Park Board Recommends Keeping All Golf Courses Open

Wed, December 14, 2011

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KMUW / Carla Eckels

Wichita City Council members heard recommendations Tuesday on keeping all five city-owned golf courses open. The golf courses are facing financial trouble due to debt payments. More from KMUW’s Carla Eckels.

Park board member Randy Brown presented the recommendations at a city council workshop that include proposed reductions in the Capital Improvement Plan or CIP from $6.2 million to $1.1 million. The CIP dollars would be used to ease the debt burden on the golf fund over a four years.

Brown says the board took into consideration suggestions made at two public meetings in August. He says recommendations would include raising green fees by $2 dollars next year and by a dollar in 2013 and 2014.

Brown: We heard fairly loud and clear “don’t close the golf course.” “We’ll pay a little more for golf if we can keep them all open.” We’re going to slightly increase fees for all the services and explore some additional marketing and advertising opportunities to let folks know what we’ve done.

Brown says recommendations also include improving customer service.

The community will have another chance to weigh in on the recommendations through district advisory board meetings before the council votes on the plan.  Council member Jeff Longwell suggested putting together a committee to look into privatization of the city golf courses, which may be explored in 2013.