Macedonia officials were delighted in 2006 when an entrepreneur transformed an eyesore at their eastern border into a golf course.The 40-acre property was donated to the city 25 years earlier by a former mayor but had been languishing as a “huge mound of dirt used as a junkyard,” Mayor Don Kuchta said. The donor required that the property be used only for recreation, so it remained an undeveloped “park” until a private businessman invested some $4 million into giving it purpose.But 2Club Golf, a “compact” course typically played with a chipper and putter, struggled from the start, and a recent ruling by the Ohio Tax Commissioner that the business must pay municipal taxes delivered the death blow.The course closed in September and auctioned its equipment this month.Kuchta said he is heartened by the fact some of the auction bidders have contacted him to talk about the future of the property, but the event spotlighted the challenges golf courses on municipal property face today.Not only has the sour economy caused some communities to question whether supplementing recreational activities with taxpayer dollars is a good idea, but an exceedingly wet season has also held down attendance.“It’s been a rough, rough year,” said John Valle, deputy service director in Akron, which maintains two city-operated golf courses.Still, area cities that have municipal golf courses say they are a valuable amenity for residents as well as an economic development tool.“People are adamant about how much Fox Den means to them,” Stow Mayor Karen Fritzschel said of the city’s course, and it “brings people in to use restaurants, gas stations and other city businesses.”MacedoniaMacedonia’s course is on public land, but taxpayers contributed little to its creation and nothing to its operation. Businessman Larry Saulino, with the help of a loan from Fairlawn-based CF Bank, developed the land and built a clubhouse and driving range shelter.Saulino also installed public soccer fields on the property in lieu of paying rent for three years, at the city’s request. City funds paid for the parking lot.“The development of a golf course doesn’t happen overnight,” Kuchta said. It can take a few years to establish the greens and fairways, and “we always thought it would take off.”But Saulino was unable to make any lease payments this year and warned city officials in the spring he was on “shaky ground,” Kuchta said.Adding to his burden was the ruling that 2Club Golf owed some $170,000 in municipal taxes, a decision the city has appealed on his behalf, Kuchta said.“So after all these efforts to try and help Larry and him using his own money up, it was like, oh, my God, now we got a ruling that he’s going to owe taxes,” Kuchta said.CF Bank tried to find another operator for the course but came up empty, he said. A course employee offered to buy the equipment, run the facility and pay taxes if the city would give him free rent, but City Council declined the offer.Council called a special meeting the day before this month’s auction of 2Club’s equipment to consider whether to buy the mowers, clubs and balls, but adjourned after agreeing to leave the decision in Kuchta’s hands.Some council members said it made no sense to talk about supporting golf operations when the city’s police and fire departments were still down after layoffs last year.Kuchta said council’s decision “blindsided” him and left him unable to participate in the Oct. 7 auction because no funds were appropriated.It’s still a boon to have beautiful green space greeting visitors to the city, the mayor said, even if no one is swinging a golf club. But he very much wants Macedonia to get its golf course back.“It’s a nice thing for a city to have.”AkronIn Akron, city employees operate two courses.The 18-hole Good Park opened in 1926.Mud Run debuted its $5 million nine-hole course in 2003, an effort the city hoped would reinvigorate the declining Rolling Acres neighborhood and stimulate housing construction. Then the Great Recession hit.Valle said Good Park made money in the ’80s and ’90s, but the city has had to subsidize both courses from its general fund in more recent years. The city put about $50,000 into the courses in 2006 and $42,000 in 2007, and the number has continued trending downward.Meanwhile, Akron has increased efforts to promote the facilities, installing more signs, offering specials and marketing through email.But with the region marching toward one of the wettest year’s on record, Good Park was open to golfers only 105 days through Sept. 30, compared to 141 days in 2010. A July 19 storm closed Good Park for three days, and a few holes on the course remain under water.Though the number of play dates dropped 30 percent, the revenue for the courses has so far dropped only about 13 percent, Valle said. He noted the city hasn’t raised its fees since 2007.While there have been voices challenging Akron’s investment over the years, opponents have been silent of late and nobody is actively pushing to close the “nice, affordable amenity,” Valle said.StowStow bought the Fox Den Golf Course in 2006, and is paying it off at the rate of about $370,000 a year.Officials want the facility to cover direct operational costs of about $800,000; this year, it’s on track to make closer to $700,000.As with other area courses, attendance was down this year because of the weather, said Parks and Recreation Director Nicholas Wren, who said he still holds out hope the operation will break even this year.The city bought the course to prevent the land from being sold to developers.“The purchase was not for us to make money,” Councilman Jim Costello said. “It was to stop the increase in housing that would damage our sewers and roads, take away green space and overwhelm our schools.”But at least two council members have opposed the city’s operation of the course.Joe Hickin and Mike Rasor have advocated leasing the course or turning it over to a management company that could try to make it profitable. Both have said they would like to see the course sold when the economy improves.“The city has no business owning a public business,” Hickin said. “The city is responsible for fire and police service, water and roads. Everything else should be left to someone else.’’North CantonNorth Canton purchased the private Arrowhead Country Club for $4.2 million in 2003 and signed a five-year contract for Kevin Larizza to operate the 18-hole course.That didn’t work out.Larizza bowed out of the contract in 2008, sticking the city with $104,000 in rent and taxes. The city settled for $35,000 and turned the operation of the course, now called Fairways, to R&S Golf Properties.As with Stow, the city’s motivation in obtaining the land had more to do with controlling its development. In North Canton’s case, the course was 100 acres of green space in the heart of the city.City Council President Jon Snyder said had the land been developed, it would have cost the city up to $5 million to put in streets and sanitary/storm sewers.“Golf was a popular sport back then and we had money in the bank,” Snyder said.But interest in golf has declined in recent years, he said, citing the economy and wetter-than-normal seasons. As a result, receipts have declined.Of the purchase price, the city still owes about $700,000 plus interest, Finance Director Karen Alger said. A recent appraisal valued the property at $1.9 million.North Canton resident Chuck Osborne, a former council member who is running for office again, was the only person on council to vote against the purchase in 2003.“Municipalities should not be in the business of golf,” Osborne said. “Residents pay taxes for municipal services. There is not enough money for anything beyond that.”The future of the Fairways is not settled. The city commissioned a Kent State University collaborative to draw a master plan for the community. The effort was launched in September with a series of public meetings.A subcommittee of residents suggested retaining the Fairways’ front nine holes and developing the back nine as an office or research site. Trails for walking and jogging were suggested, as well as an amphitheater for outdoor summer concerts.Cuyahoga FallsIn Cuyahoga Falls, Brookledge opened under private ownership in 1941. The city bought the 55-acre course in 1974 with the help of a federal grant.A few years later, another federal grant and funds from a recreation levy helped the city buy adjoining land, and two more deals over the years added acreage until the city had an 18-hole golf course.Brookledge is self-supporting, city officials said, and that includes covering the mortgage, which should be paid off in 2015.The facility met its expenses of $1 million last year and is on track to do the same this year.While the wet season depressed attendance, from 35,306 rounds played in 2010 to 32,108 rounds so far this year, city officials aren’t giving up on matching last year’s activity.Ed Stewart, assistant superintendent of parks and recreation, said the city tries to make sure the course remains a service to the community while not being a burden to taxpayers.“It’s another recreational opportunity for the citizens of Cuyahoga Falls,” Stewart said.Staff writer Stephanie Warsmith and correspondents Gina Mace and Dottie McGrew contributed to this report.
Paula Schleis can be reached at 330-996-3741 or pschleis@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow her on Twitter at http://twitter.com/paulaschleis.