Council approves seeking buyer for Otter Creek Golf Course

COLUMBUS, Ind. — Columbus City Council has approved seeking a buyer for Otter Creek Golf Course.

The council approved a resolution Tuesday night authorizing Mayor Jim Lienhoop to seek a disposition of the golf course “in a manner that provides best terms available to preserve the Otter Creek Golf Course as an amenity for the community.”

“This doesn’t automatically indicate that the course will be sold, merely one more step in trying to understand its future,” Lienhoop said. “We want to pursue, at least, discussions, if we can get some with a buyer.”

The Columbus Board of Works voted earlier Tuesday to release a Request for Proposals contingent on the council’s vote. Responses to the RFP are due by 10 a.m. on April 26, at which time they will be opened by the board in a public meeting.

The RFP includes a number of commitments for the buyer, including that they invest a minimum of $5 million to address deferred capital and maintenance needs related to the clubhouse and golf course within five years of purchase, and maintain the original 18 holes for at least 15 years “in a manner consistent with the original ‘Robert Trent Jones’ design.”

“Those are our requests,” said Lienhoop. “That’s what we’re looking for, in terms of what a buyer might present. But there’s still contract negotiations that would follow. So we may find a buyer who’s interested but perhaps not interested in all of those conditions, and so we’ll just have to see how close we can get.”

He said that Otter Creek Management Corp. would handle any potential negotiations, brief the city on their progress, and the city will decide if the results are sufficient. City Attorney Alan Whitted said the matter would ultimately return to the Board of Works.

For more on this story, see Thursday’s Republic.