemetery Board meeting on March 10.
“I mean, I’m going to be honest, more ears hear at a city council meeting than here. I’m tired of it getting brought up in a council meeting, and I’m glad that this is going to be the end of it,” Golf and Cemetery Board member Joel Reinesch said.
Before being resolved, the debt was outstanding under four Mitchell mayors, including Ken Tracy, Jerry Toomey, Bob Everson and Jordan Hanson.
“In both instances, it was a case of funds not getting transferred administratively,” McEntee said.
During the March 3 council meeting, the golf course sought a loan from the city instead of a loan from a bank. Under the proposal, the golf course enterprise fund would reimburse the city for any lost interest it would have on a $242,000 loan.
“I think it’s really important to note Jeff McEntee suggested if we’re going to be paying interest we might as well be paying that to the city versus an outside source,” City Administrator Stephanie Ellwein said.
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