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Residents press Boulder City to explain municipal golf course subsidies; parks director defends player‑card program
Summary
Public commenters urged converting the two municipal golf courses to an enterprise fund and criticized giveaways, water use and contracts; Parks Director Julie Callaway said the $200 players card and incentive program has driven roughly $1.66M in round revenue and $250K in card sales while improving total course revenue.
Dozens of Boulder City residents used the council’s public‑comment period to press for clearer accounting and possible governance changes for the two municipal golf courses, arguing the facilities are heavily subsidized and suggesting the courses be moved onto an enterprise fund so revenues and costs would be tracked and netted in one place.
Callers raised several recurring claims: that contractors collecting more than $2 million annually are operating with few financial safeguards; that golf operations use substantial city water and pay wholesale rather than retail rates; and that the city gives away a large number of free rounds through incentive programs that reduce potential income.
Parks and Recreation Director Julie Callaway responded with program and revenue detail. She described the city’s players card as a paid loyalty program ($200 annually) that offers benefits — free rounds and discounts — and said management uses revenue‑management pricing to steer rounds into lower‑demand hours. Callaway said card sales generated roughly $250,000 and that, conservatively, the players‑card program helped drive approximately $1.66M of golf‑round revenue last year; she added that overall both courses are exceeding budgeted revenue so far this fiscal year.
On capital needs, staff confirmed a municipal golf irrigation upgrade (aimed at turf and water‑use reductions) is budgeted at about $6 million and is funded from the city’s acquisitions/capital fund and ARPA dollars rather than via property taxes.
Council members and staff asked for further transparency: several asked finance and parks staff to produce a concise briefing and line‑by‑line spreadsheet showing revenue, operating expenses, contract payments, and the effect of incentive programs so council and residents can assess enterprise‑fund feasibility.
What happens next: Council asked staff to prepare a more detailed, public briefing on the courses’ accounting, the players‑card economics and the irrigation project funding, to be used as a follow‑up for council and for residents who requested additional detail.
