A management company is under fire for failing to fix two Hartford golf courses despite a multi-million dollar contract to do just that.
Golfer, Mike Whaley, went to Goodwin Park Tuesday to hit a few balls but says he can’t.
“It’s kind of sad, it looks like the place is abandoned”, said Whaley.
That’s because the greens are brown, the tee boxes are in disrepair and dozens of tree stumps are left over from some questionable deforestation.
It’s all the remnants of alleged mismanagement by MDM Golf Enterprises, the company contracted by the City of Hartford in 2009 to manage and repair city-owned courses at Goodwin and Keney Parks.
But an internal city audio shows that after MDM was paid $2.4 Million from the City of Hartford, the company skipped more than $1 Million in improvements they were supposed to make at the courses.
“I think it’s got to start at the top and trickle down from there. I mean the tough questions have to be asked”, said Whaley.
FOX CT visited the listed address for MDM Golf Enterprises where we didn’t find anybody Tuesday night in Hamden, except for a van that says “On Course Construction”.
That’s the partner company of MDM listed on their website and it turns out the issues in Hartford weren’t the only times the company’s been called into question.”
According to a June 2012 New Haven Register article, MDM Golf Enterprises is being sued by the Town of Woodbridge for $150,000 related to a golf management job in that town, for which the town believes company owner Matt Menchetti owes them money.
In East Hartford, a May 2013 Journal Enquirer article reported that the town canceled its contract with MDM after the company was late on lease payments and the golf course it managed was “hemorrhaging money”.
Yet, MDM still manages several courses statewide, from Glastonbury to Bloomfield to Hamden.
FOX CT called MDM Golf Enterprises’ Hamden office and the owner’s cell phone tonight.
No one answered at either number.
FOX CT also stopped by owner, Matt Menchetti’s home but he did not come to the door.
“A lot of people should be held accountable in my opinion”, said Whaley, referring to the parties involved.
Pedro Segarra, who oversees the Public Works Department as part of his role as Mayor, issued a statement saying quote:
“Irrespective of any audit, we’ve been evaluating the operations of all our departments to identify areas of improvement and create efficiencies. If something needs to be adjusted, we’ll deal with it”.
Golfers we spoke with called the overall situation “a shame”.
“As opposed to being a sore spot it could definitely be a bright spot and it seems like until someone else comes in here to take care of it… I mean there’s no flags on the flag poles, it just looks like no one cares”, said Whaley.