Community effort needed to save local golf course

Thursday, January 20, 2011
With the Fort Scott Country Club golf course closed, City Manager Dave Martin is talking about involving other entities to make it locally owned. (Michael Pommier/Tribune)

With the passing of its owner, the future of the Fort Scott Golf Course and Country Club has been in limbo and what happens next could be in the hands of the community.

Fort Scott City Manager Dave Martin said during Tuesday's Fort Scott City Commission meeting that the city is looking into possibilities that would revive the golf course.

"The city needs to play a role in getting our hands around the golf course," Martin said.

Martin told The Tribune Wednesday the city is not looking at purchasing the golf course outright as discussed in the past. The golf course was owned by Pat Carney, who passed away Nov. 22, 2010.

"We do not have the tax base to come in and purchase the golf course and run it and do everything," he said. "The golf course is a major part of the community and economic development, but then again, I cannot jeopardize the city's budget."

"My goal is to come to some sort of decision where it is good for our tax base, good for Fort Scott, good for the Carneys, and good for those who have a big interest in golf," he added.

One option could be having a group of community organizations and investors team up to make the purchase. Martin said entities such as the city, Bourbon County, Fort Scott Community College, USD 234 and local golfers who wish to contribute could share the cost and make the course's ownership local.

"It has to be a group effort," Martin said. "I think the city can be a player ... but I don't think that the city, in my role, can just step up and purchase it."

He later added, "It is one of those things that we as a city need to offer our people and make sure that we keep it here, but then again, we can't be the only players at the table."

Martin said he has been working on golf course issues since he took office at the beginning of September 2010. He added the original plan was to work with the Carney family to do what the city could to help keep the facility open. However, nothing was accomplished before Carney's death.

Following Carney's passing, Martin said he hoped to continue working to keep the course open, but the family decided to call it quits.

"I had originally had hoped that I could meet with (Cindy Carney, his wife) and her son and maybe try to help them keep it open and try to work through (Pat's death), but they just didn't want to. They wanted to cut ties and move on," Martin said.

Martin said that he has received positive feedback from the community, which has been a change from the city's previous attempt to purchase the links. He said he thinks opinions may have changed because the course will not be a country club and be more of a community project rather than a city project.

According to Martin, there has been some question about using the proposed half-cent sales tax to fund the purchase of the golf course. Martin said it would not be possible because a citizen-driven sales tax initiative has already been put on the ballot and that the funding has already been budgeted to handle the improvements to Buck Run Community Center and the swimming pool. Also, the Fort Scott City Commission has already approved putting the issue on the ballot.

"The question is already on the ballot," he said. "The golf course was not in the picture when (the proposed tax) came on."