WEST ORANGE, NJ — The West Orange Township Council unanimously approved a contract with KemperSports, the golf course management company that has run the Rock Spring Golf Course since the township bought the course in 2019, to continue to run the course for the next five years at its Aug. 17 meeting. The company was the only one to submit a bid when the township put out a request for proposals; KemperSports will be paid 7.5 percent of the gross revenue that the course makes per month.
“Now is the time to invest back into the property and continue to make sure that it’s one of the finest public golf courses in the state of New Jersey and it continues to be a treasure,” KemperSports Executive Vice President Ben Blake said at the meeting. “We appreciate everybody’s support, and we’ll continue to give 110 percent to make sure that it’s a successful project.”
According to the contract, a capital improvement account will be set up by the township, and 3 percent of the gross revenue will be added to the account, to be used for any improvement projects at the course.
“We also added in a debt service component,” Chief Financial Officer John Gross said about the contract at the meeting. “What that does is, it means that, for the next five years in this contract and any follow-up contract, whether it be with Kemper or another agency, we’re going to continue to pay down our debt service from the project itself and not have to add additional taxpayer dollar funds into the process as long as the project remains profitable.”
Gross said this contract is the first time the town has used revenue from a project to pay off the debt from the same project.
“This is a huge shift for us, and one that I think is going to be very important for us moving forward,” he said.
Rock Spring general manager Chris Parker answered questions from Councilwoman Michelle Casalino about recent operations at the golf course, saying that consistency has been hard to find during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Like anything else, it’s been a challenge if you’re in hospitality right now,” Parker said at the meeting. “I think we’re working through some of the issues with staffing and hours of operation and making sure the standards are consistent. Overall, the line of communication is open and we’re starting to see some improvement on consistency.”
The restaurant at Rock Spring, The Rock 1925, is operated through a separate contract with RBG Hospitality Group. That contract expires at the end of this year. KemperSports Vice President of Operations Jon Cheshire said at the meeting that the golf managers work with the restaurant managers to maintain that consistency.
“We’ve worked very hard to continue to communicate openly to make sure that the direction we’re taking the club is the direction the town would like to see,” he said. “Our continued relationship with them will be based on their continued performance through the remainder of this year.”
Township attorney Richard Trenk said that, with the approval of the new contract, KemperSports will build relationships through West Orange High School and other high schools in the area. According to Trenk, Parker and Cheshire have already reached out to WOHS Principal Hayden Moore.
“We think getting young people actively involved, getting them there, giving them an opportunity to learn about golf, get excited and get the opportunity to see this spectacular property is key,” Trenk said. “I know Kemper on a corporate level does that. Mr. Parker and Mr. Cheshire have reached out to the high school principal and are committed to more of those opportunities. We want to not make finances be a barrier on any level, and I think that is what will cement this as a really integral part of this community. That’s one thing the mayor is going to be looking for: accountability on a regular basis.”
West Orange TC approves 5-year contract with KemperSports to continue to run Rock Spring added by Amanda Valentovic on
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