Davis County budget committee hears golf course report; managers request new equipment, restroom and parking work and flag $6.5M irrigation need

Zach Johnson, manager at Davis Park Golf Course, told the Davis County Budget Committee that rounds and revenue at the county’s courses have risen and that staff expect 2025 to outpace 2024.

"Golf is still booming," Johnson said, summarizing course demand. He reported 99,182 rounds played in 2024 and said the courses have increased utilization and modest fee changes that helped revenue. He and other golf staff said the enterprise fund has about $4.8 million in cash and that, barring poor weather, they expect to contribute roughly $550,000 to $600,000 in profit to the cash fund for the fiscal year.

Committee members and golf staff spent much of the presentation on near‑term capital requests, operations and administrative allocations. The golf operation asked for a mix of equipment and facility projects for 2026 including: $109,000 for maintenance equipment (fairway mower, utility mower, sprayer and a range picker), about $157,000 for a set of fairway/greens cutting units, $550,000 to replace a fleet of roughly 80 golf carts, $80,000 to renovate clubhouse restrooms, and $600,000 for parking lot and cart staging renovation at one course. Staff said the driving range has exceeded expectations (about $153,000 year‑to‑date as reported) and that prepaid reservations and higher tee‑sheet utilization have helped margins.

Committee members pressed for clearer, more transparent allocations for central services. Scott Park (controller) and Cindy (controller’s office staff) described ongoing work to make allocations and accounts visible to department managers. "For the 2025 budget, I actually proposed that the utility bills were taken out of the maintenance allocation and direct billed to the departments," Cindy said; she added that some invoice coding and AP entry practices need training so departments can see utility expenses posted to their accounts.

Golf staff said restoring visibility — and in some cases control — of utility bills to the courses would let managers spot anomalies earlier and pursue operational fixes (for example, shifting gas usage or contract adjustments). They also requested better transparency on how FTE‑based allocations are calculated.

The committee discussed long‑term capital risk for irrigation infrastructure. Johnson and other managers described an aging irrigation system at Davis Park that has received incremental repairs for decades. They said replacement costs for sprinkler heads and mainline work have risen sharply: recent per‑head replacement quotes rose from about $2,200 to roughly $3,000 per head. Using that per‑head figure and current scope estimates, staff said the full irrigation replacement could be on the order of $6.5 million if replaced wholesale; managers framed that as an approximate planning figure, not a formal engineer’s estimate.

Committee members and staff discussed options for financing a large irrigation project, including building reserves from operating revenue, a dedicated small surcharge per round/green fee, or issuing debt (bonds) with a bond payment offset by cash or fee revenue. Staff said they will return with more detailed options timed to next year’s fee‑setting process.

Managers also described project sequencing challenges (for example, doing asphalt work during warm weather while the courses are busiest) and discussed coordination with Layton City and other partners for curb, gutter and frontage work near one course. Staff said work already under review by city or state programs (noted as Prop 3 in the presentation) may help mitigate some frontage costs.

On youth and community programming, golf managers said junior programs have expanded rapidly; one junior league grew from a capped 80 participants to about 160 this year. Staff described the junior programs as an intentional investment in future demand despite low per‑child fees.

Formal committee business at the start of the meeting included approval of minutes from the Sept. 15, 2025 meeting (the minutes were corrected to change the word "opeb" to "opioid"). The motion to approve the corrected minutes passed by voice vote.

The presentation closed with staff and committee members agreeing to follow up on allocation transparency, utility billing visibility and a more detailed financing plan for the irrigation and major capital requests.

Ending: The committee scheduled follow‑up work with county finance and facilities staff; golf managers said they will return with more specific cost estimates and financing options as part of the next budget cycle and fee discussion.