Faced with declining membership and revenues in the past decade, the City of Kingston is re-evaluating the fate of Belle Park Fairways.
Councilors voted 11-1 on a recommendation to explore options to “reduce, modify or eliminate” some or all of the city-owned golf course.
“It’s been subsidized at that location for a number of years. We’ve seen a pretty drastic decline in our membership,” said Luke Folwell, the city’s director of recreation and leisure services.
He says there’s a broad list of options being considered, ranging from new types of recreational services to enhanced naturalization of the 44 hectare property located off Montreal Street. Some options mentioned so far” include reducing the size of the golf course, turning more of Belle Park into public open space, or bringing in new recreational facilities such as Pickleball courts.
We’ve got a driving range. Maybe keep that. We’re not sure. That’s what we want to find out. Originally, golf courses were 12 holes,” Folwell added.
City council went down a similar road four years ago when staff came up with a list of recommendations that involved repurposing the site to allow more park space, contracting out the golf to a private operator or possibly building a solar farm to generate new revenues, but eventually decided to keep the public golf course open. This time, the recommendation to review the golfing operation came from the Belle Park Working Group that was set up in 2013 to explore ways to make it viable and financially self-sustaining.
“There’s a wide range of opinion on the working group on the future of Belle Park,” observed Mayor Bryan Paterson, who supported another review of whether the city should remain in the game.
The citizens group has faced an uphill battle to attract more golfers and make the course more profitable.
“We haven’t seen the results that some of the (working group) members hoped for based on the effort that’s been put in by them and by staff to promote the course, and adding new options to use the facility,” said Folwell, who added the sport of golfing has seen a decline in recent years.
The municipal golf course finished 2016 with $108,000 in revenues, the lowest figure in five years. That will translate into a municipal tax subsidy of $236,000 to cover the deficit. Previous deficits have ranged from $134,000 to $236,000 a year.
Community services commissioner Lanie Hurdle called it a “fairly high subsidy” when compared with other municipal parks, but noted other parks have a more passive use than Belle Park.
Working group members say they’ve launched numerous initiatives and programs to try and attract more golfers, but say the time has come to look at broadening Belle Park’s appeal.
Ryan Hanes, president of the Kingston Pickleball Club, was quick to identify Belle Park as suitable for the growing sport. “This is an ideal location for a designated Pickleball facility,” he told council Dec. 20.
The club is currently seeking a place to build 12 dedicated courts to accommodate its 200 members, plus hosting tournaments.
Folwell says a report and recommendation should return to council by next spring. “We’ll be going through a consultation process to find the ultimate vision of the community.”
He also noted that Belle Park was created atop a former municipal landfill in the mid 1970s. “It’s a landfill first. We’re a golf course second. Environmental management must come first.”
