The park district in Springfield, Ohio maintains more than 1,300 acres of parks, 36 holes of golf at the Reid Memorial Golf Complex, roads, trails, wetlands, and more, with an annual budget of about $4 million. The city will give a total of $1.1 million to the park district, including a recently approved $150,000 subsidy, which is primarily needed to cover a loss at the golf course.
The city of Springfield, Ohio agreed to pay $150,000 to cover the National Trail Parks and Recreation District’s (NTPRD) operating shortfall, but commissioners expressed concerns about continuing the subsidies in the future, the Springfield News-Sun reported.
National Trail maintains more than 1,300 acres of parks, 36 holes of golf at the Reid Memorial Golf Complex, 30 miles of roads and trails, 15 miles of river, 16 acres of ponds and lagoons, 20 acres of wetlands, the water park and the baseball stadium. It has an annual budget of about $4 million with 23 full-time employees and about 130 seasonal employees. The organization saw 100,000 program attendees and more than 1 million visitors at its parks this year, the News-Sun reported.
The district was expected to receive about $950,000 from the city. With the subsidy, it will increase to about $1.1 million. City Commissioners approved the money at a meeting last week, the News-Sun reported.
NTPRD will spend about $3.5 million this year, but it is coming up about $150,000 short in revenue, said Springfield Finance Director Mark Beckdahl. The money is needed to primarily cover a loss at the golf course, he said.
“Due to the weather early in the year, the golf rounds didn’t come in as we had hoped,” Beckdahl said. “The loss in golf was a little bit larger than we had anticipated.”
The district also didn’t receive as much in levy proceeds as it had projected, and it had repairs that needed to be completed, Beckdahl said. Last year, the district received about $50,000 in extra money. The city budgeted $1.1 million in 2012 and 2013 for NTPRD, but spent $1.27 million in 2012 and $1.29 million in those years, respectively, the News-Sun reported.
“It seems like every year we find ourselves doing something extra,” said City Commissioner Dan Martin. Martin also expressed concerns about the district asking for extra money again next year, the News-Sun reported.
With the information available, Beckdahl believes next year’s budget number is accurate. “We hope that the revenues in golf will come in where we’ve projected them next year,” Beckdahl said. “They have been declining over the last several years. We’ve had difficulty hitting that number for the budget.”
Last year the district saw more than 36,900 rounds of golf played at its two courses at Reid Park. As of last week, local golfers had played about 35,650 rounds this year. The district recently raised daily rates for non-members by $1 next year to increase revenue, the News-Sun reported.
The district has stayed within its expenses in recent years, but it hasn’t been able to reach its projected revenue, said NTPRD Director Leann Castillo. “We’ve cut as far as we possibly can,” Castillo said. “I know there’s going to have to be some discussions as we’re the group that manages the golf courses.”
The NTPRD board closed the Snyder Park Golf Course in 2014, but is committed to continuing its golf operation, Castillo said, if the funding is available, the News-Sun reported.
While Martin praised the district’s strong programming, the subsidies have to stop at some point, he said. “It’s getting harder and harder to justify, especially when I hear most of this is being driven by the golf situation,” Martin said. “I think I’m really going to look next year to hold us to the number in our budget.”
The city and NTPRD need to have tough discussions about golf in the future, said Mayor Warren Copeland.
The park levy passed overwhelmingly early this year, said City Commissioner Kevin O’Neill, meaning people believe in the parks system. The district receives about $965,000 annually from the renewed levy, which is designated for parks and green spaces. It cannot be used to pay for revenue-generating operations, like golf courses, Splash Zone or the NTPRD Chiller ice rink, the News-Sun reported.
Since its inception in 2001, at least $19 million has been spent building new parks, including the Splash Zone Aquatic Center, the NTPRD Chiller ice arena, Carleton Davidson Stadium, as well as the Speedway Children’s Park at Snyder Park, which includes a new handicap-accessible playground built by the Springfield Rotary Club and a splash pad built by Friends of Snyder Park, the News-Sun reported.
“Before we throw out the baby with the bath water, I think we need to remember once you’ve done some of that, you can’t bring them back, they’re gone,” O’Neill said.
City Commissioner Karen Duncan hopes the county will increase its funding to NTPRD, especially in light of the number of non-city residents who use NTPRD’s services, including Reid Park Golf Course. “I would like to see the county step up,” Duncan said.
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