Golf Course 2020 (Completed Initiative)
Are you interested in the future use of the City’s municipal golf course?
Background Information and Key Issues:
The Port Townsend Municipal Golf Course was developed in 1904 and includes a regulation-length 9-hole course, driving range, maintenance buildings, and clubhouse with commercial kitchen for restaurant services, retail sales. The golf course, once privately owned and operated, was converted to a public course in 1927 and first administered by Jefferson County but is now managed by the City of Port Townsend. The City leases the golf course to a local business for management and operations.
In advance of this lease expiring on December 31, 2020, the City contracted the National Golf Foundation (NGF) in 2018 to conduct an analysis of the current state of the golf facility, the business operations, and the feasibility of continuing golf. The NGF report found that the golf course physical infrastructure needed capital investment, had a challenging market demographic, and showed a downward trend in use and economic sustainability. However, the NGF report also found that continuing with golf services is possible but making it sustainable would require significant capital investment in the course and facilities, an expansion of the user market, and a public financial subsidy. Additionally, the NGF report recommended the City fund the capital needs and begin operating as a City-run program; though, City Council declined pursuing this recommendation because the City does not have the money to invest in either the capital improvements or the operations.
The City is seeking your input to find a sustainable solution for managing this public asset, and one that harmonizes with the needs and desires of the community. The City is pursuing two paths simultaneously to gather information and community feedback that will be used to guide and make decisions. The paths are:
- Request for Proposal: The City is seeking proposals for continued golf course management and operations.
- Alternative Uses: The City is seeking to develop community-driven alternative ideas and concepts for use of the golf course.
Objectives/Desired Outcome(s):
Carry out public engagement activities to develop community-generated ideas and concepts for consideration as alternate uses for the golf course. Feasible alternative use ideas and concepts will be considered alongside viable RFP proposals for continued golf course management and operations.
Fiscal Considerations:
Continued Golf Operations: Currently, most expenses associated with management of the golf course reside with the lease holder as a part of their business operations. However, the City still retains responsibility for all capital needs, building maintenance and irrigation repairs to main lines (~$8,000/year), and irrigation water costs (~$80,000/year). The City does not have a source of funding to pay for the capital improvement needs ($935,000-$1.2M) identified in the NGF report. In order for golf to continue sustainably for the City, these operational and capital costs will need to be shifted from the City to the lease holder.
Alternate Uses: Since it is difficult to predict the type of ideas that may be generated from the public engagement process, it is just as challenging to anticipate their financial implications. However, consideration for alternate uses will also need to include the operational and capital expense needed to transition the golf course into the new concept, whatever it may be. As such, new funding sources, opportunities, partnerships, and/or business models will also need to be considered to achieve sustainability.
- Example: a conversion of the golf course to a public park will require needed maintenance and capital investment that the City does not have so a consideration for this concept will need to include how this new expense will be funded (such as a new tax like a Metropolitan Parks District).
Outcome:
The City signed a three-year lease agreement with Gabriel Tonan Golf Shop, Inc to continue to manage the Golf Course. The City will study and investigate feasible alternative uses to implement after the three-year period.
Contact Information:
City Contact: Steve King | Interim Parks, Recreation, and Community Service Director | sking@cityofpt.us | (360) 379-5090
