A court date is set to move forward with foreclosure proceedings against Gold Creek Golf Club.
Gold Creek, which owes more than $120,000 in property tax debt to Dawson County dating back to 2006, voluntarily closed its doors June 27 and is now facing a seizure of the property, according to Dawson County Tax Commissioner Linda Townley.
The two parties are scheduled to be in court on Aug. 14 before Superior Court Judge Bonnie Oliver at 1:30 p.m. at the Dawson County Courthouse.
Gold Creek, which opened in 1995 and has been named one of the best places to play golf in north Georgia, owes $62,452.35 for 2006, $55,491.12 for 2007 property taxes and over $11,000 in inventory taxes, Townley said.
Townley, who has spent months trying to recover the money owed to the county, said she has known for several months that the golf club was facing financial difficulties.
"We were told then that Regions Bank, their lender, was going to cover the 2006 taxes. But we
later learned that was not the case," she said last month.
Townley added the club's owners, Bob and Jeff Tablak, have retained a metro-Atlanta debt relief attorney.
Calls made to the Tablaks have not been returned.
Townley and many others say they hate to see the club, which has played an integral part of Dawson County for many years, close.
"Gold Creek has a history of being an excellent community amenity and in its current status, there are broad based casualties - jobs, neighborhood valuations, scheduled events," said Dawson County Commissioner Terri Tragesser, who lives in the upscale neighborhood.
Cathie Waddell, who operated her catering business from Gold Creek's kitchen, said many employees did not receive their last paychecks.
Gold Creek's homeowners association has made attempts to assist club employees that lost their jobs with the club's closing. "We basically passed the hat around for them. This is really unfortunate," Tragesser said.
Residents also offered to maintain the greens at the golf course, but an agreement couldn't be reached with the club's owners, said Gold Creek Homeowners Association President Marty Horn.
Horn acknowledged the homeowners association has had problems with the club's ownership for quite some time. Several changes have taken place in the last year and a half, including staffing and the move to take the course from a 27 to an 18-hole course.
The city of Dawsonville is also in a legal fight with Gold Creek over what Planning Director Steve Holder describes as an unfulfilled water and sewer contractual agreement.
E-mail Michele Hester at michele@dawsonnews.com.