Ashland City Council weighs Brookside Golf Course funding

ASHLAND — No decisions were made about the fate of Brookside Golf Course Saturday. But Ashland City Council spent over two hours discussing revenues and expenses at the public course and asking questions of golf pro and manager Terry Valentine and course superintendent Billy Christian.

The meeting came at the suggestion of Mayor Matt Miller, who said his aim was to determine whether the council would like to continue funding the course or make changes to the 2018 budget. Council expects to vote on a 2018 budget at its next regularly scheduled meeting Feb. 20.  

The current draft of the city’s 2018 appropriations includes a $141,192 transfer from the general fund to the golf course to keep the course in the black for the year. That figure represents about one quarter of the $565,406 projected expenditures for the gold course and is up about $12,000 from the projection city finance director Larry Paxton gave at the council’s meeting Tuesday.

Council president Steve Workman pointed out that taking into consideration a $61,003 carryover from last year, the course would be around $200,000 in the red this year without a general fund subsidy.

“I think what brought us here today and makes this a discussion people are paying attention to is that if you look back over the finances for the last 10 years, you can see the amount being transferred continues to rise,” Miller said. “Our hope is that in some way we can take control of that so that’s not the case in the future.”

Valentine estimated about 17,000 rounds of golf are started at the course annually by 5,000 to 7,000 individuals, not including rounds played by kids in the junior program. 

Valentine outlined his belief, which he said was supported by two recent studies of the course, that the course is an asset to the Ashland community, offering recreational and educational opportunities as well as economic benefits to the city. He argued that Christian has dramatically improved the condition of the course since 2014, a point confirmed by golfers in attendance.

Nevertheless, Valentine said, there are additional changes that could be made to improve the course and boost revenue. Namely, he said, the city could invest in hiring a professional marketer to promote the course and in a pavilion for outings and events. He estimated the pavilion would cost anywhere from $45,000 to $75,000.

Christian said he would like to see more marketing of the foot golf course, which is played with soccer balls on the front nine.  

Other suggestions to boost revenue were made by the mayor, council members and members of the public. Ideas included offering sponsorships of holes and golf carts, offering naming rights for sponsorship of the pavilion, reducing the amount of merchandise in the pro shop, starting an endowment fund. 

When asked by council member Dennis Miller what the course could do to cut costs, Valentine said the course has cut as much as it can and that further cuts would show in the condition of the facility. 

Christian said the course has not had any money earmarked for capital improvements in several years and eventually some updates will be needed. 

“If there’s no more room to cut on the expense side, you guys and us are going to have to be very aggressive on the income side, and that might mean raising rates and aggressively going out there and soliciting sponsorships and donations and endowment funds,” Dennis Miller said. “We can’t wait around any longer … Our back’s against the wall and we’ve got a lot of sentiment against continuing to subsidize the golf course.”

Council president Steve Workman asked Paxton for an estimate of how much it would cost to continue operating the golf course just until the season begins and revenue arrives. Paxton did not have that figure but estimated it would cost about $65,000. 

The council opened the floor for public comment and heard from community members Michael Dorr, Gene Haberman and Kip Matteson, who all use the course and want to see the city continue funding it.

Haberman argued the community needs to see city officials strongly supporting the golf course publicly.

“Marketing is a waste of time if we continue to undercut that by the headlines we see in the paper,” he said. 

Matteson argued the course is a way of giving back to city residents.

“It’s a gift back for paying taxes, just like the pool, the pool doesn’t make any money. Just like the softball fields, they don’t make any money. How about the transit? Does the transit make any money? … If you’re going to close this, then close everything.”

Greg McFarlin said while he does not want to see the course close, he believes it needs a new business plan. McFarlin volunteered to help with such a plan and said the plan could be created in a week and be implemented this season, hopefully making the course profitable by the end of this year. 

Similarly, Denny Bittle believes the course should not necessarily close but should become taxpayer neutral and offer a city resident discount so they aren’t paying for outsiders to come and play golf. 

Karen Emery noted as times have changed and interest in golf has diminished, a majority of city residents would not support a general fund subsidy of the course.

Workman concluded the meeting by saying council will consider all the information presented. 

“Upon taking office as president, I made the comment that this council will not avoid the hard issues that face our city this year and hopefully in years to come,” Workman said. “We have to address this issue. Let’s face it, we would not even be here if the amount of money taken from the general fund was not as large as it is.

“It’s been a great exchange of information. This council is charged with fiscal oversight, and most importantly, fiscal responsibility.”

The council gave no indication publicly about how it would reach a decision on funding for the golf course. However, Workman said he anticipates council may meet again in a special meeting prior to the Feb. 20 meeting. He told council members to watch for an emailed meeting notice.