Golf course parking lot to receive repairs

ST. CLAIR SHORES — At its meeting on Oct. 20, the St. Clair Shores City Council approved parking lot repairs for the St. Clair Shores Golf Club in a 5-1 vote.

Councilwoman Candice Rusie cast the opposing vote and Councilman Ronald Frederick was excused from the meeting.

Items attached to the agenda state that city officials believe the parking lot to be over 50 years old and that it has been in a state of disrepair for a number of years.

“In 2022, the City solicited bids for its reconstruction, with the lowest asphalt bid received at $703,681,” the item stated. “That estimate did not include the area behind and around the pro shop, where the first tee and golf carts are staged.”

City staff created an updated proposal that includes all areas of the parking lot and reflects current material pricing, the item states.

The new proposal will cost $754,063.20 which includes the base cost, a 10% contingency fee and a 60% stone base replacement cost. The 2022 proposed cost with a 10% contingency fee was $774,049.10.

Parks and Recreation Director Rob Spinazzola and St. Clair Shores Golf Club office manager Mark Crippen presented the item. Mayor Kip Walby gave context to the item, stating he went to the golf course to see the progress of the cart paths and noticed the parking lot.

“That’s where I was like, ‘It’s messy here,’” Walby said. “It’s just messy. You’re doing nine cart paths. The golf course parking lot is not in good shape.”

He pointed out other parking lots that had work completed including the Senior Activity Center, Brys Park and others. He said the golf course lot was next on the list. Walby also said they do have trucks driving on the lot due to other construction projects.

Rusie took issue with the no-bid contract and the fact that the item was not included in this year’s budget. She said this is the third time the golf course specifically came to the City Council with an item that was not previously included in the budget.

“It’s really hard when you pass a budget thinking it’s going to be a certain amount and then throughout the budget year, yes, emergencies come up and things, but they’re handled this way,” Rusie said. “And to top it off it’s not a bid, it’s an extension of a bid for something else and it’s not an emergency like the previous one was.”

She went on to say she learned about this item when she received her council meeting packet and that it wasn’t included with the original agenda.

“We have talked about this parking lot previously, we know it’s an issue, we have been talking about this for years now and then suddenly it’s on the agenda,” Rusie said.

She stated she’s not against the parking lot, but added that it was a known issue when the agenda was made and that she felt like it was snuck in.

City Manager Dustin Lent said the state expects the budget for roads specifically to go up. He compared it to COVID-19 in that when cities received money, they saw prices skyrocket.

“When cities start getting more prices or more funding and now they’re going out to bid, they’re able to do more projects, you still have the same amount of contractors that are able to do these projects, so we do anticipate a lot of these to go up,” Lent said.

He also said they are limited when the golf course can be paved due to the summer season and other factors. He went on to say he believes the Parks and Recreation Department expected the golf course would be in next year’s budget, but they anticipated higher costs due to state funding.

The project also includes lines underneath the golf course parking lot. Lent said it was a quick decision and a lot of communication moved very quickly. He apologized and 

Rusie said the behind-the-scenes communication makes it a bit worse and that her objections are procedural.

Councilman John Caron said it was engineered back in 2022 and pointed out that for many years the golf course bailed out the parks and recreation fund.

“Give a little leeway on that, that there were some long-term expenses that did get put out by the golf course back then,” Caron said. “They’re all coming back to you now.”

He added that this is a good business deal.

Councilman Chris Vitale said Rusie’s concerns don’t go unheard by him and he agreed with a lot of them.

“That having been said, I can’t expect that everyone is an AI supercomputer, either, that could have anticipated perhaps what made itself here, that made the opportunity to take advantage of a good price here,” Vitale said.