Questions about White Path Golf Club Spark Heated Exchange at BOC Meeting

Outraged, citizens wanted to know who initiated the secret shopper report. Here, Commissioner Beattie confirmed Hampton acted independently. At the June 16th Board of Commissioners meeting, citizen Randy Bell posed two questions. First, Bell wanted to know why the Board approved $40,000 in capital improvements for the White Path Golf Club last year (currently leased to Marc H. Reece), when the county already had a $1.5 million short fall from the Gilmer County 2010 Budget. Second, he wanted to know how the county planned to pay back the G.O. Bond used to build the new White Path pro-shop. Bell’s questions provoked a heated 31 minute discussion among board members and citizens. Also, at one point in the meeting, Commissioner Will Beattie (Post 1) confirmed that Hampton Golf, secret shoppers, assessed the operation. Outraged, citizens wanted to know who initiated the secret shopper report. Here, Commissioner Beattie confirmed Hampton acted independently. The shoppers filed a report with the county, highlighting certain areas for improvement.
In response to Bell’s first question, Commission Chairman J.C. Sanford said he would have to research the capital improvements issue before responding. The second question also went unresolved, pending further research.
FYN will follow this story as details develop.

Watch Citizen Randy Bell Question the BOC

Citizen Randy Bell Provokes 31 Minute Discussion About Golf Club from Fetch on Vimeo.