The National Trail Parks and Recreation District Board in Clark County will meet Saturday morning to decide whether or not to close one of the city's historic public golf courses. Springfield's 93-year-old Snyder Park Golf Course might be shut down due to budget cuts.
Like many other publicly funded golf courses in the Miami Valley area, Springfield's three municipally owned courses all brought in less revenue than what was paid to operate them with taxpayer's money. Parks Director Leann Castillo says the financial outlook isn't good for the city-owned courses.
"We are facing about a $350,000 reduction in our funding for next year and we need to find some way to cut that deficit down," Castillo says. "This past year, we lost almost $500,000 in our golf operations."
Castillo says the board has held work sessions to discuss how to trim the budget and the prevailing option was to close the Snyder Park golf course, since the other two share one location at Reid Park.
"I feel that having the other two at one location would be more financially feasible for us and it would also allow us to put our money and efforts into one location," she explains.
The Parks and Recreation District's golf operations has lost over $1 million the past three years and closing the Snyder Park golf course would save the district nearly $400,000, but as budget talks continue all three golf courses are at risk of closing.