Voters asked to approve new golf-course lease
Approval or denial of a new 20-year lease for Buffalo Hill Golf Course will be decided by Kalispell voters in Tuesday's election.
Since the first major land donation to the city in the early 1930s, Buffalo Hill has been operated as a public golf course. Today, Buffalo Hill covers 240 acres of public land between U.S. 93 North and Whitefish Stage Road.
The Kalispell Golf Association is seeking private financing for $1.5 million to $2 million of deferred maintenance projects and upgrades at the facility. But lenders want a guarantee that the association will have stewardship over the property longer than the eight years left on its current lease.
Rather than simply extending the length of the current lease, association officers, including General Manager Steve Dunfee, worked with City Attorney Charles Harball to negotiate new lease terms.
Although legally not required to do so, the City Council decided to put the lease up for a public vote.
The lease details how much the Kalispell Golf Association pays the city for use of the course each year. Fees are the same as in years past.
The lease calls for a minimum $13,000 annual fee, or more based on a sliding scale indexed to profits from the golf course operation.
If the three-year rolling average gross receipts exceed $750,000, the lease payment is 2 percent of gross receipts. If it exceeds $850,000, it's 2.5 percent.
In June 2009, ending the 2008-09 fiscal year, the golf course paid the city just under $25,500. In June 2008 it was $23,900. Since 1992 the golf association has contributed $3.5 million to the city through lease and other payments, Dunfee said.
The lease also includes a section that updates fees golfers pay to use the facility.
Other changes incorporate new stormwater drainage standards to comply with the city's new standards set by the state, and require golf representatives to meet with the city before Dec. 31 to draft a plan for protecting assets at the course.
Although the primary use is to be a municipal golf course, the city passed a multiple-use policy in March 2006 encouraging non-golf activities such as jogging and walking when it's closed for the season. Dunfee said the season typically starts around the end of March and closes on Oct. 31.
Frost conditions and irrigation times limit use to prevent turf damage and personal injury from spray from irrigation heads.
Skiing and sledding are allowed when the maintenance staff determine there's enough snow cover. Those days are posted as snowfall accumulates.
Dogs - with golfers or non-golfers - never are allowed on the course.
Nobody is allowed to use the course at any time of the year during the night, generally from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. in the summer, because of irrigation. Those hours change accordingly in the winter, with uneven terrain and unlighted ground presenting potential safety hazards.