YOUNGSTOWN Park panel raises fees at golf course

Rental fees dropped at the South High football stadium to promote its use.
By ROGER G. SMITH
CITY HALL REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Stambaugh Golf Course needs new groundskeeping equipment and clubhouse renovations.
There is only one way to get the money for it, said Joseph McRae, city parks director: Increase revenue.
So, the city park commission has approved fee increases at the nine-hole golf course for next year.
Nine holes will cost 50 cents more per round for residents and nonresidents. Annual memberships will rise by $50 for adults, $25 for senior citizens and $15 for juniors.
The city last raised greens fees a few years ago. Meanwhile, costs continue rising and needs keep emerging, McRae said.
Two years of bad weather have hurt, too. Receipts were down $13,000 this year compared with last year because of persistent rain, McRae said. Bad weather left 2002 a bad year for golf course income, too, he said.
Meanwhile, the city needs new equipment such as special mowers to maintain the course, he said. The parking lot is a mess and the aging clubhouse needs work, down to the ancient furniture, McRae said.
"We have to do something to raise revenue," he said.
Revenue unpredictable
He isn't sure how much more the city will collect. That depends on the weather and how many rounds of golf are played next year, he said. The city sells about two dozen memberships a year, mostly to senior citizens, so that new revenue won't account for much of an increase.
Nonetheless, every dime helps, McRae said.
For example, new revenue might be spent on the clubhouse, letting the department use capital improvement money on an automatic sprinkler, he said.
The park commission also increased the fee for youth football teams by $10 per team per game, to $35.
The increase will cover costs of maintaining the fields, McRae said.
Rental fees for baseball and softball teams remained at $50 per team per game. Fewer of those teams are using the fields, while youth football is growing so the city focused on those users, he said.
The park commission also dropped fees $100 to $150 a day to rent the football stadium behind the South High field house.
The city hopes the rental drop will lure more organizations to use the stadium. The ultimate goal is to renovate the stadium and bring back high school football, McRae said.
rgsmith@vindy.com