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Followers of Tri-Mountain Golf Course can breathe slightly simpler. The county-owned golf course will stay open via the top of subsequent yr — however with barely increased working prices for the county.
Clark County Council on Tuesday unanimously voted to increase its contract with Tri-Mountain Golf Administration LLC from the present expiration date of April 1, 2025, to Dec. 31, 2026. The contract extension features a 15 % price improve for 2025. Administration charges for 2026 will stay the identical because the 2025 charges.
Final week, Michelle Schuster, the county’s director of inside providers, confirmed that the Cowlitz Indian Tribe had pulled out of buying the golf course for the $3.6 million it initially bid. Though Schuster didn’t say why the sale was canceled, the tribe had beforehand expressed curiosity in shopping for the property with out the county’s covenant restrictions requiring it to proceed working as a public golf course. The tribe submitted an extra bid of $5 million that will have required all restrictions and covenants to finish after 5 years, however that bid was rejected.
The county had hoped to promote the property to scale back the continuing drain on basic fund revenues. Schuster beforehand mentioned the earnings the county receives from course charges, golf cart leases and different actions doesn’t cowl the working and upkeep prices for the property. She mentioned the property has $3 million in deferred upkeep prices alone that the county will finally have to handle.
At Tuesday’s assembly, Schuster mentioned the contract extension consists of an “option for us to end the lease 90 days early should we determine another course for the course.”
Extending the administration contract additionally aligns with the top date for the county’s golf cart lease settlement. Schuster mentioned if the council had ended the lease settlement early, the county would have been required to purchase out the rest of the contract.
The council has a number of choices for the property. It may attempt once more to promote the property with the covenant restrictions in place, search for a cheaper administration supplier, convey administration of the course in home, contract with one other authorities jurisdiction to take over the course, or promote the property with none restrictions.
“I’m glad to see there’s a buyout if need be,” council Chair Sue Marshall mentioned at Tuesday’s assembly. “We will be talking about this at some point in the next year or year and a half.”
