Decrease In Golf Rounds Sparks Talks With Agency

OCEAN CITY - Though the City Council was apprehensive to jump back into bed with new ownership of a golf package company that famously had owed the city quite a bit of money, they gave the green light to at least giving them a call.

Based on slumping golf package deals at the town-owned Eagle's Landing golf course, Recreation and Parks Director Tom Shuster asked the council Tuesday to reconsider its 2007 decision to terminate the relationship.

A partnership between the town and the now bankrupt Pam's Golf LLC publicly failed last year, with the defunct company owing the town almost $125,000. The company was later sold to River Run Golf Course owner Lew Meltzer, who renamed the company 'Pam's OC Asset Acquisition LLC.'

'This decline in packaged round income is directly related to our decision not to participate with Pam's, said Shuster, 'Given our losses, I would recommend that we revisit our decision with the Mayor and City Council and see if we should reconsider participation with Eagle's Landing golf course in 2009.'

Council President Joe Metrecic questioned the new ownership's ethics in gaining Pam's assets from the previous owners.

'I support the golf industry, probably more than most up here, but I don't think we should enter in to this agreement with them.  I think that he [Lew Meltzer] obtained all the assets from that company questionably,' he said.

The assets in question appear to be the names of the golfers in the database that the previous owners had obtained over the years, but City Solicitor Guy Ayres said that it was a non-issue.

'The names were purchased prior to them filing for bankruptcy.  If there's a company out there that [council] would like to partner with, it would be fine to enter into an agreement with them, as long as the proper safeguards are taken to make sure this doesn't happen again,' Ayres said.

In the end, the strained history between the town and Pam's golf ended up being more business than personal as council voted to enable Shuster to contact Pam's for a possible partnership in 2009, but a motion to approve a partnership failed in a split 3-3 vote.