The possible uses for the county’s Louis Dreyfus funds was widened by the board of supervisors Tuesday as the board approved allocating $5,000 to Lakeside Golf Course to pay for jetting out drainage tile lines.
Lakeside Golf Course was established in 1970 as a non-profit corporation under Iowa Code 504(a). Previously, Dreyfus funds* have been used for city or county projects like razing buildings in Dana or the Grand Junction Community Center. Non-profit organizations with 501(c)3 status have also been eligible. The golf course is the first 504(a) organization to receive the funds.
Mike Semke, president of the Lakeside board of directors, made the request. In talking about the golf course’s financial situation, he said, “the biggest issue we have a Lakeside is the golf course out there being owned by the city (referring to the Jefferson municipal course)…. In 2015 we started off $15,000 in the hole before we even opened our doors because we have to pay property tax and sales tax, none of which they have to pay.”
He said that cutting labor costs allowed the course to finish 2016 in the black, but there is no money available to change the organization status to 501(c)3, which would make it exempt from property and sales tax.
The needed work involves cleaning out three drainage tiles. Two run to the east from the golf course under County Road P-33 to neighboring parcels, and one runs north to a neighboring parcel. “We believe the clogs are probably on our property, so it would be hard to ask the neighbors to pay half to clean,” he said.
Total cost of the project is $5,152. The county’s maximum for Dreyfus funds is $5,000.
“This is out of the norm for what Dreyfus funds have done, but this is a good project for it,” board chair John Muir said.
Also rather “out of the norm” is that there are still Dreyfus funds available in the current fiscal year. In many recent years, requests made for Dreyfus funds in June or July for the new fiscal year have claimed the entire $50,000. Auditor Jane Heun told Semke she would be able to issue a check as soon as she receives a statement that the work has been completed.
*$50,000 provided to the county each year by Louis Dreyfus LLC in lieu of property taxes on the ethanol plant near Grand Junction.
