Following a work session, the Storm Lake City Council on Monday decided against amending fees at the Sunrise Pointe Golf Course after a request was made to do so last month.
At the July 18th council meeting, Craig Boyd, who is a member of the Northwest Iowa Senior Golf Tour, asked the council to waive trail and back room rental fees at Sunrise Pointe, which acts as the City’s municipal golf course. Boyd said they haven’t had to pay trail fees at any other course they’ve played at over the years. The senior women already decided they weren’t going to play in Storm Lake any longer due to the fees, and Boyd said the men were threatening to do the same.
City Finance Director Brian Oakleaf said he can’t envision a scenario where the council would waive the trail fee for one specific group…(audio clip below :15 )
All of the council members agreed that the fees need to be consistently enforced. The council does have the option of giving control of certain fees to third party management.
Northwest Iowa Senior Golf Association president Tim Frederiksen said the senior women and men not coming to Storm Lake would result in a four-thousand dollar loss each summer…(audio clip below :24 )
Council member Tyson Rice said he’s spoken with one local member of the tour who doesn’t mind paying the trail fees at Sunrise, which only apply to those that bring their own golf cart. The trail fees cost ten-dollars per cart, or five-dollars per person if two people ride in a cart. Green fee discounts are offered for larger groups.