Resident urges council to intervene after new Kenai golf-course rates exclude some disabled players

During unscheduled public comment on April 16, a Kenai-area resident, identifying himself as Bobby Croom of Sterling, urged the council to intervene over recent price increases at the municipal golf course and asked the council to suspend the operator's license.

Croom said he is disabled and that under a new operator (identified in the meeting as KNC), the cost of a seasonal single pass rose from about $900 last year to $1,400 this year. He asserted the new operator expanded discounts for seniors and juniors but did not maintain discounts for people with disabilities and that his monthly disability income makes the new rates unaffordable: "When you think muni and muni, you know, similar things, that's just out of my — that's more than what I get in disability for a month," Croom said.

Croom said he had tried to resolve the issue with the operator and with city management but felt the responses were inadequate and therefore asked the council to act, saying the operator had been unresponsive and dismissive. He requested the council immediately suspend the contractor's license to compel a discussion of pricing and accommodations for disabled players.

Council members asked clarifying questions about whether other municipal courses offer disability passes and whether the operator had signaled any weekday or off-peak discounts. Staff noted some municipal courses use time-of-day discounts and that Russian Jack (an Anchorage municipal course mentioned for comparison) offers a lower seasonal pass and no differentiated discounts. Mayor Gabriel and other council members thanked Croom for speaking and indicated staff would follow up; they did not take immediate action during the meeting.

Ending: The council did not suspend the operator's license at the meeting; staff said they would look into the complaint and the concession agreement and report back to council.