GOLF COURSE

Looks like another extravaganza is in the making!

This proposal is 56% lower in cost than the last estimate in May. It is surely an improvement. The clubhouse has been scaled back from 10,400 sq. feet to 3600. However, the cost for construction will be $478 per square foot, which includes a portion under covered outdoor space. Now that is austerity—at least as far as Mr. Abbate at Parks & Rec is concerned.

There is an additional $864,000 for landscaping irrigation, lighting, and parking for the clubhouse. The total estimated cost for a new clubhouse is $2,584,000. Living large!!!

Golf Course improvements to the Red and the White Courses, which are the nine-hole courses, would be $2,790,000 with the Pro Shop costing an additional $150,000. The total amount to be spent in the 2020 budget year would be $5,524,000.

In 2021, an additional $565,000 would be budgeted for exotic removals. Budget year 2023 has $875,000 for the Gold Course improvements and the same in 2024 for the Blue Course. The total, if there are no additional funds expended, would be $7,274,565.

What can one say? Recreation in Martin County isn’t cheap. You want to buy a hotdog at the beach? Create a restaurant. You want to take a swim? Build a water amusement park as if you were Disney. And if you want to play a round of golf, build Augusta. This is our mindset. This is bankrupting our County.

The Martin County Taxpayers Association came up with a plan to play golf, have a sandwich and a drink, a pro shop and a driving range. The renovation cost would have been paid by selling 9 of the 36 holes to the Airport Enterprise Zone. The airport would have had room to expand their light manufacturing space which, in turn, would have brought jobs and tax revenue.

Yes, this plan is much better than the one that was presented in May. It still has a long way to go. It goes back to what should government provide? A ballfield that rivals that of the St. Lucie Mets or a place for kids to learn to play ball? The ambiance of a private club or a place to play an inexpensive round of golf?

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