- December 6, 2025
The Flagler Beach Commission has approved the sale of Ocean Palm Golf Course at its Nov. 13 meeting.
The commission voted 3-2 to sell the golf course, with Commission Chair James Sherman and Commissioner John Cunningham voting against it. The golf course is being sold to the current lease holder, Ocean Palm Golf Club, LLC for the proposed purchase price of $801,333.
Commissioners Rick Belhumeur, Eric Cooley and Scott Spradley voted in favor of selling the course.
“I am a firm believer in government should not be in business, that the private sector should be in," Cooley said, during the city’s Oct. 9 commission meeting. “Our citizens should be running businesses, our government should not be running bait shops, our government should not be running golf courses or bowling alleys or any of that stuff. That's big government, we don't want that.”
Under the city’s charter, an ordinance must be adopted prior to the sale of property. The item must also be approved at a second reading in an upcoming commission meeting before it is finalized.
The commission last reviewed the sale proposal at its Oct. 9 meeting. It voted 3-2 to sell the golf course, with Sherman and Cunningham opposing the sale. Sherman and Cunningham had said they had concerns of the golf course turning into a housing development.
A letter to Ocean Palm Golf Club owner Jeff Ryan from his lender said the loan is contingent on the ordinance being passed, according to Jay Livingston, the attorney representing Ryan.
“We have a budget that we put together for a lender; the bulk of that is site development costs and design and building costs with internal buildout being the second biggest cost,” Livingston said.
Ryan deposited $40,000 into an escrow account on Oct. 28, 2025. Ryan and his team are seeking $6 million from their lender. Additionally, the underwriting can begin after the ordinance is approved, following the second reading, according to city meeting documents and presentations.
A Flagler Beach resident took the podium during public comment on Nov. 13 to ask why there was not another bid for the golf course.
“The city never put the golf course up for sale,” Spradley said. “It's under a lease and the existing tenants offered to purchase it, so there was never a situation where other bids were entertained, because the city did not put it up for sale.”
