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http://www.stpetetimes.com/2004/04/20/S ... eks_.shtmlExclusive club seeks legislative shortcut
The Gilchrist Club, which caters to the wealthy, wants to be given a liquor license without the usual cost and hassle.
By LUCY MORGAN, Times Tallahassee Bureau Chief
Published April 20, 2004
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The Gilchrist Club fits the description in the bill, though it is not mentioned by name.
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[Gilchristclub.com]
This is the Cypress House lodge at the Gilchrist Club, which covers 23,000 acres. Members are invited to join and pay an initiation fee of about $65,000.
TALLAHASSEE - For many businesses, obtaining an alcoholic beverage license means buying one for hundreds of thousands of dollars or waiting years for the state to issue new ones.
The Gilchrist Club takes a different approach.
The exclusive hunting and sporting club in Gilchrist County wants the Florida Legislature to pass a law to give it a liquor license.
The two-page bill does not mention the Gilchrist Club by name. It says only that the state may issue a license to a "sporting and recreational lodge complex" that has at least 10,000 acres, room to sleep at least 12 and a restaurant that seats at least 25 and that has existed for at least two years.
That would be the Gilchrist Club.
The club covers 23,000 acres in Gilchrist County near Gainesville, operates a restaurant, hunting lodge and executive lodges for overnight stays. It caters to wealthy businessmen or sports figures who are invited to join and pay an initiation fee of about $65,000, plus annual dues of about $2,900. Corporate memberships are available for $150,000 a year.
Sen. Rod Smith, D-Alachua, sponsor of a bill that quickly won unanimous approval in the Regulated Industries Committee on Monday, said the club has a "world class restaurant" that is forced to make its customers brown bag it. Former Lt. Gov. Wayne Mixson is a member of the club and took Smith to lunch there to see the facility.
David K. Meehan, president of Bankers Financial Corp. in St. Petersburg, is the club's developer and primary investor. Gov. Jeb Bush appointed Meehan in 1999 to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the agency that regulates hunting and fishing in Florida. Bankers has been a frequent donor to state political campaigns, contributing more than $500,000 since 1996.
Meehan said the club decided to seek legislation to get a license for alcoholic beverages after exploring the way other private clubs in the state were licensed.
"I consider it an equity bill," he said.
Meehan said the club will not sell alcohol or allow its consumption during an event using firearms. The bill, which is ready for a vote by the full House and Senate, would allow liquor to be sold between 5 p.m. and sunrise.
For seven or eight years, Meehan and others have been working on the club. He said they used consultants who helped organize the nationally known Boca Raton Hotel & Racquet Club to put together membership agreements.
"We're trying to build something that is a beautiful plantation," Meehan said Monday.
He said the club has more than 40 members and expects to have no more than 100 to 125 members.
The club's land stretches along State Road 47 through the heart of Gilchrist County, about 30 minutes west of Gainesville. The land, which includes a number of lakes and ponds, is described as "a living collage of pine forests, grassy flats and pristine wetlands."
The club has built distinctive entry gates of native stone and is familiar to most residents of rural Gilchrist County. The club's membership prices are far more than most residents could afford, Gilchrist Sheriff David Turner said.
The club has made its lodge available to some local officials for meetings, Turner said, "but the fees are well beyond the means of those of us who live in little Gilchrist County."
The club does help with community efforts like last week's "Beast Feast," which raised money for education.
Hunters seek native bobwhite quail, turkey, deer, wild boar and alligator. Fishing for largemouth bass is available on a number of lakes and ponds, and part of the complex overlooks the nearby Suwannee River. The retreat also features wildlife tours for families, horses supplied by nearby vendors for trail riding and other family recreation uses.
Plans are under way for additional amenities such as a swimming pool, exercise facilities and possibly tennis courts.
Suwannee Lake Plantation Inc., the company that owns the land, is owned by Bankers Financial, a holding company that also owns Bankers Insurance Group. Directors of Suwannee Lake Plantation are Robert G. Southey, Robert M. Menke, Richard M. Brubaker, Edwin C. Husseman and Nancy C. Haire, all of St. Petersburg.
Club consultants include Brad Mueller, director of game bird research at the Tall Timbers Research Station in Tallahassee; W.C. Collins, an Arkansas native who serves as manager of the plantation; Jack Youngblood, a former defensive end for the Los Angeles Rams; Matthew B. Connolly Jr., cohost of the World of Ducks Unlimited, a nationally televised outdoors program; Dr. Lovett E. Williams, a wildlife biologist for the Wildlife Society; and Glenn H. Lau, a member of the Fishing Hall of Fame and producer of wildlife shows for television.
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing
--Edmund Burke
