Brian Hall, former owner of the Sechelt Golf and Country Club (SGCC), has advanced a lawsuit against the District of Sechelt, suing for illegal forfeiture of the lease SGCC Ltd. held at the site.
Hall said he wants the golf course back, along with the many members who hold shares in SGCC Ltd.
"It's not me, it's SGCC Ltd. I may be the controlling shareholder, but there's 250-odd people. So yes, we want the golf course back," Hall told Coast Reporter this week.
His lawsuit alleges a 2003 move by Sechelt council to exclude food and beverage sales, golf cart rentals, golf club rentals, golf lessons and pro-shop sales from the calculation of gross revenue means he doesn't owe $191,332 to the District, as was alleged when the golf course operations were taken over by the municipality this January.
In his petition to the court, he claims about $191,000 of that figure should be deducted due to the alleged 2003 move.
Sechelt Mayor John Henderson said Hall's interpretation of what happened is debatable.
"There has been a tremendous amount of communication back and forth over many, many years, and there are a lot of different interpretations over all manner of things," he said. "At this stage, we will let the lawyer and the court address the issues."
The District of Sechelt took over operations of the Sechelt golf course on Jan. 9 saying SGCC Ltd. owed them $191,332 in unpaid lease fees. At the time, Henderson also said the District had been advised SGCC Ltd. had other creditors calling.
"First and foremost, we had to take action to protect it," Henderson said, defending the move.
Since the District take-over, a golf course advisory committee has been set up, an interim manager has been appointed, and council is working towards offering the course up to a new operator.
But with Hall's lawsuit, it will be hard to find a new operator willing to take the risk, according to Henderson.
"The bottom line is that I'm afraid it will delay the process," Henderson said. "It would be difficult to get an operator to take on the challenge if they knew there was even the remote possibility that they might be out if the court was to decide against us."
Henderson said he is convinced his council made the right decision when they took over the golf course operations, however, and he's hopeful the judge will side with the District.
"This council reviewed all the background, and we're confident we're on solid ground," Henderson said.
Hall's petition will be heard in B.C. Supreme Court on March 15 in Vancouver.
