January 8, 2019
By: Dwayne Page
The Smithville Golf Course is without a full time manager
Ken Lacy resigned the position last Friday.
Until the mayor and aldermen can decide on Lacy’s replacement, they have chosen to pay two part time workers, Ray Underwood and Dawn Brooks, to oversee the operation for now.
Both have worked and volunteered at the golf course under Lacy.
“I talked with Mr. Ray Underwood today. He has been working with Mr. Lacy for quite sometime. He said he would be glad to stay on. The proposal he wanted me to come to you with is for him to be paid a salary of $400 per week . Ms Dawn Brooks was laid off for the winter months but I would like for her to come back and work at the pro shop at $9.00 per hour for 29 hours per week. I know the work load will be more now that Mr. Lacy will not be there. This just a solution right now until the board looks at this further to see which direction you would like to go in,” said Mayor Josh Miller during Monday night’s regular monthly meeting.
The aldermen voted to approve Mayor Miller’s recommendation. The issue will be among the topics discussed during a workshop scheduled for Thursday evening at 5:30 p.m. at city hall.
Meanwhile, Mayor Miller said Underwood plans to keep the golf course open during the winter as long as the daily high temperature is over 45 degrees.
Lacy had been on the city payroll since last March when he and Pete Ferguson were hired by the aldermen to be co-managers of the golf course, swimming pool, and tennis courts. The city budgeted their pay at $1,000 per month each and both were provided the city’s healthcare insurance package, a $7,000 benefit to each of them.
In July Ferguson resigned leaving Lacy as the sole manager of the facilities.
In September, the aldermen voted to double Lacy’s pay from $1,000 to $2,000 per month and to make it retroactive to the date when Ferguson left. Two weeks later, the aldermen voted to raise Lacy’s pay again from $24,000 to $40,000.
Prior to Lacy and Ferguson, the city had leased the golf course for many years to others. But after the last tenant, Tony Poss gave up his lease, the city decided to take on the responsibility by hiring a manager and purchasing its own golf course maintenance equipment.