Mill Creek seeing reversal of recent losses

March 29, 2016 at 12:05a.m.

BOARDMAN

The plan to turn around Mill Creek Golf Course’s financial fortunes is off to an auspicious start.

In his first year in charge, Brian Tolnar, Mill Creek MetroParks’ Golf Director, and his department stopped a three-year decline in income and by its own standards, the course turned a profit.

“This was supposed to be a couple-year project, but it’s happened a little quicker than we expected, which is fine,” Tolnar said. “We still have a lot of hard work to do to get people back that may not have continued to golf here, but it’s been a lot of fun.”

The MetroParks golf department, which includes 36 holes of golf on two courses (North and South), a practice range and a learning center, saw its income drop from $1,107,717.75 in 2012 to its worst mark in 2014. The department made $931,025.63 as 40 inches of rain put a damper on that season, according to documents provided by the department.

The next year was just as bad weather-wise, with another 43 inches of rain causing around $80,000 in losses as the course was closed for 20 days, Tolnar said. Still the department brought in $1,079,035.76 income. When accounting for $985,239.58 in operating expenses, the department turned a $93,796.63 profit.

That figure does not take into account $192,000 spent on employee health care, OPERS, life insurance, Medicare and workers compensation. If it did, the department would be back in the red, but Tolnar said that is not included because that is the usual practice for evaluating the golf department. Those sorts of expenses are paid out of the MetroParks’ general fund.

The major reason for the improved year came from cutting costs. Operating costs were slashed by $126,092.78. In the shop, the cost of goods sold dropped by $30,720.18 from 2014 to 2015. Those savings come from paying attention to detail, like buying chemicals in bulk at a discount, paying attention to sales or closeouts for merchandise and sending employees home on rainy days. This and other tactics to save money in chunks of a few thousand dollars at a time add up.

To hear it from frequent golfers, lower costs don’t mean lower quality.

“It’s more organized, the staff is more efficient and friendly. There’s no cliques,” said Barry Teutschbein, who has played at Mill Creek for 51 years. “The course is in the best shape in years.”

A total of 40,566 rounds of 9-hole golf and 18,794 rounds of 18-hole golf was played in 2015. Both figures were improvements over 2014 and breaking into specific demographics, the most prolific players and rounds were seniors playing nine holes with 21,200 rounds, followed by Mahoning County residents in nine holes with 18,000.

To have a better 2016, Mill Creek will need a more diverse following.

“Part of growing the numbers is being open and having more people, whether it’s taking lessons or hitting some golf balls, going to the driving range and hitting the par 3 to get comfortable and acclimated on the golf course,” Tolnar said.

“Then you go to a family fun night or a couples league.

“For the established golfer, you’re giving them more opportunities to participate.”

Fifteen tournaments, which include 21 events, are being added to an existing roster of programs at the course to attract more players.

The Vindicator’s Greatest Golfer of the Valley contest will be staged Aug. 19-21, with the first two dates being played at Mill Creek. The finale will be at The Lake Club.

On April 11, the MetroParks Board of Commissioners will meet with Tolnar to discuss a “rate adjustment” to play at the course. It’s a euphemism for a rate increase. Tolnar said exact numbers will come after the meeting, but he and the board will likely take it easy on seniors and Mahoning County golfers.

At some point in 2017, golf cart rates are projected to increase.

“I wouldn’t say we’re taking advantage of the surrounding counties, but if you look at what we’ll suggest in April, we’ll still be cheaper than what’s in the area,” Tolnar said. “If we add $3 or $4 more to the Cleveland and Pittsburgh players, they’ll laugh and say we’re still cheaper than what they have in their area.”

Tolnar wants to take any profits the course gets in the next few years to make improvements and that list is long. There are cart paths to finish, bunkers to restore, and someday Tolnar would like Mill Creek to have an indoor facility similar to the setup Youngstown State’s golf team has at the WATTS.

Tolnar likes playing the fixer. His last job was working as the general manager of the Blue Heron Hills Golf Club in Macedon, N.Y., which was bankrupt and $2 million in debt when he arrived in 2011. He left the place with the debt paid off and the course “semi-profitable.” The Hubbard native is enjoying himself while turning around a local course.

“When I interviewed for this job, I said there was no job in the Youngstown area that I would come back for except this one because of the magnitude of what you can do here and the potential and the opportunity that was here,” Tolnar said. “I like the dynamic of going in and fixing things and making them better than how you took them.”