The Oak Ridge City Council last week approved a $175,000 settlement to resolve a dispute between the city and Billy Casper Golf Management over the termination of the agreement to manage Centennial Golf Course.
The city owns the golf course, which is in east Oak Ridge. The city notified Billy Casper Golf Management in October 2017 that it was going to terminate the management agreement “for cause,” Oak Ridge City Attorney Ken Krushenski said in a memo to Council. But Billy Casper Golf Management contested the termination of the agreement, and the company’s attorney claimed that the city owed more than $520,000 in termination fees, Krushenski said.
The two sides negotiated, and the management company accepted the city’s offer of $175,000 to settle all claims, Krushenski said.
Approval of the settlement avoids potentially costly litigation, Krushenski told Council, which unanimously approved the settlement on Monday, October 12.
Before its agreement was terminated, Billy Casper Golf Management had managed Centennial Golf Course since 2000.
The City of Oak Ridge announced in October 2017 that it would begin managing the golf course internally through its Recreation and Parks Department.
Before then, there had been discussions about the future of the golf course, including a discussion about whether it should be sold, and debates over funding for the golf course. (See here for previous stories.)
Centennial Golf Course opened in 1996, and it features 18 holes and a driving range situated on roughly 200 acres just off Edgemoor Road in Oak Ridge.
