The Lino Lakes, Minn. course faces the possibility of closing if the city doesn’t present an acceptable proposal. Between a four-year net operating deficit and projected five-year estimated capital investment needs, Lino Lakes is looking at $1.64 million in debt. The county Parks Committee has started to explore turning it into a multi-use outdoor rec area.
The city of Lino Lakes, Minn., has until February 1 to come up with a proposal to save the Chomonix Golf Course, the Quad Community Press reported.
The Anoka County Parks Committee recently discussed the possibility of turning the golf course into a multi-use outdoor recreation area within the Rice Creek Chain of Lakes Park Reserve, according to the Press. Lino Lakes Mayor Jeff Reinert, City Councilman Rob Rafferty and City Administrator Jeff Karlson all attended the January 15 meeting in an effort to get more information and to see if there is anything the city can do to protect the course.
Reinert said the city was first made aware of the topic on January 14, the day before the Parks Committee met.
“To me, it feels like they don’t know what they are going to do with it,” Reinert said. “They are stuck with no one to run it and somebody at the table probably said, ‘It is losing money anyway, let’s shut it down.’ But after 50 years of development and millions and millions and millions of dollars spent on it, to just make a knee-jerk decision like that to close it down …”
Anoka County Parks Director Jeff Perry explained that when he was appointed to the position in April, the county was right in the middle of its 2019 budget process, the Press reported.
“During the annual budget process, we are always drilling down into various areas within the department and taking a hard, honest look at what the expenses are, what the revenues are, how we can make ends meet and come in on budget and be as fiscally responsible as we can, as that is one of our core mission values here at the county,” Perry said. “Over the summer, I started working with our finance division and in analyzing Chomonix Golf Course, we revealed some information that had some pretty compelling data in the financial analysis that informed us that some decisions and further discussions needed to occur for that particular operation within the department.
“By the time we were able to collect data, take a look at the operations, talk with staff, et cetera, it was a process over the past six to eight months,” Perry added. “I got to a point where I was comfortable in gathering the information and prepared a comprehensive report for the committee. My job is to provide facts to the policymakers here in Anoka County.”
According to a report presented to the Parks Committee, from 2014 to 2018 Chomonix had a net operating deficit of nearly $641,520, the Press reported. The course also has projected five-year capital investment needs (2019 to 2023) of $1 million which, coupled with continued operational deficits, equates to $1.64 million.
“These are just bare-minimum capital expenditures that will need to happen to maintain the level of service that we are currently providing,” Perry said. “I am providing facts to the board so they can make the best decision for the taxpayers of Anoka County. It is not a fiscally responsible decision, in my opinion, to continue to operate Chomonix Golf Course and place the tax burden on the citizens of Anoka County.
“In Minnesota alone, there have been over 70 golf courses that have closed since 2000. Many of those have been in the metro area, some of them private and some of them public,” he added.
The parks department investigated a number of options for the course, the Press reported. One option is to continue to operate the course the way it is today. Another approach would be to hire a private vendor to operate the clubhouse and/or maintenance operations.
The county could also sell the land, but that gets complicated, Perry explained. The land was acquired back in the 1970s with federal and state funds and has strict rules that would require the county to replace the land at equal or greater value somewhere else. The sale would also have to go through multiple approvals at both the state and federal levels.
The final option, which is Perry’s recommendation, would be to transform the golf course into a multipurpose outdoor recreation area, which could include, in part, single-track mountain bike trails and a cross-country running course. “The trails could also be open for hiking, nature viewing and programs,” Perry explained.
Perry’s recommendation also suggests that the driving range could be converted to an archery range and the clubhouse could be repurposed to function as a trailhead facility and/or banquet facility, and be open for public use and reservations for special events, the Press reported.
“Bottom line is, the golf course is losing money and will require capital investment over the next few years as well. Utilizing property tax dollars, in my mind, to subsidize someone’s golf is not in line with our mission of being respectful, innovative (and) fiscally responsible,” said County Commissioner Rhonda Sivarajah.
“One of their drumbeats is, we don’t want to subsidize rounds of golf. What did the walking paths take in last year? How about the play structure? And the biking paths? Picnic tables? Tennis courts? It is a quality-of-life issue,” Reinert added.
“Well, that’s just for golfers … well, the bike paths are just for bikers. You have to have your own clubs; well, you have to have your own bike to bike,” he continued. “To go play tennis, you have to have a tennis racket.”
“It is a quality-of-life issue,” Reinert added. “It is an amenity to the area, and a beautiful one. I really care about it, care about what their plan is, and I am nervous about what they might do with it. I don’t think the residents will want to lose that. Chomonix is a nice golf course.”
One option could be that the city takes over the golf course, the Press reported. However, Reinert said that would take a lot more planning and a lot more information than could be gathered in the short deadline the county gave the city.
“At this point, I am not sure if it is an opportunity or a nightmare,” Reinert said. “We will take a look at it, have a couple of meetings, meet with them and see where this goes.”
Perry said the reason for the fast-approaching deadline is because the county is under a time constraint, the Press reported.
“The golf course business side of things is a year-round business, so we are getting a lot of requests now to make reservations for this year, so timing is of the essence,” Reinert said. “We don’t have the luxury of time, it is not in our favor right now.”
The Parks Committee is set to revisit the topic at its February 5 meeting. And as news of the possible closing is spreading, a Facebook page titled, “Stop Chomonix Golf Course Closing” has popped up, the Press reported. The page had more than 300 likes as of press deadline and already had quite a few posts and engagements. The page is run by Ron Sauvageau, who grew up in Circle Pines, but now lives in Texas. Despite living out of state, he still returns every summer to play golf at Chomonix.
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