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Regular City Council Meeting <br /> Monday,November 17, 2014 <br /> Page 7 <br /> Councilmember McGehee stated that she found that financing between the <br /> Maplewood and Shoreview community centers were very different; with the City <br /> of Maplewood offering lifetime memberships for initial contributors in building <br /> the facility, and asked that options such as that be included by the Commission as <br /> well. <br /> Cedarholm Golf Course and Clubhouse <br /> Chair Holt noted that the current clubhouse had been placed on the site in the late <br /> 1950's, and had more than exceeded its useful life. Chair Holt noted the need to <br /> determine how to plan for its replacement, as it seemed to be valued by the com- <br /> munity. In consideration of the City's overall budgeting, Chair Holt sought City <br /> Council input on how they wanted the Commission to approach this major issue <br /> and the information they wanted provided for their decision-making, whether the <br /> Golf Course remained as an Enterprise Fund or was funded similar to the OVAL. <br /> Councilmember Laliberte opined that Cedarholm was an asset to the community, <br /> while expressing varying degrees of willingness to pursue building a facility or <br /> making major repairs on the existing building given its age and condition. Coun- <br /> cilmember Laliberte expressed her interest in receiving the facilities utilization <br /> data, age, and demographics compared to state and national levels, whether pri- <br /> vate or public facilities. Councilmember Laliberte recognized the ebbs and flows <br /> of the industry, but sought additional information on where the Golf Course was <br /> on that bell curve of utilization compared to other trends and nationwide utiliza- <br /> tion. Moving forward, Councilmember Laliberte questioned if the Commission <br /> would feel comfortable developing a plan for how to continue promoting the fa- <br /> cility and expand or increase use beyond the status quo. <br /> Councilmember McGehee opined that she considered this a capital improvement <br /> program (CIP) issue versus an Enterprise Fund issue. Councilmember McGehee <br /> expressed her frustration with the Commission being fully aware of this need, as <br /> well as that of the skating center, and not including those needs as part of the sub- <br /> stantial amount of money allotted for CIP needs,but instead choosing to spend the <br /> money elsewhere. Therefore, Councilmember McGehee stated that she wasn't <br /> feeling very good about this issue, since she felt good about the existing park fa- <br /> cilities, and it was her understanding that those facilities would be improved and <br /> maintained; and further stated that she was hearing that from the community as <br /> well, that the new facilities being constructed were not what they had in mind ei- <br /> ther. Councilmember McGehee sought information on whether fees could be <br /> raised at the golf course to make the operation sustainable; and recognizing that <br /> the City of Edina recently closed a golf course, and not wanting that to happen <br /> here, she supported it as a good course for young kids and the elderly in the com- <br /> munity who were not semi-pros, but simply seeking a local community golf <br /> course. Councilmember McGehee noted the desire of the public to see the course <br /> well-maintained, and questioned why one of the park buildings could not have <br /> been located on the site to replace the club house and serve various functions. <br />