The petition, started by resident Steve Howell, urges the city to increase resident golf fees at the resort from $35 per round to $50. The resort’s operating deficit could hit $5 million over the next five years, with the city subsidizing it at more than $1 million per year out of its general fund.
It is not often that citizens urge a city to raise fees on a public amenity, but in Indian Wells, Calif., Steve Howell is doing just that with an online petition to up resident fees from $35 per round at the city-owned Indian Wells Golf Resort to $50, the Palm Springs, Calif., Desert Sun reported.
“The cost of golf is about $80 per round,” Howell said, so $50 is still a bargain.
The resort, which has been operating in the red due to a waning interest in golf and because its 503,000-sq. ft. clubhouse, featuring the IW Café, Vue Grille and Bar, event rooms and more, has struggled to make money, the Sun reported.
C&RB featured the resort in its January 2008 cover feature (“New Hope Blooms in the Desert at Indian Wells Golf Resort”).
The operating deficit for the city’s signature amenity could hit $5 million—which comes from the general fund—over the next five years, officials have said. It costs the city $900,000 per year just to open the doors on the clubhouse, city Councilman Doug Hanson has said.
To continue as is, with the city subsidizing the resort at more than $1 million per year out of its general fund, Howell worries it can lead to a reduction in other services such as police and fire. The petition has gathered 51 signatures so far, most of which favor raising the rate, and some saying it should be higher. The resort books about 16,000 resident tee times per year, and a $15 increase would mean about $240,000 more in revenue each year, the Sun reported.
The city and operator Troon Golf have spent much of this year exploring ways to boost revenue and make the resort self-sufficient. The city even floated a November 8 ballot measure to raise the hotel tax from 11.25% to 12.25% to bring an estimated $630,000 per year more to the city which would be earmarked for golf course operations. Voters, however, rejected that special tax measure which required a two-thirds vote to pass, the Sun reported.
In September, the council approved $507,870 worth of improvements to the resort’s Pavilion event center, adding a variety of amenities including bridal dressing rooms which are expected to boost revenue by about $2 million over the next five years, the Sun reported.
Except for Indio, where anyone can golf for $27 or less, Indian Wells has the lowest resident fee at $35. The $50 rate would be comparable to what Palm Desert residents pay to golf either one of the two 18-hole courses at Desert Willow. La Quinta residents currently pay $45 for a round of golf at city-owned SilverRock, which currently has one 18-hole course, the Sun reported.
Some on the council, including Hanson, have hesitated to raise the fee, saying the golf resort is the only public amenity the city has to offer its residents. Mayor Dana Reed said “everything has to be on the table.”
The council is planning to hold more strategy sessions in January and February. The council needs to decide whether to look at the resort as a public amenity or service, such as parks, police or fire, which never fully pay for themselves or as an enterprise like gas, water and power, the Sun reported.
“If it’s an enterprise, taxpayers shouldn’t have to subsidize it,” he said.
Access the petition to raise Indian Wells Golf Resort resident fees here.
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