100 signatures reached
To: Sebring City Council
Sebring Municipal Golf Course & Caddyshack restaurant
Regarding the matter of the disposition of the Sebring Municipal Golf Course and Caddyshack restaurant on the property, we request that you reject Robert Blackmon's request for leasing and ownership of the property for $1, and rule in favor of the people of the city and county who are opposed to this transaction.
Mr. Blackmon has repeatedly asserted that in April of 2022, four months before the sale of the property sale was completed, he met with John Schoop, Bob Swaine and Scott Noethlich and was told at the time by city officials that transfer of these properties to his company wouldn’t be a problem. The golf course has undergone extensive renovations at the cost of the city in the interim period, with a $260,000 expenditure last approved by the city council in April of 2024. If the principals involved in these negotiations were aware of the possible transfer of management, and ultimately ownership, why was the city’s money expended on these improvements after the fact? While we are aware of the quality efforts the Blackmon concern has put into rehabilitating an historic property, we don’t feel it is in the best interests of the residents of the city and county we live in to hand over the property for nothing.
Why is this important?
The Harder Hall historic property was documented as sold to Robert Blackmon and several corporate entities on August 30, 2022.
A proposal to transfer management and ultimately, ownership of the Sebring Municipal Golf Course and Caddyshack restaurant was presented by Robert Blackmon and an attorney on March 18, 2025. That meeting can be observed on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7_8DALdxCU with the presentation of the request and subsequent discussion beginning at 49 minutes, 46 seconds (49:46) into the meeting.
In April of 2022, prior to completion of sale of the hotel, it is Mr. Blackmon’s assertion that in April of 2022 he had received assurances from city officials that “no one saw any issues with the idea” of this transfer.
If city officials were aware of an offer on the table, why then did they expend city funds on improving a course they had intended to gift to corporate entities, furthering a loss of funds to the city? City facilities are not in the business of accruing a profit, but are there to serve the people of the city and county, which it has done for quite a while. It would be good for it to remain that way.