Powell Golf Club dismisses GM Shampeny

Posted 12/18/14

The PGC board voted in November to terminate Shampeny’s contract as an independent contractor after “some things came to light” on “how things were handled,” Councilman Eric Paul told the Powell City Council Monday night. He did not …

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Powell Golf Club dismisses GM Shampeny

Posted

Golf pro Doug Conner retained; board looks to manage operations

Gary Shampeny is out as Powell Golf Course’s general manager.

The PGC board voted in November to terminate Shampeny’s contract as an independent contractor after “some things came to light” on “how things were handled,” Councilman Eric Paul told the Powell City Council Monday night. He did not provide any details.

PGC Board President Jerry Herweyer said Shampeny’s contract was to run through 2015 but the board exercised a 90-day clause on a three-year contract to cancel it. The contract will end in mid-February, Herweyer said; he did not disclose annual compensation figures but said it was much less than $100,000.

“I guess I would say the board decided to go in a different direction,” he said.

Shampeny had been the general manager for seven years and has received praise from members for his handling of the course. On Tuesday, he said he was not surprised the contract was terminated but he enjoyed his work with the club.

“It was a good time,” he said. “I have no complaints or anything like that. I got involved because I saw a property that was in trouble and I offered voluntarily to help it out. There’s no reason to have a bad golf course, not in this day and age.

“I think a lot of Powell,” Shampeny said. “It’s a great community, I think.”

The Palm Desert, Calif., resident also has a home in Montana, where he has investments and does consulting work. Shampeny said he will continue to spend some time in Powell. He said he is “a gypsy by nature” who wants to stay involved with golf and “provide a service to customers.”

“I work because I want to work,” said Shampeny, 62. “I’ve had a good run in the golf industry, nationally and internationally.”

Herweyer said Shampeny did a very good job maintaining the course, which was in “rough shape” after some severe winter kill during 2007-08. The course is now in good condition, the board president said.

The course is city-owned and receives some city funding, but most of the funds come from dues. It is managed by board members elected by the roughly 240 club members; Paul is the council liaison and has a vote on board decisions.

Right now, the board is not planning to hire another GM, Paul said, but instead will hire a superintendent to take charge of the greens and fairways and seasonal workers while Doug Conner will remain as the pro and manage the bar and other inside operations. Paul said the club’s board of directors plan to run the day-to-day business for the foreseeable future.

He said he’s not sure about that, since the board members already have full-time jobs. Mayor Don Hillman said he wasn’t convinced that was a good move.

“In my estimation, you need one full-time person to run the show,” Hillman said. “Not sure how it’s going to work with two.”

Herweyer said board members feel they can handle the management. The course was operated by board members before Shampeny was hired, he said.

The board is looking at a business organizational chart where the board, the golf pro, the course superintendent and clubhouse and grounds employees are slotted appropriately. The board has advertised for a course superintendent through the GCSAA and received numerous applications. To date, one candidate from Washington has been interviewed, and two others from Nebraska and Idaho are being background checked prior to more interviews.

In other news:

• The club raised more than $22,000 to retire its debt since the start of 2013-14 fiscal year. It receives a matching amount from the city.

Herweyer said he feels the club is making good progress in retiring the debt incurred by expanding the course to 18 holes in 1994, and from rebuilding the original nine greens in 2003. The club suffered some tough revenue seasons after a number of greens were lost to winter kill during the winter of 2007-08. So far, it has paid off $132,000 in debt since 2011 and has about $130,000 remaining.

By raising money and then using the city match, the debt should be retired in about three years, he said. The club is contacting hole sponsors in an effort to bring in more money, Herweyer said, and will continue to hold debt-retirement tournaments as well.

• PGC bought 50 2010 golf carts from a Bozeman, Mont., course. It has sold the 50 carts that it had been using; they were older, having been built from 2001-06. Fourteen were not in working condition.

The club paid $650 per cart and has so far paid $20,000 of that, Herweyer said. It will pay off the remaining $12,500 in 2015.

Paul told the council the newer carts will save $10,000 annually in maintenance and repair costs.

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