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Pebble Lake Golf Course Struggling
Published 12:00pm Friday, May 2, 2008Pebble Lake Golf Club is facing tough times — and the city is prepared to help it out.
Much of what’s plaguing Pebble Lake are the same issues faced by courses around the country — increased competition and a shortened season, says Rick Odden, course superintendent.
It’s not that the number of golfers are down, but that a push to build golf courses in the past several years has backfired, Odden said.
“I think the same number of golfers are available but the golf dollars are stretched across more courses,” Odden said.
It doesn’t help that winter weather has impeded the golf season in recent years. Pebble Lake Golf Course was open only four days in April after opening for the season the first of the month.
“So when you lose out on the first month of revenue, it’s hard to make that up,” Odden said.
As a result, Pebble Lake has had to take out loans to cover its operating budget, and the purchase of equipment has been put on hold. The need for replacement equipment is now great enough that the Golf Board is asking for help.
“We’re trying to make it without funds from the city, but we’re just digging ourselves into a hole,” Pebble Lake Golf Club President Daryl Evavold told members of the Finance, Personnel and Development Committee Thursday.
So at Thursday’s meeting, Fergus Falls Finance Director Bill Sonmor introduced a proposal to get the club back on track. Developed by the Golf Board and city staff, the proposal establishes a loan agreement for the club’s equipment purchases. The city would provide the club with a loan to cover its equipment purchases, only to forgive the loan and incorporate the equipment cost into its budget over the next five years. A tentative estimate of the five-year total equipment cost is $138,200.
For its part, Pebble Lake Golf Club would need to establish a financial plan in an effort to achieve sustainability, establish an equipment reserve and fund capital improvements. Those capital improvements would be the subject of annual meetings between city staff and the Golf Board around budgeting time, when the two parties would need to agree on what projects to fund and how much each would pay.
“What we’re trying to do is help them get through a difficult time,” City Administrator Mark Sievert said at Thursday’s meeting.
The proposal was met with a positive response from committee chair Ben Schierer, among others.
“The golf course is an asset and an asset that we own,” he said.
“It’s an asset that we need to keep viable,” added committee member Hal Leland.
The course proposal will be up for approval at Monday’s city council meeting.
