Thursday, May 19, 2011

Golf Opportunity? Don't Waste My Time If It Isn't About the Event Center.

Willow Run Golf Course is up for auction and there is a unique opportunity for the city to add an excellent, already developed golf course to the other city owned golf courses strategically placed throughout the city.  Willow Run's general manager says the golf course is "in good shape and is operating profitably."

Here is a golf course with a 25 year history in the community. It is a beautiful established golf course. The City of Sioux Falls has staked a strong committed claim in this recreation sport which has resulted in some pretty wonderful golf courses for the public duffers. A quality of life opportunity for the community that won't see the light of day with the mayor.

It appears that the mayor is not interested in even entertaining the idea of such an investment for the city. I am told he has already rejected a direct offer to sell from Dr. Tschetter. He has also rejected an appeal from some Park Board members a couple weeks ago. Rumor has it the mayor said the Park Board members were wasting his time.

The Eastside of Sioux Falls is growing economically with significant infrastructure being built by the city and private developers. Commercial development along East 10th Street continues and the partial completion of Powder House Road is a nice improvement. The establishment of Harmodon Park and Dawley Farms will ultimately drive more commercial development. Housing starts along Highway 11 continue to grow.  Willow Run is directly adjacent to the new Arboretum, and near Arrowhead Park.

At the very least, it deserved a thoughtful discussion with the Park Board and the City Council as to its potential use in the community as a public golf course and the revenue possibilities for city coffers.  It's not like there isn't the ability to use some of that $3.8 million undesignated fund in the capital improvement program for such an investment in the city.

Is thoughtful dialogue on investment opportunities for the city as a whole a bad idea? Investment opportunties come to the city all the time and it behooves elected officials to consider all possibilities before dismissing something outright without forethought or planning. This is too valuable an opportunity to just dismiss with a flick of the wrist and a comment that the mayor's time is being wasted.

14 comments:

  1. This is an opportunity for the city to get a ready-made facility that is operating at a profit. Too bad part of that 3.8 million could not have been used for it. Better investment than a "cookie jar" for the events center that is a total unknown. Unknown as to: cost, location and not even known if it will be approved by the voters!! The council could even have taken the $500,000 set-aside out of the 2012 CIP for events center studies and the golf course would be paid for! With development in that area it would have been a win-win facility for the city. Too bad the mayor was not open to this one with a referral to the city council at last week's meeting! Another case of our "heads being in the sand" when opportunity knocks due to "tunnel vision" on the events center!

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  2. I believe the mayor was offered this deal already and said "no thanks". Same reason he's against downtown: the politics.

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  3. How many golf courses can the City afford to own? Do the ones we own pay for themselves or not?

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  4. They do make money (one of the few entities that do) but we don't need another one. The city needs to get out of the business of competing with private recreation and special interests. I'm glad Mike shot it down, one of the smarter decisions he has made.

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  5. If they make money, then we need another one. The sport and the town are rapidly outgrowing our capacities. The Mayor and the City will want to address this at some point and when they get around to doing so, it will cost 3X the amount to get a much worse location and a crappier course we have to build from scratch that will take 30 years to mature.

    The Mayor's short-term mindset is not smart, nor is it worth applauding in any way.

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  6. With the proximity to the new casino, there is a real opportunity - The city really needs to really look at the east side development, and the acquisition of the WIllow Run golf course should/could have made great sense. Again the mayor is thinking of only himself, and getting his campaign promise fulfilled - he needs to be recalled!

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  7. What a lost opportunity!! So many good comments here, wish there was a "like" or approval button. @12:49pm...right on!

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  8. How will the new Iowa casino make east side development better? I'm for it, just don't get it.

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  9. Buy Willow Run and sell the Kuehn Park course if the city needs the money. I bet developers would pay BIG BUCKS for the Kuehn land, situated between Oscar Howe and Roosevelt ... and that course sucks anyway. The grass is thin, the trees are scraggly, and it's too compact. People who want to play a par-3 also have Elmwood's east-9 they can play.

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  10. If we can carve out a corner on the property for a tennis court maybe then we'll get some interest.

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  11. You are right about it being a missed opportunity. We should buy it, use Eminent Domain to boot out one of the Country Clubs, give Willow Run to them and finally run a road through the middle of town.

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  12. Good decision Mike! We have no idea of what impact the new world-class Rees Jones golf course at Grand Falls Casino (scheduled to open in 2013) will have on the three golf courses that the City currently owns. Why complicate things by adding a fourth city-owned golf course to the mix?

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  13. Isn't that 3.8 going to be used for improvements like the library and fire station parking lots? I thought I read that it was partially going to be used as a down payment on the events center, but also to fix things around the city. I don't golf, but I do go to concerts and things like the outdoor show and home show. So, i would rather see a new events center, not another city owned golf course, or how about another dog park.

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  14. The Willow Run Course would be a legal nightmare to get involved in. I do not know the whole story, but I know it has not been in the paper. Why tie up city legal services for years and who know how much more than the auction price?

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