I'm sure it's just a coincidence, but this ran in my local (Gloucester, MA) paper today:
http://www.ecnnews.com/cgi-bin/05/gtstory.pl?sec-News+fn-fn-fn-ggolfstudy-20060623-Dahlmer researching benefits to city of golf course By Danielle Clark
Correspondent
Fifteen weeks, 100 pages and a big fat "A" is where Ed Dahlmer's research project has taken him so far, and that is only his first draft.
The 47-year-old is back in college after putting off the completion of his degree to start a family, and as a tax-paying resident of Gloucester, Ed Dahlmer knew of the city's financial problems and from past proposals that a municipal golf course might be one way to generate new revenue.
He also knew that no one had ever done an in-depth study on the possibilities of building a golf course in Gloucester. Dahlmer thought his senior thesis for his bachelor's degree in business administration at Endicott College in Beverly was the perfect opportunity to delve into the idea.
"I wanted to do something that would benefit someone or something and not just be a waste of time," said the senior sales support staffer at Varian Semiconductor Equipment Associates. "And the city really needs a source of revenue."
The idea of a municipal golf course has been putted around Gloucester for years.
Just last year, then-Ward 5 Councilor Edward St. Peter said a public course on the land between Route 128 and Kondelin Road
could produce a dependable revenue stream of at least $400,000. Nothing came of the idea as St. Peter lost a tight race in November to Walter Peckham as councilor of Gloucester's largest ward.
Peckham questioned whether the time is right for a municipal golf course.
"Right now we need to be looking at our current sources of revenue," he said "Like the waterfront and cleaning up our beaches."
Dahlmer said his research has used more conservative numbers and finds revenue will probably not be as high as $400,000, at least in the first few years.
"I don't want to overestimate the amount of money that would come in," said
Dahlmer, who based a lot of his research on "Building a Practical Golf Facility" by M. Hurdzan and many interviews. He estimated a 9-hole course would cost the city $3.75 million and generate $100,000 a year in net profit until the loan is paid off, and then he estimates it would increase to $325,000 a year, not including any grants the city might take advantage of.Dahlmer identified the same land St. Peter had suggested near Kondelin Road, from a December 2005 map for future development created by the city. The city engineer's map found the land, which is near Cape Ann Industrial Park, to be 139 acres. Dahlmer said a minimum of 140 acres is needed for an 18-hole course, making the land ideal for a 9-hole course.
"Basically," he said, "at the end of the day would you rather see a golf course on that land or an industrial park?"
Peckham said he believes the city already owns most of the land and is already working with Kondelin Road businesses to expand the area. He is worried the golf course might be constructed on a watershed and access to the land might be difficult.
"How are people going to get to this area?" he asked. "Coming off the highway or what? I don't know."
Possible construction of a golf course also raises the question of protecting natural wetlands and wildlife in the area that might be destroyed. But Dahlmer said the area can be protected if the course is created on the environmental principles created by the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America and certified by the Audubon Society.
"Naturalistic golf courses can even require less pesticides and other things that can be hazardous to wildlife," he said.
The only golf course in Gloucester is the private 18-hole Bass Rocks Golf Club. In Rockport, the Rockport Golf Club, a 9-hole, semi-private club, assigns tee times for the public only when slots are left open by its members.
Stephen Clayton, golf professional at Rockport, said when the club is open to the public there is a fair number of nonmembers who head to the fairway.
"I would say people in this area would most likely be interested in a public golf course," he said.
Dahlmer has begun a survey to gauge interest in a golf course.
He has received more than 100 of the 300 responses he said he needs.
Dahlmer is a golfer himself but said he plans to let the research speak for itself. When the work is finished, he plans to present it to the mayor and City Council.
Peckham, a non-golfer, said he is looking forward to the information.
"I'd like to see his research, and I congratulate him on doing it," he said. "We've always heard different angles — good idea, bad idea — but there has been no research, — that's what we need. We might find that it is something that will be on our radar screen a lot sooner than we think."
Dahlmer said if a golf course isn't the answer, the city should pursue other creative revenue ideas.
"There are probably ideas out there," he said. "They just need to be pursued."
Fairways?
Should Gloucester build a public golf course? If you have an opinion, please answer the survey available at
http://express.perseus.com/perseus/surveys/1734848031/4bc0b2d0.htm