The city of Dunedin, Fla. bought the par-3 property in 2003 after it existed for 43 years as the St. Andrew’s Links GC. Billy Casper Golf was contracted in 2010 to manage the course for 10 years, but informed the city it did not want to renew the arrangement without changes in the rent structure and capital investment by the city. Dunedin also owns the 92-year-old Dunedin Golf Club, which has a Donald Ross course and is on the National Register of Historic Places.
By next April, Stirling Links Golf Course in Dunedin, Fla. could be transformed into the city’s newest 27-acre park, complete with a driving range, the Tampa Bay News Weekly of Seminole, Fla. reported.
That scenario become evident during a City Commission work session in December at which Commissioner Jeff Gow noted that the par-3 golfing facility has been losing money for years and “had run its course,” the News Weekly reported.
In 2003, the city of Dunedin purchased the then-43-year-old St. Andrew’s Links Golf Course with assistance from Pinellas County, according to Parks and Recreation Director Vince Gizzi, and the sales agreement included a restrictive covenant to preserve the site as open space for public recreational use in perpetuity, the News Weekly reported.
“Use of the property can be changed from a golf course to other municipal uses at the exclusive legislative direction of the city, provided any new use of the property complies with the restrictive covenants” to preserve its green space, Gizzi said.
The City of Dunedin operated Stirling Links until 2010, the News Weekly reported. The city commission then approved a license agreement with Billy Casper Golf (BCG) to maintain and operate the property. The term of the initial agreement was for 10 years, ending on March 31, 2020.
But on April 23, 2019, Gizzi told the city commissioners, Dunedin’s Parks and Recreation Department received an e-mail from Tony Cianci, Senior Vice President of BCG Operations, that stated: “[The] bottom line for us is that as much as we’ve enjoyed the relationship with the city and would like to stay, we cannot do so without changes in the rent structure of the agreement and capital investment by the city into their asset.”
After receiving that e-mail, Gizzi said, the city decided to consider two options: operating the facility as a golf course, or converting the site into a public park.
The city could take over Stirling Links and operate it as a par-3 golf course directly through the Parks and Recreation Department, as was done previously, the News Weekly reported. However, Gizzi reminded commissioners, prior to contracting with BCG, the city was losing approximately $70,000 a year on the course’s operations.
Meanwhile, the management of Dunedin Golf Club, with its nearby 93-year-old, par-72 18-hole course that was designed by Donald Ross, “has currently expressed they are not interested” in operating Stirling Links, because it would be a financial burden, Gizzi told commissioners.
Dunedin GC, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, was sold back to the city in 1962 after being acquired in 1944 by the PGA of America and being renamed PGA National Golf Club. The club’s Ross course hosted the PGA Seniors Championship for all 18 years that it was owned by the PGA.
The option recommended by the Parks and Recreation department is to convert the Stirling Links property into a city park, the News Weekly reported. In this case, the city would assume the maintenance and management responsibilities with existing staff.
“From day one, and with minimal preparation, the site could be available as green space with walking trails utilizing the existing cart paths,” Gizzi said. About $20,000 per year would be required for basic maintenance expenses, and maintenance expenses of $10,000 for April 1 through September 30, 2020 are included in the city’s FY 2020 budget, he added.
“There are a variety of possible passive and active uses of the property,” Gizzi said. “There is also the option to keep open the driving range.
“Staff estimates approximately $120,000 to $160,000 in annual expenses and $30,000 in startup costs for this option that could include the driving range, concessions, golf lessons and camps,” he added. “There is a potential for profit.”
Commissioners were told there is also a possibility that the Dunedin Golf Club could agree to operate the driving range for a fee, the News Weekly reported.
The Parks and Recreation staff met with the Dunedin Golf Club Board of Directors and the Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee to discuss the various options for Stirling Links, the News Weekly reported, and both groups recommend that the facility be converted to a public park.
“The need for two public golf courses in Dunedin is questionable due to our population and the current state of the golf industry,” Gizzi said.
The city’s Parks and Recreation department has lined up staff and would be ready to run the driving range when the city would move in on April 1, Gizzi told the commissioners. For the park operation, the department would provide mowing and landscaping.
Those who spoke during the public-comment portion of the work session, however, noted that the park has become overgrown and that areas of the property now flood easily, because drainage ponds have not been cleaned out.
“Today is just a first step in what I think is a long process,” said Dunedin Mayor Julie Ward Bujalski. “We are hoping to give some consensus direction, but I also want to make sure that if the commission says, ‘Let’s get out of the par-3 part of it and go toward more of a park,’ that the park and its amenities will be decided at a much different time than this.”
Whatever the amenities might be, whether it be pickleball or a dog park, the commission will consider public discussion and an analysis of the city’s needs, Bujalski added.
Commissioner Heather Gracy said the city should take time to examine different uses for the area, including considering a resident’s suggestion to incorporate the park into the nearby Pinellas Trail as a respite area.
“That in itself is a park,” she said, referring to the trail. “So if we look at this, it’s one park highlighting another.
“It would be a great respite from the trail, much like Weaver Park,” Gracy added. “I’m overwhelming in support to use the land in a different way.”
Commissioner Deborah Kynes said she definitely wants to preserve Stirling Links as open space and believes any attempt to add a dog park “will have a lot of conversation,” the News Weekly reported.
“I’m happy to start the process, because it really does have to look so much better; we can do so much better,” Kynes added.
Commissioner Maureen Freaney also liked the idea of playing off the trail concept and creating “a respite feeling,” the News Weekly reported.
As assistant city manager in 2003, Freaney supported the purchase of Stirling Links at that time, even after criticism arose that it was a money-losing proposition, the News Weekly reported.
“I think it was a great thing to do, to preserve it as green space,” she explained. “It’s been given a lot of chances to succeed as a golf course. It wasn’t working when we bought it. We gave it time; we took it over and we were losing money. We went to an outside contractor, so I think it’s been given a lot of chances. I think moving forward with some different thinking is good.”
Commissioner Jeff Gow questioned whether a par-3 golf course would be profitable even after being refurbished, the News Weekly reported. “We’ve given it its due, and it’s time to think about other uses,” Gow said. “The idea of going in and knowing it will remain greenspace is just as exciting as keeping it a par-3.”
Mayor Bujalski said it would take more than a million dollars to bring the course back to where it should be, the News Weekly reported, and that there would be no return on investment, considering the amount of rounds of play it would have to attract.
The session concluded with the Parks and Recreation department planning to report back to the city commission on future park amenities and potential for incorporating a driving range, the News Weekly reported.
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