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 2021 city 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.
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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.
“The process doesn’t happen from the top-down; it always happens from the bottom-up,” he said.
The city council is going to work with the parks department and members of the Greenbelt golf community to “put together a long-term look at how we’re going to operate these golf courses in the future,” Dell said.
“We don’t want to see this just as a one-and-done,” he said. “The council isn’t making this decision based on that outcome. … We’re looking to try to put together a group of concerned people that want to continue golf within Greenbelt as well as Par 3.”
City councilman David Bush said that he would like to see a committee formed “to review and continuously move us forward on these issues so that we are not having the exact same discussion this time next year.”
As the city works toward making golf “financially sustainable” in Columbus, there are different options that should be considered, Bush said.
That includes getting more information about the following possibilities, he said, including:
Closing Par 3 or keeping it open for foot golf and disc golf only
Replacing the pro position with a manager “to reduce the salary burden at Greenbelt”
Raising Greenbelt’s rates by $3 to $5 per round
Holding special events to increase play
Discounts for returning players
Junior golf programs
Additional marketing
“Another opportunity is a capital rundraising campaign,” Bush said. “There are many in our community that feel passionate about Greenbelt and would donate personally to help see it succeed.”
Columbus Mayor Jim Lienhoop said that the city will continue to look for a “long-term approach” for the city’s golf courses.
“The concerns we’ve previously mentioned — growing city subsidy, deferred capital projects, declining interest in the sport — aren’t going away,” he said. “Developing a consensus as to how we address these will be our challenge.”
When asked if the funding was a short-term decision that just applied to 2021, Lienhoop replied, “Technically, yes, it’s a one-year decision. But I wouldn’t read anything into that. All of our budgeting decisions are made one year at a time.”
The council will vote on the 2021 budget again on Oct. 20; it requires two readings to be approved. Pam Harrell, parks director of business services, said that the parks board will discuss the golf funding at their Oct. 15 meeting and vote to approve the non-reverting budget on Nov. 12.
“Parks will be funding all Greenbelt and Par 3 golf expenses through their non-reverting fund with money supplemented from the $176,000 budgeted in the council’s budget,” said city finance director Jamie Brinegar.
Harrell said that this additional funding will make it more feasible for parks to continue to fund and operate the two golf courses, as other programs will not have to subsidize the courses’ losses.
“The parks department plans to set goals to evaluate the progress and future of golf,” she said. “The city will also be determining a plan for total golf subsidy and what can happen in the future.”
