Residents, mayor discuss Foxwood club’s future
Jacksonville Mayor Gary Fletcher speaks to a standing-room only crowd that gathered Jan. 11 to discuss the future of Foxwood Golf Club. (Robert Farmer)
A standing-room only crowd of more than 150 people gathered at Foxwood Golf Club on Jan. 11 to discuss the future of the golf course, which closed in December.
The once-thriving Foxwood Golf Club reportedly is listed for sale for $1.4 million. It originally opened in 1974.
Led by Jacksonville Mayor Gary Fletcher, the Foxwood neighborhood meeting’s purpose was to gather support for forming a Foxwood property owners association and to gauge public input of what direction people want the sale of the property to go.
Fletcher said finding a buyer to maintain the golf course and club facility is of significant importance for many reasons.
Several at the meeting said that beyond maintaining the long-term property values for the homes in the Foxwood subdivision and the city, the course provides a community support structure and an important recreational venue.
Fletcher said that when developers and investors look at locations, they consider what the city has to offer. Jacksonville no longer has a movie theater or bowling alley; Searcy, Cabot, Sherwood and North Little Rock do.
Many who spoke said they were appreciative of the investment provided by the owners during the past 36 years but were dissatisfied about the gradual price increases and the decline in amenities. Ted Belden is the current owner.
Jeff Pelphrey said he originally chose to purchase his home in Foxwood in 1998. He was a Foxwood Country Club member for 10 years. He cited the decline in the food quality as his reasons for ending his family membership.
“When the food service discontinued, and we were still being asked to pay, it stopped making fiscal sense,” he said.
Pelphrey suggested re-opening it to the general public to bring in volume to support the operation of the golf course and an eatery.
Avid golfers in the group were quick to rally behind maintaining the course. They said that despite being more expensive, Foxwood was superior to courses in Cabot and Sherwood.
Dennis Silva recalled proud moments of marshaling at the course and how clean it was and encouraged promoting the course to others.
A number of propositions were made, including leasing the pro shop, offering a junior league, restructuring the week day and weekend fees, opening to the general public and advertising and promoting more wisely under a new name.
It was suggested that once formed, the POA could purchase the property from the developer currently involved in talks to purchase it from Belden.
Some residents expressed displeasure in the club’s fees. They said it was unfair to base the usage fees on a per household basis as opposed to a per person fee.
Longtime resident Charlotte Pluchenski said a widowed single woman should not be expected to pay disproportionately to what a full household was charged for the same access.
A few residents questioned why the city was not pursuing purchasing the Foxwood property as opposed to purchasing the property to the south for attracting the state fair or acquiring the north corridor.
Fletcher was steadfast in saying Jacksonville did not need to enter the golf course business.
“If the city were to operate the course, the restaurant operation would have to be leased out [just as Sherwood did] to be eligible to transfer the alcohol permit,” he said.
Real estate agent Mike Dietz provided statistics for the Jacksonville Community Center.
“There were 376 events that were able to be held at the community center in 2010,” he said. “There were 277 events that had to be turned away because the community center was overbooked. This represented $84,790 of revenue that was turned away.”
Foxwood could have been considered to host a portion of those if the public had been made aware of that option, he said.
Fletcher said he would like to see a voluntary financial commitment from the neighborhood to attract a viable sit-down eatery into the country club location.
The discussion centered around a membership drive to find 1,000 sponsors offering $250 annually for three to five years to fund grounds upkeep and facility improvements. This would represent their buy-in to attract an investor.
The issue of re-opening the swimming pool was identified as cost prohibitive. The voluntary membership contribution was not intended to be passed on as a contractual POA obligation for the Foxwood residents.
Regardless of which developer or developers purchase the property, they would own the grounds and be free to develop it how they wanted within zoning limits. The property is zoned C-1, quiet business commercial.
The meeting concluded with Fletcher asking for input he could use to make an informed decision in influencing people to consider Foxwood and Jacksonville as a good investment. He may be reached at 982-3146 or gfletcher@cityofjacksonville.net.