COLUMBUS, Ind. — The Columbus City Council has voted for funding needed to keep Greenbelt Golf Course open for another year, but some council members say its future depends on community support.
City councilwoman Elaine Hilber said that while she feels the council made the right decision, but the city will need to have similar discussions about golf next year, which will involve looking at whether or not course usage increases.
“We need people to come out and play golf,” she said. “If this is something that they’re really passionate about, if this is something that they really want to see the city keep spending money towards, then it’s truly something that we need people to come out and use. … Otherwise, we won’t be able to justify continuing to spend money toward something that people aren’t using.”
Council members approved the City of Columbus 2021 budget on first reading which includes $176,000 to be transferred from the council budget to the parks’ non-reverting fund for golf staffing. This would allow the city to keep Greenbelt open for at least another year.
Council members had little discussion about the golf issue at Tuesday night’s meeting, but afterwards offered some perspective on the decision.
City councilman Jerone Wood said that, for him, the decision to provide funding came from hearing from people who care about golf and see Greenbelt as a “necessity to the community.”
Like Hilber, he said that the course needs increased play in order to be a success.
“From what I’ve heard from a lot of people, they’re passionate about Greenbelt,” Wood said. “We just need to see that passion. And I believe we can. I believe the community will get behind it.”
City councilman at-large Tom Dell said that his decision to support Greenbelt came from listening to the community.
For more on this story, see Thursday’s Republic.
