The mayor admitted that the town is already overextended and has cut capital improvement projects, and that Fairview Lakeside CC would be “kind of a niche business.” But the club’s owners have persisted in pursuing the idea, and the City Manager has been authorized to begin negotiations.
The City Council of Fairview, Okla. is exploring the acquisition of the Fairview Lakeside Country Club of Longdale, Okla., the Enid (Okla.) News & Eagle reported.
After an executive session of the council was held on July 10, City Manager Paul Southwick was authorized to negotiate with owners of the country club, the News & Eagle reported.
Fairview Mayor Jared Thompson said the current country club and golf course owners have approached the council several times, the News & Eagle reported.
“They approached six to twelve months ago to see if the city has any interest in taking it over,” Thompson said. “At that time, the council felt it was not something we were physically or financially able to take over. It’s not in the community [physically]. It’s not terribly far away, but it’s kind of a niche business.”
Due to the nature of the business, Thompson acknowledged that not everyone in the community would benefit from its purchase, the News & Eagle reported.
“To take that financial responsibility for something that is a quality-of-life issue is where I struggle,” Thompson said. “We’ve had a reserve built up to cover some stuff, but we’re already over-extended in regards to the budget and we’ve made cuts to work on capital-improvement projects. I don’t know if the city is in a better position to take over the facility.”
But if the course proves to be a good fit for the community and if the city has the right to run the business, Thompson added, then it may move forward with the acquisition, if the finances are available.
In June, the News & Eagle reported, the Fairview Council approved more than $1 million for city improvements, which can be adjusted as needed by Southwick.
Fairview is the county seat of Major County in north central Oklahoma, and had its population measured at 2,579 by the 2010 census.
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