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Youngstown to spend $400K to replace irrigation system at muni golf course
EXCLUSIVE
YOUNGSTOWN
The city will spend up to $400,000 to replace the 79-year-old irrigation system at its Henry Stambaugh Municipal Golf Course with an automated one.
The reason is the current system is in poor condition with the city losing about 109 millions gallons of water through breaks and leaks at the North Side nine-hole course since 2005, said Mayor John A. McNally.
“We have too much water wasted, and the irrigation system has outlived its usefulness,” he said.
About 63 million gallons was lost between 2007 and 2009 – more than half of the water lost since 2005. That occurred when a valve broke dumping water into the sewer system that went undetected, said Water Commissioner Harry L. Johnson III.
“They’re having problems out there, and they are doing something to fix the problems so we don’t continue to have this unnecessary water loss,” he said.
About 1.3 million gallons of water were lost last year with the city spending $40,764 to fix various breaks in the irrigation system.
The city will select a firm shortly to design the new water system and serve as the project manager during construction, said Robert Burke, park and recreation director. The irrigation system is the only one ever used at the 84-acre city-owned golf course, he said.
“We have to fix the problem permanently and doing this will save us money and make watering the course more efficient,” McNally said.
The installation would begin in April, Burke said. He didn’t know how long the project would take to complete, but said the course would be open while the work was done.
The current watering system has park employees hooking up about 12 sprinkler heads at a time, which can be time-consuming as each hole needs five heads and it takes about 15 to 35 minutes for each hole, depending on the weather, Burke said.
The new system would be automated allowing the city to set a timer and water the entire course at the same time, he said.
“A new system would be more reliable, energy efficient, and cut down on labor costs and repairs,” Burke said.
The course usually opens near March 1 and closes Nov. 30 for the season, weather permitting, he said.
Meanwhile, the city will hire a golf-course manager after going a year without one, Burke and McNally said.
The city didn’t retain David Boos, its longtime golf manager, last year because of budget cuts, Burke said. Boos contended he wasn’t brought back because of a racial-discrimination complaint he filed in 2015.
McNally acknowledged not having a manager caused problems at the course with a number of complaints about its condition coming from those who regularly use Stambaugh.
“We need someone handling the day-to-day maintenance of the golf course,” he said. “It’s what people said last year and we’re listening.”
Burke added, “We got calls from golfers about the grass cuts, particularly the greens.”
The city uses seasonable part-time workers, paid minimum wage, to cut the course’s grass, and they did so last year without anyone experienced in how to do it supervising them, he said.
Like Boos, the person hired for the job would be an independent contractor, Burke said. Boos was paid $33,900 for the nine-month job. The person hired would be paid less, Burke said.
“The person’s main goal is to make sure the greens and grounds are cut properly,” he said. “That was our main complaint.”
The person would also give golf lessons, primarily to younger people, Burke said.