The headline and first paragraph of this story have been changed from the original print version to better explain the Mayor and Council's decision to eliminate the RedGate deficit.
 
City's Operating Surpluses to Cover RedGate Deficit

The Mayor and Council voted unanimously to pay the deficit for RedGate Municipal Golf Course.

The Mayor and Council voted unanimously at their Sept. 20 meeting to use accumulated operating surpluses from FY10 and prior years to cover the RedGate Municipal Golf Course’s existing and projected FY11 deficits, together totaling nearly $2.4 million. With confirmation that this expenditure would not reduce the City’s General Fund reserves below the acceptable minimum of 15 percent of General Fund revenue, the Mayor and Council authorized the expenditure, including $1.6 million from FY10 operating surpluses, to eliminate an existing $1.7 million deficit and a projected $674,000 deficit for FY11.
 
They also voted 4-1 to move forward with a study conducted by the National Golf Foundation
that will identify options to improve management and operations and market the course. Staff expects to have a final report by mid-December.

Discussions about RedGate Golf Course and its ability to be self-supporting have been long standing.

The Mayor and Council heard a presentation on Sept. 13 from the RedGate Advisory Group, the RedGate golf pro and the RedGate superintendent on the many benefits of the high quality course and ideas for improving the course and its financial condition.

During their work session on Sept. 20, the Mayor and Council decided to pay off the current and projected deficit through FY11, using, in large part, funds available because of lower expenditures and higher revenues during FY10. During the Sept. 20 meeting, dozens of proponents of the course came out to speak in favor of keeping it open.

The course opened in 1974 and is a magnificently maintained and challenging course. For  much of its history, the course was self-supporting. But since about 2002, it has accumulated a deficit of about $1.7 million, which is projected to grow to $5.8 million in the next five years.

The Mayor and Council had a variety of options that were outlined for discussion on Sept. 20. The options the Mayor and Council considered in making a decision about RedGate included continuing to operate the course, with current City staff or through outsourced management, or close the course and convert it to another use.