Monthly Archives: June 2016

Are you ready to have fun!?!? Please join us at Mozingo for the 4th of July Spectacular presented by Kawasaki Maryville Plant. The event is free to the public & will feature a FREE Human Foosball Tournament, inflatables & games, mechanical riding bull, FREE Kool Kats, live music from The Mixtapes & DOUBLE THE FIREWORKS!!! You don’t want to miss out! Special thanks to our additional sponsors Hy-Vee, PeopleService, Inc, Pizza Ranch Maryville, United Electric Cooperative, Oak Pointe of Maryville, & the City of Maryville, Missouri.  

By TONY BROWN Staff writer  Maryville Daily Forum Construction of a long-awaited hotel at Mozingo Lake Recreation Park officially got under way Thursday afternoon as local officials, along with representatives from developer Boulders Inn & Suites, picked up a dozen gold-painted shovels and turned over a few pounds of ceremonial earth. The 40-room hotel — a key component in the park’s 20-year master plan — is being privately developed by Iowa-based Boulders in conjunction with a group of local investors, Boulders Inn Maryville, and carries an estimated cost of $3.2 million. Boulders CEO Tim Stuart said that more than half the capital needed for the project was put up by the Maryville investment organization, which is organized as a separate limited liability company. Stuart said he expects construction to last through the late winter or early spring of 2017, and that the lodge’s opening will coincide with completion of a $4 million publicly financed conference center that is to contain a new golf course clubhouse and pro shop, restaurant, and banquet facilities. At 19,000 square feet, the hotel will be slightly more than half the size of the 30,000-square-foot center. As reported earlier, the hotel will be managed by Boulders and, with the exception of some utilities infrastructure, involves no expenditure of tax dollars either for construction or operations. The conference center restaurant will also be run by a private third-party vendor. Stuart said the Mozingo hotel represents his company’s 13th commercial lodging facility. Eleven of those lodges are operational, and a 12th is currently under construction in Manning, Iowa. Two of Boulders other properties are also located on golf courses and a third was developed on a lakeshore. Stuart said the Mozingo project is similar to the company’s first Boulders Inn, which opened in Denison, Iowa, in 2008, and likewise adjoins a municipal conference center. As with Boulders’ other developments, this one will use Huegerich Construction of Carroll, Iowa, as the general contractor. In an apparent response to social media posts made a week or so ago criticizing the use of out-of-town subcontractors, City Manager Greg McDanel said a number of local contracting businesses will take part in the project, and that some building materials, such as rebar, are being purchased locally as well. Tracing the history of the project in a brief speech during Thursday’s ceremony, McDanel said the concept for the lodge grew from a feasibility study commissioned by the City Council and completed by consulting firm IDM in 2012. That report declared that a 70-room hotel at the lake could make money. However the study also identified a number of downsides, especially an “unprofessional” marketing approach that failed to emphasize Mozingo’s potential as a regional tourist and corporate events destination. As the hotel proposal gained focus, it was championed by former city councilmen Glenn Jonagan and Jim Fall. Fall currently serves as executive editor of the Maryville Daily Forum. McDanel said both men instructed municipal staff to “make it happen,” marching orders that led to the creation of a comprehensive marketing campaign initially designed by a group of students at Northwest Missouri State University. Another piece in the hotel puzzle, McDanel said, fell into place with the hiring of Assistant City Manager Ryan Heiland, who was put in charge of overall operations at the 3,000-acre park. Heiland played a key role in streamlining Mozingo’s organizational structure — a move, in part, calculated to integrate development of a hotel/conference center complex with existing park operations. McDanel said it was Heiland who suggested recruiting Boulders Inn & Suites after seeing a television news report of a Boulders development adjoining a golf course and conference center in Polk City, Iowa. Thursday’s ceremony, McDanel said, was the “crescendo of a five-year effort” to bring commercial lodging to Mozingo Lake, and especially to the Sechrest 18 and Watson 9 golf courses. Stuart called the event “an exciting day for our company,” adding that he was eager to “get a shovel in my hands and get this thing going.” He also described his company’s relationship with local government and economic development officials as a “mutual admiration society.” “The more we looked, the more excited we got about coming to Maryville,” Stuart said. When completed, the hotel is to offer “upscale lodging” consisting of both single rooms and a limited number of suites. Stuart said that the facility’s modular design means it could be enlarged to 70 or 80 units at the point business volume justifies expansion. Thursday’s ground-breaking ceremony was hosted by the Greater Maryville Chamber of Commerce.

By KENNY LARABEE Sports Editor Jun 6, 2016 Maryville Daily Forum With sunny skies and pristine stretches of green awaiting them, area youth took to the Watson 9 at Mozingo Lake Recreation Park to learn about the game of golf Saturday in the first of four youth camps scheduled for this summer. The three-day camps, open to children ages five through 17, teach players the rules of golf, etiquette and skills such as chipping, putting and teeing off. Designed by golfing legend Tom Watson, the Watson 9 opened earlier this year and is a hybrid course created specifically with youth – and youth instruction – in mind. Golfers at the camp began the first day by moving from one practice station to another, learning about different aspects of the sport at each stop. With changes in the camp’s format and one of the best practice facilities in the country, according to Mozingo Lake Golf Course Head Professional Kyle Easter, the first day went to the resident pro’s liking. “Being that this is the first time we’ve done this sort of camp style, I thought it went really well,” Easter said. “It was nice to have a little more time than we used to. We don’t have to rush around and we can hit on a variety of different things, golf-wise. So it was really nice in that aspect of it.” Golfers at the camp are divided by age group, with older age groups learning more advanced techniques, like pre-shot routines, Easter said. The purpose of the camp is to get as many kids involved with golf as possible, Easter said. Three more camps are scheduled for this summer, beginning June 25, July 16 and July 30. Each camp costs $40 and last three days. Financial aid and clubs are available to those that need them as well, making the program accessible to all, Easter said. “Any kid that wants to be part of the program, we want them to have the opportunity,” Easter said. “If there’s any interest at all, let us help them build that interest.” Brooke Byland, one of the camp’s instructors, said that the benefits of the camp should entice area youth to give it a try. “Definitely come out,” Byland said. “Golf’s a life-long sport. If they start early, they can play it throughout their entire life.” Registration for the remaining three camps is available at the Maryville Community Center, among other locations throughout the area, and online at Mozingolake.com. And although the primary purpose of the camp is to teach area youth about golf, having fun also ranks high. “Come out, have some fun, enjoy the new golf course,” Easter said. “Enjoy being outside following a little white ball around.”