Bob Fenwick
Rhonda Silence
After months of debating whether or not the Cook County – Grand Marais Economic Development Authority (EDA) should hire a general manager for EDA-owned Superior National at Lutsen (SNL) golf course, a decision was made on Friday, March 25 to offer the job to former Cook County Commissioner Bob Fenwick. At press time, negotiations were underway regarding the terms of the position.
The decision to offer the job to Fenwick was not unanimous. The EDA received four applications and conducted interviews with three people—Fenwick, Todd Gervais of Grand Marais, and Heath Ekstrom of Lutsen, who is currently employed at SNL as assistant golf pro.
EDA Board Member Mark Sandbo spoke for the golf course committee, which conducted interviews of the three candidates to bring a recommendation to the full EDA board. He said during the interviews, the candidates were asked 12 questions and rated based on their answers. Sandbo said all three were very good candidates, but Fenwick rated highest, in part because of previous managerial experience.
EDA Board Chair Mike Littfin said he was concerned that the questions asked did not emphasize golf course managerial skills enough. EDA Board Member Bruce Martinson, who also serves on the golf course committee, said another thing to consider was the University of MN-Crookston recommendation that whoever is hired is able to improve public opinion of the golf course and be able to work with other governmental entities. Martinson said he believes that is one of Fenwick’s strengths.
EDA Board Member Don Davison disagreed, stating that he believed Fenwick’s history as a county commissioner brought “political baggage” to the position. Davison said, “I’m going out on a limb here and voting for Todd Gervais. I’ve known him his whole life.” He made a motion to hire Gervais.
Sandbo seconded the motion so discussion could continue and EDA Board Member Bob Spry reminded his colleagues, “It was my understanding that we were hiring a business manager.”
Martinson agreed, noting that although Gervais had great enthusiasm, he had admitted in the interview that he was lacking in managerial experience.
Should the EDA wait to hire?
There was quite a bit of discussion, veering off to whether the EDA should make this decision now. SNL Grounds Superintendent Mike Davies asked about the status of the county’s plan to hire a consultant to study SNL operations. “Wouldn’t it be better to wait until that is done?” asked Davies. “Wouldn’t it be better to see if they recommend hiring a general manager?”
Littfin said that the county-funded analysis probably won’t be complete until August. He said the EDA did not want to wait that long. Martinson added, “Another aspect we talked about is having a person in place to implement recommendations from that consultant.”
Golf Course Committee Member Jim King said this has been something a lot of people have worked on for more than a year. “We need someone who can manage the golf course, raise money, and affect political change. Someone who can work with the Iron Range Resources agency and with the legislature.”
Pete Gresczyk, an interested citizen, asked if it was common for a golf course to hire a general manager who did not have golf course experience. Grounds Superintendent Davies said he had conducted an informal survey of other golf courses in the area. He said the only golf courses that have general managers are private clubs such as Northland Country Club and Ridgeview Country Club.
The general manager vote
Following procedure, the question was called, and EDA board members voted whether or not to offer the job to Gervais. Voting yes were Don Davison and Mark Sandbo. Voting no were Mike Littfin, Bruce Martinson, Bob Spry and Hal Greenwood.
EDA Chair Littfin noted that Gresczyk and Davies were asking questions that had been considered in the past, but said perhaps the EDA should take some time to revisit those questions. “We seem to be having more discussion regarding the position than the individuals. I know this would put us back at square one, but there’s nothing wrong with taking a step back if we don’t have all the right answers,” he said.
Golf Course Committee Member King encouraged the board to move ahead. “Will we ever have all the right answers? Will we ever please everyone?”
Several EDA board members agreed and Bob Spry moved to accept the recommendation of the golf course committee to offer the position to Fenwick. Hal Greenwood seconded the motion and after more discussion, that question, too, was called. The motion to offer the job, contingent on successful negotiations, passed with Davison and Littfin voting no and Spry, Greenwood, Martinson and Sandbo voting yes.
After the motion, Davison expressed his strong disagreement, stating, “This is the candidate that I feel has too much ‘baggage.’ He has never had anything nice to say about the EDA. He talked about cutting salaries. To hire him is foolishness.”
Martinson reiterated, “I feel his experience with other governmental entities is his strongest point.”
Littfin directed the EDA personnel committee to work with the EDA golf course committee for a final review of the budget and to negotiate with Fenwick on compensation for the position, with the understanding that it is an at-will position. The committees are to bring their recommendation back to the full EDA board at its next meeting.
Is there money for the position?
There were numerous questions dispersed amongst the discussion of who to hire and about whether or not the position was adequately budgeted for. The board addressed that question at a previous special meeting, on March 16. At that meeting, the EDA reviewed the proposed budget and noted that it included an increase in greens fees of 3%, up from $643,995 to $641,740. The budget also includes a reduction of the golf pro salary and benefits, from $56,375 to $54,794.
The EDA board agreed it was comfortable enough with those figures to proceed, however Sandbo added that it is hoped that once the county assumes the accounting for EDA and SNL, the EDA will have a better idea of how things are going at the golf course and adjustments could be made as needed. For example, Sandbo said, if there are only four golfers on the course, SNL does not need three employees opening doors and getting carts and two golf pros on site. Sandbo said this is something a manager could monitor.
Golf Course Committee Member King said some staff restructuring may be needed, and added, “Irrespective of titles, the hospitality aspect of the golf course needs to be maintained and/or improved. The golf course needs knowledgeable people at the counter to assist golfers. If there was a manager, that person could take care of the administrative duties, freeing the golf professionals to help golfers.
The candidates were asked:
. Tell us a little about your background and job experience to date.
. What experience do you have as a manager in any capacity?
. What is your golf background? . What has brought you to apply for this position?
. What do you see as the strengths of Superior National?
. What do you see as challenges for Superior National? What will you do to meet those challenges?
. As a public golf course, funding and budget is always a challenge. How do you see yourself working with the EDA and the county to meet this challenge?
. How do you prioritize budgets with regard to staffing and equipment?
. How would you describe your leadership style?
. Give us some examples of where you had to implement policy or staffing change.
. With the knowledge you have of Superior National, have you seen an area that needs to be changed? If so, what is it?
. What do you see as the future of Superior National—in five years? In 10? How will we get there?
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