Joe Perske
Sartell
Unfortunately for Sartell residents, the city council put the final touches on the contract to give away Pine Ridge Golf Course to a private business owner.
In the early February council meeting, the city outlined the details of the sale. It is one of the greatest community scandals I have ever seen in the city.
In short, it is a travesty and wrong in so many ways.
As a member of the city council in 2008, we purchased the existing golf course using ½-cent sales-tax dollars to be used as park land and green space. Half of the land was turned into athletic fields and park land, while the remaining 81 acres were to be used as a golf course until it was time for future park improvements. In 2008, the city paid about $1.2 million for that property. Last spring, the city announced the sale of that property to Brandon Testa for $426,000, which drew an outcry from the public.
In April of 2023, council members Alex Lewandowski, Jill Smith and Tim Elness were bombarded with calls and emails to stop the dubious sale after residents had just four days to review the details of the scam. Residents, four previous mayors and more than a dozen prior council members had packed council chambers, hoping to be heard on the issue. Unfortunately, the community was not allowed to speak or voice their objections to the property sale by those council members.
The deal had evolved behind closed doors with little or no information being released to the public. I would suggest one should look at the agenda outlines and meeting minutes from those special meetings for any signs of transparency. It’s not there.
The bottom line is the city is giving Testa the 81 acres to be used as a golf course during the next 30 years. He will be able to build a new restaurant on the property. After 30 years, the property is his for residential and commercial sale, worth millions. The city will lose the vision of future park land and green spaces. It’s just wrong in so many ways.
