Lindsay no longer operating Mcdermont Field House
Executed a contract with locally-owned company
The City of Lindsay will no longer operate and manage its Mcdermont Field House, but Mcdermont Venture, Inc. will.
That’s because the Lindsay City Council, at its meeting Tuesday, authorized City Manager Bill Zigler to negotiate and execute a contract with Mcdermont Venture, Inc. — a local, private enterprise owned by Alfredo Velasco, Deici Avila and Clint Ashcraft, who are currently employed at Mcdermont as managers and director — to operate and manage the Mcdermont Field House.
“Their experience and entrepreneurial spirit in addition to meeting the RFP (request for proposal) requirements makes [Mcdermont Venture, Inc.] the ideal company to take over the operations and management of Mcdermont,” Zigler said.
The name, Mcdermont Venture Inc., replaced the company’s previous name, VAA, Inc., as it was too similar to the name of another established business, Ashcraft said.
Ashcraft, who spoke on behalf of Mcdermont Venture, Inc., said he and his team are honored to take control of one of the city’s most prized possessions.
“We appreciate the opportunity, the consideration and the trust that you are putting in us to make this happen and we take that very seriously,” said Ashcraft. “We have every intention of putting everything we’ve got into making this successful.”
He continued, “It is a wonderful opportunity for us, but a considerable risk as well, but we really look forward to it,” Ashcraft said.
Getting someone to take over Mcdermont, however, was not an easy chore, Zigler said.
Despite outreach through various media and directly to companies and brokers in the recreation and athletic center management industry and the public, Zigler said the city received only one response, from Mcdermont Venture, Inc.
Ashcraft said he is both nervous and excited about taking over the Mcdermont Field House, and is optimistic that everything will all work out for the best.
“We already know that it is going to require a considerable investment and I am excited to have my kids involved in it and all of these different people,” Ashcraft said. “That is how we are going to be successful.”
Mayor Pro-tem Danny Salinas, who owns a couple of local businesses in Tulare County, said taking over the Mcdermont Field House is going to be a challenge, but believes Ashcraft and his team have what it takes to succeed.
“It will work out,” Salinas said, adding, “Stay focused on what your end goal is, that is going to be crucial.”
Councilmember Brian Watson said he is glad somebody is going to take over the Mcdermont Field House.
“It is neat having entrepreneurs running it,” Watson said, adding, “Their hands are not tied by the same restrictions as a municipality.”
When the field house was just an idea in the heads of architects and visionaries in the city, Watson said one of their goals for Mcdermont was for it to be turned over to a private enterprise after 10 years or so of being operated and managed by the city.
“I think they probably understood the limitations of a city running something like this,” Watson said, adding, “I also think it is interesting that here we are, 10 years later, and we kind of met that goal.”
In addition to taking over the Mcdermont Field House, Ashcraft said he and his team are also in the talks of bringing back a business many in the city were sad to see go, Straw Hat Pizza.
“That is something we will pursue and see if they would like to be a part of it,” Ashcraft said.
He added that it would be nice to have Straw Hat Pizza back as part of the Mcdermont Field House, especially since the pizza restaurant, which closed its doors in the city earlier this year, has a built-in clientele.
“Frankly, we [Mcdermont Field House] are not a pizza kitchen, people don’t drive across town to buy our pizza,” Ashcraft said. “We would love to have something that people can go to because they want it, because it is desirable. We’ll figure out how we can get them [Straw Hat Pizza] and let them do what they’ve done, be successful.”
Although the Mcdermont Field House is an asset to the Lindsay community, benefitting individuals, children, youth, families, businesses and schools, Zigler said the amusement center’s constant drain on the city’s budget led him and city staff to consider the idea of letting it go.
“The City of Lindsay is not the best entity to operate and manage the field house,” he said.
Back in June when the primary focus of the council and staff was formally adopting the budget for fiscal year 2017-18, Zigler said all funds were self-sustaining with the exception of Mcdermont Field House, which he said was out of balance by $114,500.
As far as turning over the field house to Mcdermont Venture, Inc., Zigler said the next step in the process is finalizing a contract to start on Jan. 1, 2018. Zigler said the contract is expected to have a five-year term with optional five-year renewal periods.
City Finance Director and City Clerk Bret Harmon said the contract has not been fully executed and noted that city staff is negotiating the contract now.
In addition to the contract, Zigler said Mcdermont Venture, Inc. wants to purchase the field house from the city, which he said will support the city’s desire to turn its focus to other services and community needs.
“Part of the contracting process will include establishing a time frame for appraising Mcdermont and its related assets and to establish a purchase price,” Zigler said, adding that by contracting with Mcdermont Venture, Inc. for operations and management of Mcdermont Field House, the city stabilizes its General Fund as cost overruns at Mcdermont pulled resources away from the General Fund.
Zigler said the city will continue to provide property insurance since it will continue to own the building, and noted that the city will also continue to pay debt service (lease payments). He said Mcdermont Venture, Inc. will pay lease payments based on annual net revenue on a graduated scale.
Such revenues, Zigler said, will help provide for debt service and other recreation or general needs in the city.