Fianna Hills Country Club owner says club and course no longer for sale

The on-again-off-again effort to buy the Fianna Hills Country Club and golf course is off, again, with club owner David Millé saying in a letter to property owners that he does not believe the group trying to buy the facility will be able to make it work.

The group of local investors – Fianna Golf LLC – had an agreement with Millé to buy the property for $1.1 million by Sept. 15, but that deal fell through when Fianna Golf wanted to more time to conduct due diligence. Pete Charlton, a spokesman for Fianna Golf, said the club roof had storm damage and it was not adequately repaired. With the deal seemingly dead, Fianna Golf held a meeting in early September with attendees agreeing to make a second attempt to buy the club and course.

Millé, who closed the club and course on Dec. 31, 2018, noted in a letter dated Sept. 21 to Fianna Hills property owners that the club and course is no longer for sale.

“This is to inform you that I have taken the property off the market as a golf course and I am offering it to the individual property owners as before. I believe this is the best way to protect the value of our homes and our property as I live in the neighborhood too,” he noted.

Millé alleged that Fianna Golf has not been able to raise enough money to “meet the bank’s criteria,” and it would likely close in a few years if they were to buy it. Failure to keep the club open could require a property auction and that “could result in large apartment complexes being built throughout our neighborhood!”

Millé also noted in the letter that he tried to make the club work, and “for many years” operated “on a negative basis” despite having “one of the best restaurants in the surrounding area, a world-class chef, and an excellent menu.”

“However, many of the people posting a desire for the Club to re-open were, for the most part, never members and never darkened the doors of Fianna Hills Country Club. If only 25% of the 1800 neighborhood property owners had participated with a social membership, the Club House and Golf Course would still be open today,” Millé said.

He also took exception with Charlton’s allegation of shoddy roof repair, saying the roofing contractor was “competent” and the roof damage was nothing more than a tear from a “high wind event.”

“Such rhetoric, for the purpose of negotiating a lower price, has not served the group of investors well as they have ultimately failed in their endeavor to purchase the property,” Millé noted in the letter.

Millé encouraged those interested in buying parts of the course adjacent to their home to contact Gary Carmack (926-3057).

Charlton declined to comment for this story.