Hotel News!

In the CC Board meeting of March 24th, the Board approved the formation of a Hotel Advisory Committee, headed by Board member Bob Berdine, that began a detailed feasibility study toward the opening of a hotel next to the Indian Hills Country Club.

There is a timeline involved, in which a diverse, skilled group of planners evaluated all aspects of establishing a hotel and determining its financial viability. The planning committee included the city, the business community, construction management and architectural designers.

One of the most important tasks of the committee was to communicate with the membership about what was learned in each step along the timeline. The undertaking was very complex and required all committee members to work positively together, reporting frequently to the Board who will in turn reported to the membership through internet, newspaper and town hall meeting venues.

A “Yes” vote was reported at the Community Club Annual Meeting July 16, 2009 on changes in the Covenants and Restrictions to allow gas drilling,  provided the Club with a significant revenue stream totaling $1.5 million, a part of which can fund the debt service for the first 3 years of operation of the hotel without asking members for additional dues.

On October 22, the Planning and Zoning Commission approved the rezoning of approx 16 acres near the Indian Hills Country Club from residential to commercial, paving the way for further progress in construction of the lodge.

Dick Carpenter, Election Committee Chairman, announced the election results of the ballot initiative for approval of proceeding with the hotel project.  Voting Yes were: 2,277 votes.  Voting No were:  805 votes.

The Community Club Board met with the Hotel Team on January 14, 2010 and after a careful review of the opportunity to franchise with the Wyndham organization, the decision was made to stay independent and use the significant franchise fee costs to fund a more focused marketing program. Our architect has prepared new and more Bay-friendly exterior and interior designs that will prepare our contractor to move forward with ground breaking as soon as possible. The Grand Opening is still scheduled for 2011.

On April 27, a Town Hall meeting was held to display the latest architect’s drawings and explain the process to date. Invitations to bid were sent to a number of construction companies and the results were opened on Wednesday, April 28th. After consideration of many factors, the hotel team recommended to the Board that C. R. Crawford Co. of Springdale, AR be selected as the contractor. The winning bid was slightly under $5 million for the hotel structure, with a total of $6.8 million identified as the total project cost, including a $500,000 contingency reserve.

With this estimated cost in mind, the Board has worked to finalize the last major part of the equation, financing.  Up until June 2010, the national economic situation has caused area banks to shy away from offering financing to a hotel project. During June, team and Board members met with representatives of the US Dept of Agriculture, which through its rural improvement programs, offered to guarantee 70% of the financing. This has renewed interest by the banks, but the paperwork will no doubt take longer than a normal loan arrangement.

The Board feels this project, especially given the time and money already spent, is so critical to the long-term success of Fairfield Bay that it wants to proceed with groundbreaking as soon as this new financing approach can be put together. Further news will be made available as soon as possible.