Crestview Unlimited reports rising golf revenues, discusses nets and possible sale

City staff reported at a Crestview Unlimited meeting that the city-owned golf course’s operating revenues increased in 2024 and produced an operating surplus, and councilors and residents raised questions about safety netting and whether the city might sell the property.

The city staff member presenting the financials said operating revenues for 2024 were reported as 1,194,846, an increase of about $205,000 from 2023, and that operating expenses rose to 1,143,150, leaving “actually, a $45,000 profit in the golf course.” The presenter said auditors required an accounting change in 2023 that reclassified golf carts as fixed assets; that reclassification made last year’s fund position look worse on paper and explains much of the prior-year shortfall.

The point of the presentation, the staff member said, was to show whether “operating revenues exceed the operating expenses” and whether the city was transferring tax dollars into the fund. The staff member said the city did not transfer general fund tax dollars into the golf fund in 2023 or 2024. The presenter also said the private management company that operates the course employs the course staff and provides monthly financial reports to the city’s accounting team.

Residents pressed the board for details. Jillian Harker, a resident of 163 Jones Road, told the meeting that Foxwood residents “are getting their windows broken by golf balls all the time” and asked whether the city could install nets. The city staff member responded that the city has no claims for broken windows, that complaints had been received for two holes, and that the city has installed nets on both holes and on the driving range and parking-lot side. The staff member invited residents to email the city’s management address for follow-up.

On the question of whether the city plans to keep operating the course indefinitely, the presenter said the council had discussed the idea of selling the course after the city’s investment has been recovered. The staff member said the company currently managing the course reviewed the possibility and “were not interested in doing it this year,” but that selling to a buyer who would continue to operate it as a golf course remains an option the council could consider in the future.

The meeting opened with a procedural vote: the agenda was approved by voice vote and the presiding official said the motion carried unanimously. The presenter described the annual business meeting for Crestview Unlimited as largely a financial update and indicated there were no other agenda items. The meeting concluded after public comment with no additional formal actions taken.

The material presented emphasized three operational points: revenues increased year over year, the apparent prior-year deficit reflected an accounting reclassification rather than a cash transfer from the general fund, and the golf course is managed by a private company under a contract that provides monthly financials to the city’s accounting team. The presenter said that if the course generates net profit in future years the council — sitting as Crestview Unlimited — will determine how to allocate those funds; originally the account was intended to support sports and youth activities but the presenter noted the council could change that direction by public process.

The annual Crestview Unlimited business meeting ended after public comment; no vote on a sale or lease of the property was taken.