Ken Spahn

The claim was filed with the city Jan. 21 by Ken Spahn, president of the Glen Canyon Golf and Country Club.Spahn contended that Page City Council's closure last summer of the nine-hole public course at the country club is slashing club revenue by more than 90 percent and has cut membership in half.

Spahn said Thursday the filing is unrelated to the March 8 election for mayor and three councilmembers.He said the club had six months to file the claim, and did so just ahead of the Jan. 31 deadline, after negotiations with the city had failed.
...
Spahn was asked about the membership overlap of the Glen Canyon club and United Page, the PAC promoting Justice and council candidates Harley Klemme and Gail Robinson.

BY KEN SPAHN - PRESIDENT, GLEN CANYON COUNTRY CLUB BOARD OF DIRECTORS

"The actions of the city in closing the Glen Canyon 9 course constitute a taking of the property of the club without compensation," wrote club president Ken Spahn in the notice, which was dated Jan. 28 and was received by the city three days later.
...
Spahn could not be reached by the Lake Powell Chronicle for additional comment on the club's claim.
...
In the notice, Spahn claimed that Page broke leases with the country club for a starter area and a cart barn, and that those leases did not expire until 2011.He noted that originally, the club had possessed the title to the nine-hole course, but swapped that to the city for the title to the clubhouse area, the practice tee for the driving range, the putting green, and the parking lot.

"In crafting the exchange, it was explicitly understood by the club and the city that the Glen Canyon 9 course would remain open at least during the lease period for the starter area and cart barn," Spahn stated in the letter."The club relied on this understanding in giving up the rights of access and play it then enjoyed on the Glen Canyon 9 course."

Spahn stated in the letter that the country club's membership has declined by one half since the nine-hole course's closure, and that the club's gross income is only 10 percent of what it was before that occurred.He also stated that the club's hours of operation have been drastically limited, and that the value of the club's property has decreased by about 40 percent.
...
In the claim notice, Spahn stated the nine-hole course had realized a net income of more than $76,000 in the 2003-04 fiscal year.

In a brief speech to country club members after the farewell tournament, club president Kenny Spahn said that the group has tried on three different occasions to get an audience with the city to lease or buy the nine-hole course, but has received no response.

"Hopefully, we'll be up and running in a few months; that's our goal," he said."Either we're changing their attitude, or we're changing the people who are working there," he added, receiving applause and cries of "amen" from the audience.