PALM HARBOR — During a public meeting Aug. 28 in the restaurant at Tarpon Woods Golf Club, the roof began to leak amid a torrential late afternoon downpour typical for this time of year.

Thankfully, no one in the standing-room-only audience was injured when a waterlogged tile fell — twice.

But the incident was symbolic of the messy and at times ugly tussle between homeowners in the neighboring residential developments and representatives for the club owners, who unveiled their plans to turn 96%, or about 170 acres, of the 50-year-old facility into a wetland preservation site.

“This is an informational meeting to get the facts out about the plan,” said Kyle Parks, a spokesman for the owners. “I hope that when you hear from us and hear what we are doing that you are going to see there’s one version of things out there and there’s one version of what’s going to happen.”

Unfortunately, the ensuing two hours raised more questions and doubts. Attendees peppered former club owners Jan Stephenson and Michael Vandiver, as well as Parks and other representatives of the new primary owners, with questions. The limited liability company that took ownership two years ago is comprised of individuals who wish to remain private, according to Parks.

Pressing on despite faulty mics, leaking roofs and constant interruptions, Parks then introduced a series of speakers. The list began with Vandiver and Stephenson, the former LPGA Hall of Famer whose namesake foundation purchased the course in 2017, to explain their side of the story.

“How we got here is seven years ago, we acquired the course, and we tried very hard to make it work,” said Vandiver, who along with his wife, Diane, handled much of the day-to-day business at the club. “We have tried hard to make this work. Unfortunately, the finances don’t work.”

Vandiver and Stephenson cited a lack of community support as the main reason they were forced to search for new owners. That process included contacting the county, residential developers and others.

“There are six other owners who tried to make it work and it just didn’t work, and the reason is, the community in this area does not support this golf course or the restaurant,” Vandiver said, eliciting a chorus of boos.

Stephenson agreed, stating, “If you would’ve supported us, then we would’ve had more money to put back into the golf course.” Vandiver said the course needs $6 million worth of repairs and renovations.

“I mean I understand. But we’ve run out of money, and no one supported us,” she said, citing studies that show a golf course needs 60% of the community to support it, stating Tarpon Woods got 6%.

“And now suddenly you all love Tarpon Woods?” Stephenson said. “Where were you when we needed you?”

It was at that point Vandiver said he wouldn’t hesitate to ask the sheriff’s deputy on duty to remove any rabble-rousers, and Parks quickly stepped in to defend the duo and further flesh out the bluprint for the plan.

“They sold the property and they’re not driving the plan,” he said of Vandiver and Stephenson. He noted that during their exploration of selling the course, they learned about the wetland mitigation banking option.

“Basically, it means the property will be taken back to its natural state, a natural preservation, with state oversight and state regulations on what you can and cannot do on the property,” Parks said. “You cannot develop on the property when it becomes a wetland mitigation bank, or you’re not a wetland mitigation bank anymore. It’s simple.”

Ryan Deibler, owner of Green Source Environmental Professionals, a consulting company that specializes in wetland mitigation banking, reaffirmed that statement and detailed what the banking process entails.

“Wetland mitigation banks are projects that restore degraded habitats in exchange for wetland mitigation credits,” he said. The owners must “restore the property beforehand, and we get credits released through time that are used to offset impacts elsewhere.”

Deibler noted that once an application is approved by the Southwest Florida Water Management District or the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, “the mitigation bank is protected in perpetuity. We have to dedicate a conservation easement that eliminates the opportunity for development and protects the property forever.”

That assurance, however, was disregarded by some who believe the designation could be reversed in the future, and the acknowledgement that 6 acres could be developed at some point only fostered more doubt.

“At some point could someone develop this?” asked Bill Nobles, a longtime resident who started the Save Tarpon Woods movement two weeks ago after conducting extensive research into the property. Parks said yes.

“And if it’s approved (for wetland mitigation banking) it could never be a golf course again?” Nobles followed, and Parks replied, “That’s correct.”

The meeting continued with Parks dispelling some of the myths associated with the plan, including the rumor that the golf course could remain even if the mitigation bank application failed.

“Wrong,” Parks said.  “If the wetland mitigation bank does not work, the next best thing, financially, is residential development, and (the owners) don’t want to do that. The owners feel they are trying to do the right thing by having a nature preserve on the property rather than a development.”

Further information revealed the plan to transform the facility would take at least a year and involves removing 240,000 cubic yards of dirt and material as well as filling ponds to aid vegetation growth.

Deibler and Parks also said the notoriously flood-prone area would see marked improvement from the preservation work that would be done, though they stopped short of guaranteeing the problems would stop.

When asked if fencing the property was part of the plan, Deibler said they “hope not” while noting there are many types of fences, and some kind would likely be needed to “maintain site security and access.”

By the time they turned the microphone over to the audience, the questions were coming so fast and furious it looked like Parks and Deibler were trying to wrangle feral cats, and some of the comments were pointed.

But Nobles and Parks both said the meeting went as they expected.

“I felt like we did everything we could to explain why the financials of the golf course are not working,” Parks said to reporters afterward. “What we hope comes out of this meeting are the facts, and the biggest fact is that there is not going to be a residential development on that golf course.”

“I think emotions are always high when you have change,” he added, noting many golf courses nationwide are struggling and undergoing various forms of redevelopment. “So, change is hard, but at the same time we hope people will see we’re making a decision based on facts.”

When asked if he got the answers he was looking for, Nobles said, “No. Not even close. I was hoping for transparency, but they have plans, so I wasn’t expecting anything to change.

“But we’re not done digging and we’re going to continue looking for the answers that we need,” he added. “We’ve got 2,000 signatures on a petition already, and we’re taking this all the way to the top of the top.”

Nobles said that despite the owners’ repeated assurances the property wouldn’t be developed, he doesn’t believe anything is final while the lengthy application process continues.

“That’s the information that they’re telling us that’s on the conceptual permit with Swiftmud. It’s not the final permit,” he said. “They can’t build where the mitigation bank is. But they have not specified exactly how many acres that is going to be. So, it’s definitely something we have to keep a real close eye on.”

Nobles, who has lived in the area for more than 30 years, then spoke about the broken trust between friends.

“I know Jan. I met her when they bought this property in 2017,” he said. “I think she’s a friend, a sweet lady who came to my house for holiday parties. And they never said anything about this and lied to our faces.

“I just hope the owners realize they made a bad decision. They are upsetting a lot of people and maybe they should just cut their losses and pull out of this deal and explore some options for people to come and buy it. I mean if they had brought that to my family, we would’ve come up with at least $1.65 (million) to purchase it.”