City Officials Explore Options for Rye Golf Club's Future

The city council and Rye Golf Club Commission are contemplating future options for the Rye Golf Club in workshops started last week.

“Options range from keeping a general manager model to run all operations, leasing out the restaurant and catering operations, or re-organizing all of the operations,” Mayor Douglas French reported in a city update.

French noted that city procedures and policies make it difficult for the city to operate a restaurant and catering operation.

French also listed the main questions posed by the Rye Golf Club Strategic Committee during the workshop, which are questions club members have been asking for years and more regularly since the Rye Golf Club investigation that started last fall.

 The questions raised regarding the Commission and governance:

•  Should the roles and responsibilities of the Golf Commission be clarified further and/or expanded?
•  Should there be a modification to the composition of the Commission?
• Should governance be passed to a Board of Directors; or, should governance and management be passed to an external organization?

Questions raised regarding management were:   

• Should Club operations continue to report directly to the City Manager, to another department, or directly to the City Council?
•  Should the Club outsource the food and beverage operations and consider reporting changes for the golf/pool operation?
•  Should all operations be outsourced and be managed by a third party? 
  

Additional work sessions will be held prior to or during the regularly scheduled Council meetings in July and August.  The next city council meeting will be held on July 10 and the RGC workshop will begin at 7 p.m. in City Hall.

What are your answers to the posed questions? Share your opinions in the comments.