TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) – The Tallahassee City Commission voted to sell the Capital City Country Club for over a million dollars on Wednesday.
The controversial vote comes amid public pushback, as there’s a plantation cemetery on the site where unmarked graves of formerly enslaved people sit.
The city only recently started building a memorial on the site.
Assistant City Manager Christian Doolin said work on the memorial continues, and striping for the parking went in on Wednesday.
The sign, which went up just days ago, was minted in 2021. Critics of the sale say the city only started work on the memorial to complete the sale. Doolin did not mention why the sign on the date is from several years ago.
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“Why is the site only now receiving attention? It cannot be a coincidence,” one public speaker said.
Another speaker asked why it’s taken three years to start the memorial. Some city officials have previously cited tornadoes in 2024 as a delay.
City staff say the sale of the golf course will be beneficial. The city would make just over a million dollars, and some of that money would pay for the memorial.
Deed restrictions would ensure the property remains a golf course and that FAMU can practice there.
Other options for the property were floated at Wednesday’s commission meeting, but they were not recommended by staff. One option was to operate the club as a municipal golf course, but the city would lose more than $3 million a year, something Doolin said is partly because of the two other courses in Tallahassee.
The Capital City Country Club currently leases the property from the city and wants to buy it to make improvements. They say they can’t get the financing they need if they are just renters.
Just before the meeting, some of those opposed to the sale were barred from bringing signs or notes into the meeting. A city staff member said it’s city policy that signs are not allowed, but some argued the 8×11 fliers were notes, not signs.
Over two dozen public speakers joined the meeting to share their thoughts on the sale, some saying it’s not in the public interest.
One speaker, an FSU professor, said she couldn’t believe the city commission was even considering the sale.
NEW: The Tallahassee City Commission is now debating whether or not to sell a golf course to the Capital City Country Club
It’s controversial, as there’s a plantation cemetery on the site where the formerly enslaved are buried.
The city is only now building a memorial. pic.twitter.com/jFzz7yfSkp
— Matt Hoffmann (@ByMattHoffmann) December 10, 2025
Discussion then turned to the commissioners.
Commissioner Jeremy Matlow said selling the golf course “takes it away from us.” He suggested taking out a $2 million bond that the club would pay back over 15 years, though the club would retain its lease for 30 years.
Commissioner Dianne Williams-Cox said there’s been misinformation about the delay. “It’s very disingenuous because this commission is committed to identifying what we can do about it,” she said.
Williams-Cox said she is ready to move forward with the sale so that money can be put into city services.
Commissioner Richardson shared his frustrations but ultimately said he would support the motion.
After a heated discussion on all sides, the commission voted 3-2 to sell the land to the Capital City Country Club.
Mayor John Dailey, Commissioners Williams-Cox and Richardson voted for the sale. Commissioners Matlow and Porter voted against.
Porter made a motion to conduct a new study to find all of the graves on the property, but the city manager said the first report was well done by the National Park Service. The motion for a new study failed 3-2.
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