The city of St. Joseph, Mo. planned to spend money from the parks tax this offseason to fix the water situation at the course, but then the Federal Emergency Management Agency came out with new flood maps, delaying the project. The maps require the city to submit extensive documentation about the project to ensure it won’t affect the current flood levels.
With nearby clubs completing recent renovations, the city-owned Fairview Golf Course in St. Joseph, Mo. is in need of enhancements, the St. Joseph News-Press reported. While Fairview is the only public course in town, it still competes with the St. Joseph Country Club, Moila Country Club and nearby public courses in other communities.
The COVID-19 pandemic created an explosion in the sport and provided an economic boost to Fairview, helping it rely less on city money to stay afloat, the News-Press reported.
“We have done pretty well financially the last two or three years,” said Parks Director Chuck Kempf. “We still are subsidized to some level by the city, but it’s much less than it was a few years ago.”
Although Fairview has seen an increase in golfers, the St. Joseph Country Club and Moila both recently renovated their courses and clubhouses, leaving the only public golf facility in town looking a little downtrodden, the News-Press reported. The most pressing concern is the silted ponds and poor irrigation system.
“There is a tremendous amount of stormwater that enters this golf course from the north,” Kempf said. “It travels with a lot of debris and trash and just all kinds of material and that’s why the ponds silt in so quickly.”
The city had planned to spend about $1.25 million from the parks tax this offseason to fix the water situation at the course, but then the Federal Emergency Management Agency came out with new flood maps, delaying the project, the News-Press reported.
The new flood maps require the city to submit extensive documentation about the project to ensure it won’t affect the current flood levels, the News-Press reported. Kempf said they won’t be able to start the project until next year. The work will either keep the ponds, create a moving stream or flow the water underground through pipes.
In the meantime, Fairview has to stay competitive in other ways, like cheaper rates or the course’s long-standing history in town, the News-Press reported.
“It’s a challenging course, but it’s a fun course to golf,” said Duane Kimble, a marshal at Fairview. “It’s been here a long time and because of its familiarity with a lot of golfers, I think they enjoy that.”
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