Mike Wolanin | The Republic A view of the clubhouse at Otter Creek Golf Course in Columbus, Ind., Friday, May 7, 2021.
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 progress, and the city will decide if the results are sufficient. City Attorney Alan Whitted said the matter would ultimately return to the Columbus Board of Works.
The Otter Creek Management Corp. board recommended in early February that the city consider selling the course, given the financial requirements of maintaining the venue.
Cummins, Inc. gifted Columbus with Otter Creek in 1963, when J. Irwin Miller and the company agreed that a great golf course would increase Columbus’ attractiveness to people who choose to live in or visit the area. Robert Trent Jones and Rees Jones created the course, and Cummins donated land for an additional nine holes in 1993.
Otter Creek has been a public, city-owned course since it opened.
In January of 2020, Cummins decided to reduce its involvement in the Otter Creek Management Corp., and the city assumed full control of the course.
At the time, Lienhoop noted that the 54 holes of golf found between the three city courses of Otter Creek, Greenbelt and Par 3 might be more than the city needed. This led to research into Columbus’s golf offerings and a number of discussions between officials regarding the future of the three courses, given the financial cost of subsidies.
While some of the scenarios discussed posed the possibility of closing all or at least a portion of Otter Creek, the option most seriously considered was that of closing Greenbelt. However, this move was vehemently opposed by a number of citizens, and all three courses remain in operation, thanks in part to financial support from the city.
