Organizations as diverse as Canteen Corp. and the Bensenville Park District are among the 15 businesses and organizations that have submitted sealed bids to operate the former Elmhurst Country Club under contract with the Du Page County Forest Preserve District.
The district is seeking concessionaires to run the property`s golf and food service operations on a percentage basis beginning April 1. The facilities have estimated annual gross sales of $2.8 million.
The property will be renamed Oak Meadows when it is converted to a public golf and banquet facility in April. The district bought the 18-hole course and clubhouse in September for $6.4 million.
The 15 bids, submitted Friday, will be evaluated by the district`s planning staff. The district committee that has been operating the property on an interim basis will evaluate the staff`s review when it meets Friday.
Terms of the offers varied greatly and included an assortment of profit-sharing schemes generally based on sales. Bidders submitted proposals to run either the golf operation, the food and beverage service or both.
The bidders included caterers and management consulting firms. Although most of the bids came from the Chicago area, businesses from as far away as Sarasota, Fla., and Lexington, Ky., submitted proposals.
Old Orchard Country Club in Mt. Prospect and Itasca Country Club in Itasca submitted bids. Fred Koehler, manager of the former Elmhurst Country Club, and the former club`s golf professional, Mike Buros, of Wood Dale, submitted bids.
Robert Kunkel, director of the Bensenville Park District, which has operated the nearby White Pines golf course since 1967, said his district bid because it has expertise to sell, and ”I don`t know of any municipality that couldn`t use a few extra dollars.”
The district has great latitude in selecting an operator because the concession contract is considered a professional service. Unlike with purchasing goods, when the lowest responsible bidder must be selected, the committee that has been running the property is not compelled to select a bidder based solely on how much profit it will return to the district, said committee chairman William Maio Jr., a Republican from Itasca.
