2032

The enormous debt on the Legends of Massillon Golf Course will not be paid off until 2032, which, by our calculations, will be the first year of Mayor Frank Cicchinelli's 12th term as Massillon's Mayor for Life. He will be running for his 7th four year term as Mayor for Life next year. The golf course will never make a profit until 2032 because of the enormous annual debt payments. This year the City of Massillon will be paying $527,885.00 on golf course debt. A mere $267,885.00 will be spent on just the interest. That's not even counting the $199,000 that City Council negotiated to pay for the restaurant at the golf course. Total it all up, and you reach $726,885.00 total. If you think this is a wasteful expenditure of $726,885.00, your reasoning is obvious. You must be anti-Cicchinelli.

Back in 2008, our Mayor for Life tried to sell 52 acres at the golf course, 6 of the holes. He tried to sell it twice. No one made a bid either time. If the golf course was such a spectacular idea, why was he trying to sell chunks of it off? If you count the annual debt as an expenditure, there is no possible way the golf course will ever break even, let alone turn a profit, until 2032, a mere 22 years from now. If there was only a way to remove this albatross from around the necks of Massillon taxpayers...

Apparently there was. It has been alleged that about five years ago a local businessman offered to take over the payments on the golf course, and assume the operating costs. Allegedly, this businessman negotiated with Massillon's Mayor for Life, with Law Director Perry Stergios present, in the Mayor's office. If this is true, it would have been a deal the City should have jumped at. If this is true, we wonder why they did not.