Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
SALT LAKE CITY — Mayor Jackie Biskupski's proposal to resurrect Wingpointe Golf Course from the grave is already facing stern opposition.
Salt Lake City Council Chairman James Rogers and Councilwoman Erin Mendenhall were quick to contest the mayor's proposal Tuesday, both reluctant to invest in a golf course that city officials have already concluded would be in the city's best interest to close.
"I don't like the direction this is going," Mendenhall said. "We've spent an arduous amount of time looking into economic potential — and the lack of economic potential — for golf courses."
The mayor has proposed spending $60,000 in the 2017 budget to maintain Wingpointe's greens while city officials study the long-term feasibility of reopening the course. The cost jumps to nearly $100,000 after factoring in an additional proposal to amend the 2016 budget to maintain the course's greens starting in May.
"I think we all have anxiety over golf," Rogers said. "It makes me a little sick, actually."
He noted the council's past efforts to find solutions for the city's struggling golf fund, which has racked up more than $800,000 in operating deficits.
Mendenhall said the city hired a national consultant for advice on how to lift its golf fund out of the red, and closures were decided as the best answer. She pressed Biskupski's chief of staff, Patrick Leary, to explain why the mayor felt it was necessary to conduct further study, despite the council's past work.
"We've had a great deal of interest from constituent groups about whether or not we can look at this through a different lens," Leary said. "The thinking on our part is to preserve our options. … There may be an alternative, but if we let the greens deteriorate, then we'll be that much further behind if we do decide to reopen."
Prior to Wingpointe's closure last fall, airport officials considered keeping the course open as a revenue source. However, the Federal Aviation Administration would have required the land to be leased at fair market value, or $700,000 annually, rather than the $1 per year the city had been paying to lease the land from the airport.
Leary said the mayor's administration is "well aware of the work that has been done," but further conversation is worth pursuing with the FAA to find a different solution.
Councilman Charlie Luke supported the mayor's proposal, saying "we should have never closed Wingpointe before those discussions took place."
"Do we know the FAA is going to go along with this? No. But we haven't had that discussion either," Luke said. "If this means we have to invest money into this in the mean time, then that's the hand we've been dealt."
Before taking action on the mayor's budget, the City Council will hold public hearings on May 24 and June 7.
