Highbridge Hills - Wisconsin

[pmay5]

Last year, we were told to leave by a cop who showed up at like 11pm on a Saturday night. They told us we are allowed to stay on property John actually owns (basically the clubhouse area, part of the parking lot, and some random plots on Gold).[/QUOTE]

Wow, what kind of condition were you in at 11pm on a Saturday night? Did you guys have anyone able to drive you out?
opcorn:

 

[pmay5]

No.
Last year, we were told to leave by a cop who showed up at like 11pm on a Saturday night. They told us we are allowed to stay on property John actually owns (basically the clubhouse area, part of the parking lot, and some random plots on Gold).

Wow, what kind of condition were you in at 11pm on a Sat night? Was anyone able to drive you out?
opcorn:

 

[Mocheez]

We are still all confused who the actual land owner is in regards to any previous "deal" that may have happened to allow John to run HBH for roughly 20 ish years.

Does a verbal agreement hold up in court? If they "kick" John out from running it, do tee pads/baskets technically belong to him as well? Idk I think this could be a very drawn out long process which would benefit nobody.

See Chuck's post below. My guess is that Roger/Ann bought out a portion of John's membership interest in the LLC and are now the majority owners. There would have been lease agreements in place between Highbridge Hills LLC and any of the individual land owners. I am sure that the terms of those lease agreements have been breached throughout the years which would put Roger/Ann in a position of power.

If you're curious who owns various parcels on the hill and campground, zoom into the area between Poppe Rd and County C just on the north side of Mile Rd. http://ashlandcowi.wgxtreme.com/ Roger Juaire is an investor from St. Cloud who helped John out in the early 2000s (shortly before I got involved developing those disc golf courses) by buying up much of the hill and all of the campground area. Roger's purchase happened soon after his father-in-law passed away who had been John's partner in creating the partly developed ball golf course on the hill.

 

[J-Bright]

My guess is that Roger/Ann bought out a portion of John's membership interest in the LLC and are now the majority owners. There would have been lease agreements in place between Highbridge Hills LLC and any of the individual land owners. I am sure that the terms of those lease agreements have been breached throughout the years which would put Roger/Ann in a position of power.

I guess this kind of helps? Continuing to hear from both sides that they are in charge makes this murky and confusing. I wouldn't mind setting up a reservation but our crew just can't commit to something that is so unknown. I'm not going to give John money as chances are he seems to be on the outs, and until Roger/Ann can show/prove they have taken full responsibility for the area and then provide all documentation for legality with permits for camping and such I can't give them money either... lose lose...just hoping this is all taken care of and settled sooner rather than later.

 

[roggenb3]

Wow, what kind of condition were you in at 11pm on a Sat night? Was anyone able to drive you out?
opcorn:

No condition to be driving. Or talking to police for that matter. But they were cool and just told us to pack up in the morning, which we were already going to do.

 

[ElementZ]

Couldn't agree more. LOVE that place.

Stoney Creek in Fredonia, WI is way up there for me as well.

Plus Rollin Ridge, Zobel, Silver Creek, etc.

So many great options.

I just dropped a 5.0 review on Wilderness. My brother and I were the only people there all day today. It's incredible!

 

[roggenb3]

I just dropped a 5.0 review on Wilderness. My brother and I were the only people there all day today. It's incredible!

Yes. Yes it is. And now that the shop by the parking lot is open it's even more so. It was really nice to be able to chill and get some food/drink between rounds without having to drive 7mi to the closest gas station.

 

[Up and up]

Still trying to figure out the camping situation if anyone could shed light.... I'm aware that Chestnut is closed but you can still camp over by Blueberry/Bear/Woodland section? Is this where everyone from Infrasound camped?

No camping is allowed. John will not get a campground permit and neither will Roger and Ann.

 

[Up and up]

So did all the tweakers @ Infrasound camp off property?

They had a special event campground permit that allowed it based on what I learned from the health department.

 

[ru4por]

No camping is allowed. John will not get a campground permit and neither will Roger and Ann.

You don't really need legal camping. What can happen? You get thrown in camping jail? The worst that can happen, is some cop type official, with far too little to do, can tell you to move to some of John's property. i don't need a permit to let a couple friends set up tents in my backyard for a night or two. And I live in a city with lots of ordinances.

 

[da Crippler]

You don't really need legal camping. What can happen? You get thrown in camping jail? The worst that can happen, is some cop type official, with far too little to do, can tell you to move to some of John's property. i don't need a permit to let a couple friends set up tents in my backyard for a night or two. And I live in a city with lots of ordinances.

A couple of friends in your back yard isn't 20-50 people weekly in the peak season. And that's probably a very low number. The worst that can happen is regular patrols and nightly evictions by police who are already aware of what a scammer John is. "But I work here" ain't gonna fly anymore.

 

[markmcc]

Pretty big difference between a sleep-over in your backyard and having a commercial venture that advertises and charges for camping. Actually, a really big difference.

Talk to anyone who has tried to open a campground in the past 10 years. Permitting and health code requirements are no joke in most areas, and once you've gained the attention of county officials (as Highbridge Hills obviously has) you've got a bigger incentive to play it straight. What can they do? Fine him, or the owners of the property. And if he doesn't pay? Liens, etc. All of the cool stuff that gov't can do when folks decide to simply ignore the rules.

I had a neighbor in a rural Texas county who decided to bring in a couple of mobile homes to rent without the proper permits/septic hook-ups. Big mistake. After two years of sitting there empty he had to haul them off of the property at a significant cost to himself.

 

[roggenb3]

No camping is allowed. John will not get a campground permit and neither will Roger and Ann.

Says who? You got a friend in the Health department? Why would new managers not be able to get campground permits? Is there something about the land itself that disallows that?

 

[J-Bright]

No camping is allowed. John will not get a campground permit and neither will Roger and Ann.

I'm with Roggen. While this information is helpful, without context as to who is giving this information makes it very difficult to know what is fact and what isn't...

Also if this is true what is the point of Roger/Ann "taking over/running" HBH if there will not be any place to camp (tent or rent a cabin)? The main reason most people love this place is roughly 5 excellent courses and can stay right on that same property.

 

[Mocheez]

I thought it was brought up previously in the thread. The campgrounds and buildings aren't up to code. They can't get permits until improvements are made. That's why he started the go-fund me page. They don't have the $$$ to pay for the improvements.

 

[Cgkdisc]

FYI - Roger/Ann have always lived 250 miles from Highbridge and have no desire to move there. Within the past few months, they now own most of the hill and campground property, including the courses. They are looking for capable people willing to partner with them to re-establish solid operations, especially camping, or buy their property. There are four disc golfers (not me) who still own plots on the hill who may be willing to help with a reboot but maybe not with resources available to help much financially.

 

[mrclc]

I'd love to partner with them on such a project, but I'm afraid the only asset I can offer is sweat equity :/

 

[Mocheez]

It's a pipe dream but it would be cool if the Wilderness and Rollin Ridge owners teamed up and bought Highbridge.

 

[J-Bright]

Thanks Chuck that helps shed some light...
I have recently moved out of Wisconsin but I will be back likely in 2-3 years. Until then I can't really be much help other than show up when/if something is done.

Mocheez, can't something be done to bring them up to regulation? With the newly integrated Roger/Ann, maybe there are the funds/resources to make said upgrades? I know Chuck mentioned they don't live near there but they can still make trips there to get work done to get it up to code I would assume.

 

[Mocheez]

Mocheez, can't something be done to bring them up to regulation? With the newly integrated Roger/Ann, maybe there are the funds/resources to make said upgrades? I know Chuck mentioned they don't live near there but they can still make trips there to get work done to get it up to code I would assume.

I have no idea. But if I were Roger/Ann, I wouldn't stick any money into the property until there was a legitimate business plan in place and a competent management team to execute the plan.