BARRHEAD - The Paddle River Golf and Country Club (PRGCC) has seen better days, and the board hopes to get financial help from the Town of Barrhead to restore it to its former glory.
On Nov. 26, Deborah Porter and Calvin Bach led a delegation of about a dozen from the not-for-profit organization that operates the golf course, asking council to consider giving them $250,000 in operational funding.
The club's five-year business plan, from 2025 to 2029, included in the public agenda package, said, if required, the funding could be spread over three to five years.
Later in the meeting, councillors discussed the request for council's upcoming budget deliberation workshop.
The funding would support the course's operational needs, including course maintenance, equipment replacement and repair, tree removal and maintenance, revitalization of the clubhouse, and general operational needs.
The Paddle River Golf and Country Club is a semi-private, nine-hole golf course founded in 1951. It is located on 33.84 acres of Alberta Crown land adjacent to the Paddle River, on which the municipality holds the recreation lease. The municipality then leases the property to the golf course for $1. Under the terms of the recreational lease with the province, the property can only be used for a golf course.
"Over recent years, we have faced many challenges," Porter said.
She expressly referred to the pandemic, which forced the golf club to close for significant periods of a short season or limit operations and a shrinking membership.
Porter said the latter is due to what the board believes is a declining number of seniors in the community and people with less disposable income.
She also talked about the challenges the course has and continues to face, including aging equipment, failing to attract competent and experienced staff, replacing its water well and irrigation system piping, and repairing the clubhouse.
Porter and Bach also commented that to keep expenses down, the golf course relied on volunteer labour to upkeep its greens and landscaping, often to their detriment.
They added that the course's volunteer labour pool is also shrinking, partly due to age and burnout.
Porter also noted that coping with weather-related issues has been challenging in the last two years.
"The last two springs have been very dry, and we had no [water pump]," she said. "We've also had significant wind storms that resulted in several branches and leaves coming down, greatly impacting our course."
Bach added that many trees are also in poor condition and need extensive work; some need to be removed.
Coun. Dausen Kluin noted that the golf course's five-year plan mentions that they've applied for several grants and asked if any other grants were available.
Specifically, the five-year plan states that they received funding from the Canadian Emergency Business Account (CEBA), a loan program the federal government introduced to help businesses negatively impacted by the pandemic, and a County of Barrhead Community Policy grant.
Although the plan does not state the amounts, the board did not know that the golf club had repaid the CEBA loan.
"I'm not sure there isn't a grant we haven't applied for. We have a new secretary with a lot of experience in doing that," Bach said, adding they are always looking for new grants to apply for.
Coun. Ty Assaf asked about the staffing costs plan; more precisely, the estimated annual employment costs of $173,600 (taken from the five-year plan) included a licenced greenskeeper.
"[Licenced] or at least a third or fourth year]. Somebody with the right ideas to project what we want the course to look like and work towards that," Bach said, adding Paddle River hasn't had a professional greenskeeper for multiple years.
He added when he joined the board about six years ago, the Paddle River Golf and Country Club was in debt.
Bach said that to help bring the club back into the black, they reduced expenditures and used volunteers wherever possible.
"The members did the best they could, but they did not have the experience, knowledge, or expertise and over time, things deteriorated," he said. "Then, with our inadequate water supply this year, the course has gone downhill, and that's for sure."
Assaf said it was a lot for council to digest, adding they would need to discuss it further at their upcoming budget retreat.
Bach said he understood the position the golf course was putting council in, but added the facility brings a lot of value to the town, echoing what Porter had said earlier in the presentation.
"If we don't get something going and get reliable people now to make things better, we are just going to continue to struggle, and in two or three years, [our volunteers] are going to say we are not doing this anymore", he said.
Coun. Don Smith appreciated the efforts of volunteers who have maintained the course; however, the potential liability concerned him to no end.
He also reiterated Assaf's comment that Paddle River Golf and Country Club's ask was substantial and necessary for the council to contemplate.
"Council knows the value of the course," he said. "It is great to have two courses, a top-of-the-line course a few minutes out of town and one right in our community, but it is a discussion we need to have, and I'm not sure council will be able to promise you anything."
Mayor Dave McKenzie interjected that whatever council decides, it is just the start of the discussions.
"Council understands how integral the course is to the community, and I am sure there are lots of ways we can partner up," he said. "This is just the first of what I am sure will be many conversations. There are things that can happen here."
Barry Kerton, TownandCountryToday.com
