Can Cypress Lakes Be Saved?

In the past fiscal year, Cypress Lakes lost 339K+ dollars; so far this year, the golf/tennis club has lost 199K+. We've often passed this site, and it's beautiful. From what we've seen, Cypress Lakes puts the courses in Florence to shame. Why can't it make enough money?

This is from a reader who resides in Muscle Shoals:

“We’ve spent five months waiting to meet with the cable guy,” Pampinto said. “It doesn’t make sense to spend $6,000 a year on cable and Internet when only a handful of people work there.

DOES ANYONE HAVE A PERSONAL CONNECTION WITH LARRY THE CABLE GUY? Get 'er done. Call Joe at 256.762.1173 immediately. The future of Muscle Shoals and Cypress Lakes is hanging in the balance.

After kicking Rhoda P's out of the Cypress Lakes Country Club because of her causing the demise with a huge utility bill, why haven't the finances improved?

Muscle Shoals City has the largest sales tax in the Shoals and looks like that will be pushed even higher after the debacle at the golf course and the additional huge investment in the football program at MSCS.

“It may not seem like a lot of money, but when you are losing $300,000. you have to keep chipping away. It takes pennies to make dollars,” Pampinto said.

AGAIN - is a sales tax or other tax in the shadows of City Hall?? Pennies make Dollars as Joe Pampinto said. Why are the other council members hiding behind Joe Pampinto aka Citizens' Mouthpiece.

Change in the winds for 2016?

*****

Video of Johnny Mack Morrow's meeting on Rose's Law:

Shoalanda

A Special Post on Activities in the City of Muscle Shoals

We received this earlier today and believe it deserves to be published in full:

CHAD HOLDEN - LAUDERDALE COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD PRESIDENT & Muscle Shoals High School Principal.

Why? Double Dipping? Who does he serve? Does he leave his "day job" to "play School Board". Serving 2 masters?

Appalling is not close to the outrage I feel looking at that picture of Chad Holden and those want to be thugs/gangsta's.  - Thuggin with the true OG?

For any adult to put themselves in the middle of children acting like thugs making those kind of gestures is alarming.
Isn't it against the law to be making a gun gesture in a school?
For the principal not only to participate in such garbage, but also to post that picture on his facebook indicates a high level of immaturity and lack of leadership.
I would be interested to know what disciplinary action was taken by his superiors for such abuse of public facilities.
Taxpayers should be alarmed at the lack of leadership from the top down for these things to be allowed.

Maybe LAUDERDALE COUNTY VOTERS will remember this when Chad Holden once again asks for their support, telling them about his "accomplishments".

I'm sure this picture will re-surface if he tries to mis-lead us again.

Muscle Shoals, you're on your own if you choose to employ people that are out of touch with reality.

On the golf course debacle.
Cypress Lakes 3G's - Gas-Golf-Guzzling.
Why is alcohol allowed on taxpayer public property?
There is an ordinance against alcohol on publicly owned properties I believe.
Is this city council above their own laws - sorry, that question was borderline insane in itself.

The Gas Department "donates" a gas grill.
How much is the GAS BILL for Hole 19 booze bar?

Do those jokers really think kicking Rhoda P out of the "Country Club" is going to solve their problems? That woman has brought a little stability to that place for a change and those councilmen are going to throw the shaft to her? PITIFUL.

TURTLE HABITAT!!!!

TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES UNITE!!

AVENGE the DEATH of your ANCESTORS at the hands of the MAYOR!!!

Take the Course - Take the Schools - Take the Thugs!

DONATELLO for MAYOR!!!!!

Which brings me to this conclusion.
Coaches and Councilmen are interchangeable.
Say what it takes to get what you want.
Use taxpayers and parents to get what you want.
Charge and tax people to get what you want.
Enforce rules only on those who get in the way of getting what you want.
Don't enforce rules on those who insure you get what you want.
Feed your ego on other people's back to get what you want.

Lastly, for any MS policeman that was working the summer before Dee Liner's senior year (and he was 18) might remember an incident at a home in MS (during the same time of his 2 arrests). I'm told the MSCS superintendent and principal were advised of Liner being run off by a homeowner to which Liner returned with his back up boys. The homeowner had to pull a gun on Liner to make him take his hands off his daughter and leave.
As you said Shoalanda, it's all about winning, and we all know the Trojan star was on the field in a matter of weeks after all those incidents the summer before his senior year.

Expect any better when you see that kind of picture of the kids and principal at MSHS "thuggin"?
Where is that boy now anyway?

Muscle Shoals: Thuggin' & Free Grills

From a Colbert County reader:

Thought you should see the origin of the THUGGIN craze. Attached is the URBAN DICTIONARY explanation of Thuggin Thursday.

The 2nd attachment is a picture taken in (Chad Holden) principal's office at Muscle Shoals High School on October 2nd 2014. Holden is featured as one of the "thugs" in the photo op with students doing gang signs and one young lady is pointing her finger in a gun sign as well.The young man to the far right holding the mega phone is said to be Levi Fell's brother, Isaiah. This picture was posted on Insta Gram AND Facebook.

One man told me Holden posted the picture on his facebook and thought the man was kidding when he criticized him for doing that kind of thing in a school and with students with him being a leader / principal!  Holden finally removed the picture from his FB.

Wonder WHY kids are "Thuggin"? WHY NOT, when a principal is "Thuggin" with them. They learn by example. Then they become adults (18), go to college, go afoul of the law, and Shoalanda has material to publish. Sad but true.

CLEAN HOUSE - the public doesn't know the half of what is going on in all these schools.

*****

Note: We were unable to download the Urban Dictionary photo without some modification. We will use this later. Here's the photo of Chad Holden--at least he didn't have red hair:

 

Nice...it goes well with Gangsta Jazz at Florence High School: Link

*****

Are you a customer of the Muscle Shoals Gas Department (if there is one)? Then you should read this.

We understand that there was a restaurant at Cypress Lakes Golf Course when Neil Whitsell so generously gave the green elephant (turtle habitat) to the City of Muscle Shoals. We were unaware that there was also a separate bar, but that is to be expected. It's called, at present, the 19th Hole Lounge.

Since the city took ownership, we are aware of at least two entities which leased the restaurant. A usual type of agreement would be for the lessee to pay a monthly fee plus a percentage of the profit. For whatever reasons, Muscle Shoals is now doing away with the eatery.

However, it seems the lounge will remain. Who is the lessee? Or perhaps we should ask if there is a lessee? It seems the 2013-2014 city budget allotted 85K to run the bar. This would be 85K in tax dollars.

Apparently since the restaurant is being shut down, the city thinks it's a good idea to install a gas grill to prepare some fast food for the golfers--we're guessing a little food insures more liquor sales. Where did the city get its gas grill?

It would seem the Muscle Shoals Gas Department donated the grill. Where did the gas department get the grill? We're going to assume that it originally cost them some money--money produced by gas sales to Muscle Shoals residents. 

But wait! Does the City of Muscle Shoals have a gas department? We would very much like a link to info on this city department. Just as in our finite wisdom, we didn't realize that Cypress Lakes had a separate bar, we thought that the Northwest Alabama Gas District served the citizens of Muscle Shoals directly. 

So we obviously have research to do. After all, we can't imagine why the Northwest Alabama Gas District would give a local bar a free grill. We think Tony Burns has more sense than that...

*****

The 19th Hole Lounge sounds classy, huh? Why are we thinking of a line from the West Texas Waltz? "We heard us some sounds; it was a honky tonk lounge."

Shoalanda

Thoughts on Two Failures...

What of the Cypress Lakes golf course? We understand that this property also includes tennis courts and other amenities. Unlike the golf course, upkeep to these venues seems to be minimal.

Do the citizens of Muscle Shoals want to sell Cypress Lakes after so many of their tax dollars have been poured down the 18 holes? Do they want to throw good money after bad?

A reasonable solution might be to lease the facilities to a management company. The city’s monthly income would be regular and guaranteed. Such arrangements often work well, but some do not. It’s an idea that the Muscle Shoals City Council should look into.

Has the former International Paper Company already been purchased? That's the rumor; however, there doesn't seem to be any paper trail in the state. Options, etc., aren't always filed at a local courthouse, so the tales of a new small, non-union paper mill may be true. Stay tuned...

Shoalanda

$37.00 Loss Per Muscle Shoals Citizen?

From a reader: Anyone wonder why the city councilmen of Muscle Shoals that are golfers all play their regular games at the RTJ facility, rather than the city-owned Cypress Lakes?

*****

The Turtle is Getting Military Honors?

*****

We see that Cypress Lakes management/City of Muscle Shoals is now admitting losing 500K last year. The last year for population figures is 2012. At that time, the city had 13,371 residents. So each and every citizen of Muscle Shoals kicked in over $37.00 to fund Cypress Lakes' losses.

Citizens of Muscle Shoals, is this course worth $37.00 a year to you? If you're a family of three, you put up over $112.00 for this green elephant's losses. Wouldn't that have purchased you all a nice steak dinner...at least you would have something to show for it.



Shoalanda

25K a Month for Muscle Shoals Turtle Habitat

The smallest monthly loss we've seen quoted is 25K a month. That would be 300K a year in losses for the city of Muscle Shoals. For quality of life? Just how many in Muscle Shoals play golf...at Cypress Lakes?

Shoalanda

Seafood Pizza? A Guest Blog...

Seafood Pizza at Pizza Hut, Muscle Shoals anyone?




They might as well, since it is common to see this scene, just one of the flooding problems encountered in the fair City of Muscle Shoals this week. As I recall, there is a ½ cent tax imposed on all sales in the city that is “earmarked” solely for flood control. The question could be asked of the Mayor and Council what is being done with this “earmarked tax money”. Apparently, it’s not being used for its intended purpose.

City employees say the funds are diverted and spent for everything but flood control. Question, “Is that legal”? Not saying that it is or is not, just posing a question that should be answered by the Mayor and Council. Is this “earmarked” tax money possibly being used on their folly on Sixth Street known as Cypress Lakes Golf Course? We all know it loses tens of thousands of our money every month.

Or, Is this “earmarked” tax money possibly being sent to MSCS to fund the 7-8 million dollar football dynasty? This tax was imposed for the resolution of flood control and for that purpose only. One would think that use of an “earmarked” tax for projects other that the intended use could be considered illegal, but if not illegal, certainly unethical. Of course everyone knows this Mayor and Council could not care any less about what is right and ethical, they base all their decisions solely on what is popular among certain groups. Would the Mayor and Council please respond publicly to this question.

*****

If any in Muscle Shoals government wish to respond to our guest blogger, they may do so here or request the answer be sent to him privately.

Shoalanda