Title
Resolution on Financing Improvements to Golf Operations from Parks Advisory Commission
Memorandum
At a special April 29 work session in response to new recommendations by City Staff regarding funding for capital and operational improvements to the two City golf courses, PAC developed the attached resolution.
This resolution reaffirms the Parks Advisory Commissions’ (PAC) January 2008 resolution regarding recommended capital and operational improvements to the golf courses and the source of funding for those improvements.
PAC strongly objects to the use of park millage funds or park general funds to fund improvements to activities in an enterprise fund.
The portion of park millage funds earmarked for capital improvements is already small (20%), and diverting any of those funds to activities in the golf enterprise fund would be very detrimental to needed improvements elsewhere in the park system.
Likewise, diverting millage funds earmarked for park operations and/or park general funds to activities in the golf enterprise fund would be detrimental to park operations.
Capital investments and operational assistance for activities in an enterprise fund should be funded by the City’s general fund reserve.
The attached resolution also calls for park staff, PAC, and the golf advisory task force to develop criteria to define “reasonable sustainability” of the golf operations at Huron Hills, and to review those operations against those criteria at the end of the 2008, 2009, and 2010 seasons.
The attached resolution further calls for an alternative use study to include city wide public input into potential alternative uses at Huron Hills and the financial implications of such alternative uses so that, in the event the three-year trial period for golf is not successful according to the criteria developed, the City will have a realistic basis for comparing the costs of maintaining Huron Hills beyond the three-year trial period with the cost of conversion to other...
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