Save The Golf Course Property

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THE SAVEPINERIDGE.COM BACKSTORY

(Scroll to bottom for Q & A's​)

 

INTRODUCTION

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This is a summary of information most of which was shared with Pine Ridge residents during Save The Golf Course Property Committee (Committee) meetings (held weekly for the better part of six months), our POA and the BOCC.

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Occasionally we do well by revisiting important data points. This is by no means all-inclusive and is intended to shed some light. Many residents who have been here for a while will recall the tension created some five years ago.

 

 

SHANTI GOLF

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On October 27, 2020 Neil Surati, Shanti Golf LLC, purchased the Pine Ridge Golf Course from the previous owner for $630,000.00. It was a nominal cost. The price slid through the years as the 2008 property transfer amount, according to the Citrus Property Appraiser’s Office, was for $2,000,000.00. And then the economy tanked. The already undermanaged golf course would struggle through the downturn in golf generally---and a poor economy overall, going back to 2008. (Important to note---golf is surging and in a renaissance around the state, country and world).

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Residents will remember Pine Ridge was an operating golf course through the years. Players knew it wasn’t what it might have been. If you had an ‘A’ game playing Pine Ridge was not a first choice. And there are many choices in and around Citrus then and now. It had play from average golfers, duffers, beginners and resident players. This is consistent with ‘you get out of a business what you put in’. Still it was a good fit, as in the price was right, for groups, outings, social clubs and seniors.

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We would come to learn a recent series of course owners were just getting by. But every time the course did turn over, resident/player thinking was “This is it”! We also learned reinvestment and topnotch management, maintenance and marketing wasn’t part of any business plans going way back. To replace the irrigation system alone was plus or minus a million dollars depending on timing and other variables. One owner wanted to donate the course to the POA but the then Board declined to accept.

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Mr. Surati was from Texas and his main reason for the purchase was not to continue to run a golf course but rather to build townhouses and apartments on the fairways. (So another out of town developer). Because Mr. Surati purchased title insurance, he learned (and then we learned) there were zoning restrictions he had to overcome. Whereas, the title company would insure him for the usual inclusions and exclusions they advised they would not cover ‘resident resistance’. So Mr. Surati via the POA, had a town hall meeting at our community center. He expected the residents would be thrilled at the prospect of a new community within the community. Not so. There was overwhelming resident resistance with well over 300 people in attendance at our community center. He was shouted down and he chose not to move forward. Residents wanted ‘their’ golf course. Not owning it didn’t mean they didn’t identify with it. This was a serious wakeup call and why many residents began to learn all they could. Potential buyers and investors were stepping forward.

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HARVEST ARMY

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Learning he couldn’t proceed as planned, Mr. Surati decided he no longer wanted the course. There was a time thereafter he entered into a purchase agreement with the Harvest Army which wanted to create a mission on the property. This lasted about two weeks when the Harvest Army withdrew. The specific reasons remain unknown. It’s probable they learned of the title insurance exclusion or at the very least the protection afforded by the Master Plan. The Citrus Chronicle had already covered the resident resistance for townhomes. This was all pre James Dicks, DIX Developments and Southern Oaks.

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JAMES DICKS, DIX DEVELOPMENTS AND SOUTHERN OAKS​

 

Even though he was receiving offers (apparently not to his liking), Surati contracted with a real estate auction company. There were several potential buyers waiting for the auction to go live. This is where James Dicks entered the picture. While others were abiding by auction rules, Dicks made direct contact with Surati and purchased the property in advance. Nothing illegal; just outside the expectations and to the chagrin of those interested in buying and operating a golf course. The auction was live for less than a minute. They closed June 3, 2022. Investors and golf course operators were shut out.

 

This was the beginning of the negative impact to Pine Ridge on so many fronts: friendships tested, misunderstandings, misinformation carried on social media, innuendos, accusations, and rumors. Much of it is facilitated by a continuous disinformation campaign. This is in addition to the already existing frustration of those people first affected. Property values, finances and expectations for many seniors who made Pine Ridge their last stop have been in a state of flux ever since. Please know the difference between misinformation and disinformation. One is intentional the other is not.

 

Mr. Dicks would later advise under oath, at the January 9, 2024 BOCC Quasi-Judicial Hearing, ‘that he bought a golf course to operate as a golf course’ based on due diligence. In the same statement he completely disparaged the condition of the facility and its patrons while advising the golf course was defunct. He glossed over the fact it wasn’t defunct until he made it so. None of this squares with golf operations being shut down and the property fenced within the week of purchase. He needed golf land to be raw land.

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CITRUS COUNTY PROCEDURES  

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Important to note: Mr. Dicks was also aware of the zoning restrictions. Where Surati came to residents via the POA, Dicks chose to bypass the resistance he already knew was there. He went directly to County Growth Management. County staff is required to advise how any project needs to comply. They did. Next stop is the PDC, where a presentation is made, questions are asked and a vote is taken. Thereafter Mr. Dicks, an out of town developer, intended to sway our County Commissioners. After a positive 5-1 vote from the Planning Development Commission on July, 20 2023 (based on disingenuous half-truths) he was met with an unprecedented organized Pine Ridge response on January 9, 2024. (Neil Surati saw some of this same organized resident group at the Town Hall meeting in March, 2021).

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THE BOCC  (More Coming)

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After listening to the lawyers for both sides and the input from residents, the BOCC unanimously declined the Dicks application in a Quasi-Judicial Hearing. Being an elected official anywhere is not an easy task. The BOCC has taken a lot of heat regarding development in Citrus. In this instance they comprehended the threat to the Pine Ridge way of life and stood up for their constituents based on resourced facts. It remains a testament to their conviction and integrity.

 

Not to be deterred, Mr. Dicks almost immediately filed a Request For Relief, hoping to get the BOCC to reconsider their decision. He also filed a lawsuit against former POA President Wayne Tuch. Neither the Pine Ridge POA nor the intervenors were a party to this subsequent mediation process. It remained confidential between Dicks and the BOCC. Important note: The intervenors were recruited by the attorney as part of the winning legal strategy. It wasn’t until the last POA election cycle we learned Mr. Dicks withdrew from the RFR process and dropped the suit against Mr. Tuch.

 

 

THE POA, COMMITTEE, CONCERNED AND CARING RESIDENTS

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Mr. Dicks is a smart guy. Whether intended or not, his ‘continuance’ kept the POA Board of Directors as well as the Committee in the dark. This prevented them from sharing what they could---within reason of course. This created an information vacuum that gave rise to rumor, innuendo and unfounded accusations. Mr. Dicks used this technique to his best advantage especially during the Pine Ridge POA election cycle. Many people were duped. The inability to provide accurate information because it was either business confidential or legally privileged played to Mr. Dicks’s advantage.

 

Knowing his first attempt at a grand slam for windfall profit didn’t proceed as planned at both the hearing and in the mediation to follow, he had to wait until a year passed before he could resubmit. Turning $850,000.00 into a possible $12,000,000.00 is worth the while. He’s made the minimal required changes for another ‘bite at the apple’.

 

The last POA election cycle was timely. It was a good reason to use social media to stoke misinformation with disinformation on top of that. Many good and caring people were duped. Now that we can get on the same page, it is time to circle the wagons. The Master Plan has been a savior before and we need to make sure it is in place to save us from this and future threats. Once gone it is gone for good.

 

On a final note, we have to advise, it’s tough to hear your character and integrity questioned from acquaintances, friends and neighbors. Some we see at functions, around town and at church. We all have the same wants and needs as we all pursue happiness and prosperity in different ways. There is not some secret society trying to do bad things. We have been bound by both ‘legally privileged information’ and ‘business confidential’ process. The Board of Directors has a fiduciary responsibility to act in the best interest of all. We truly recognize good people were led astray. And now we say:

 

Welcome home!

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As we prepare for another response to the BOCC, currently set for August 26, 2025, we can share what is already part of the public record---and respond appropriately and carefully or not at all. We ask for your faith and trust on behalf of the Committee and a Board which has done what will probably go down as the most positive thing in Pine Ridge history since its inception. We need this to be a WIN for James Dicks and a WIN for Pine Ridge Estates.

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