The North Hempstead Town Board approved along party lines a 20-year management contract for the Harborlinks Golf Course Tuesday night. Board Democrats opposed the vote, saying it was done hastily with a slurry of unanswered questions and tapped a company facing an embezzlement lawsuit.
The agreement was approved along party lines with all Republicans voting in favor of it and all Democrats voting against it.
“To vote on this resolution today I think is premature before we find out more information about this company,” Council Member Christine Liu said. “And the company could absolve itself from all these allegations, but at this point in time it is very troubling to rush through this decision.”
Brooke Holdings LLC was awarded the 20-year agreement to manage Port Washington’s Harborlinks Golf Course, which will begin Jan. 1.
Supervisor Jennifer DeSena said the agreement will ensure a continuity of service at the golf course and invest in improvements for the facility. Harborlinks is currently managed by Century Golf, whose agreement with the town expires at the end of the year.
Kelley Brooke is the founder and CEO of Brooke Holdings LLC, which manages multiple golf courses, including Bethpage Black Golf Course.
The Daily Mail reported in October that Brooke filed a lawsuit against the vice president of the company, Paul O’Donoghue, which accused him of embezzling more than $300,000 while managing the pro shop at the Bethpage golf course.
This allegedly occurred over six years through stolen cash receipts before being deposited into Bethpage Golf’s bank account, according to the suit.
O’Donoghue is no longer a partner at the golf management firm and was fired in July, according to the suit.
Brooke also accused him of attempting to cover it up by framing other employees through fake debits – including a teenage employee with autism – the Daily Mail reported.
Council Member Robert Troiano said the alleged embezzlement and the six-year time span concerned him with the company’s ability to identify and prevent fraud.
The town’s director of purchasing, Doron Nissan, said he had asked Brooke about the suit and was informed the company has set up new security measures to prevent future fraud.
Board Democrats also opposed the vote due to short notice on the proposed agreement and unanswered questions still remaining regarding the contract. Some residents expressed agreement, with one resident saying the proposal left more questions unanswered than answered.
Council Member Mariann Dalimonte condemned DeSena and her administration for their lack of communication on the agreement.
“I don’t understand how anyone expects me to vote on a 20-year contract. Twenty years. I could be dead in 20 years,” Dalimonte said. “Twenty years is a very long time. A 20-year contract and just finding out Friday afternoon, I think at 3 or 4 o’clock, to vote on it on Tuesday at 7.”
Dalimonte said Brooke Holdings should have presented to the Town Board so members could ask questions and further evaluate the agreement prior to voting.
Multiple residents also questioned the management company’s ability to run the golf course.
At Bethpage, Brooke Holdings only manages the golf pro shop, range and instruction carts, but Nissan said he believed they were in the process of taking over the grounds management from the state that currently maintains it. Nissan said they have maintained other golf courses in its entirety.
Plandome resident Ray Herbert called the golf course the crown jewel of the town and said the maintenance of it is a serious matter. He said he was not told Tuesday night of Brooke Holdings’ ability to maintain it in its entirety.
“I have real concern that the maintenance of the course will go downhill and the golf course will be less desirable to not only residents but non-residents who come to play,” Herbert said.
He said he was unsure if the agreement with Brooke Holdings was the best for the golf course.
Troiano said the written agreement has also not been completed yet, forcing the board to vote without reviewing it beforehand. The final contract has not been negotiated yet.
“That’s unfair to the town council and its unfair to the people of this town to ask for us to vote on something that we just learned about on Friday with no information and an incomplete set of information delivered to us at 12 noon,” Troiano said.
The base rent for the golf course would increase over time for Brooke Holdings, starting at $350,000 for the first year and reaching $1 million for the last five years. Every year they would also have to pay the town 15% of any revenue above $7 million.
Nissan said they also committed to renovations during the first year of management, including a modernized structure for the driving range, an entire renovation of the miniature golf course and cart path improvements.
“I think they have a vision to make this a much-improved structure and I think it would be a real credit to the Town of North Hempstead,” Nissan said.
The first-year improvements Brooke Holdings is committed to amount to $2,705,000. Nissan said these funds would solely go toward golf-related improvements, not other areas like its event facilities.
Nissan said Brooke Holdings would be obligated to spend 3.5% of revenues on improvements every year. Dalimonte and Troiano said this was not included in the agreement they received.
Nissan said he believed Brooke Holdings would be responsible for continued improvements and necessary fixes of the golf course, but that it was not specified in the proposal.
The current resident rates to play at the course would remain the same for the next three years under the agreement, Nissan said. Discounts will still be provided to seniors, youths and first responders.
