A second 18-hole golf course will be closed for a portion of the summer after last week's POA Board decision. The Highlands Golf Course will close on July 10 for about 10 weeks, reopening at the end of September. Work on the collars -- the area around the greens -- was planned for 2018, but needs to be completed sooner.
The 18-hole Berksdale Golf Course did not reopen after the flooding in late April, however nine holes will open this month.
Golf Maintenance Director Keith Ihms received three bids for the Highlands project. The board accepted the lowest bid -- $293,500 -- from Professional Golf Services. The funds are not budgeted in 2017.
Sand from bunkers and greens has damaged the drainage around the collars, Ihms said. The sand also causes more winter kill. After the area is leveled and the drainage addressed, new grass, a hybrid Bermuda, will be planted.
The bunkers will be replaced using the same product that has been used successfully on the Country Club Course, Billy Bunkers said. Cart path repairs will also take place.
Because the collars must grow in, the work has to take place during the growing season, board member Jim Abrahamson reminded the board. It makes sense to do the bunkers and paths at the same time.
Meanwhile, the Highland's Clubhouse has been closed since the Mason-Dixon restaurant gave up its lease in January. The board agreed to renovate and create a snack bar in the building, leaving the large dining room for members' use. Several groups of card players and game players were displaced when the restaurant closed.
During the open forum portion of the meeting, Debbie Sorensen asked if the space for card players would be open while the course was closed.
General Manager Tom Judson explained that it would be a challenge to keep the space open since there was a cost involved to have a staff member out there. He suggested that Sorensen speak to him after the meeting.
Board member John Nuttall voted against the plan to close the course for the collar and bunker work, explaining that he believes it will mean closing the clubhouse as well.
After the meeting, Nuttall explained his concerns: The multi-purpose room was used during the Adams Tour tournament and the POA has agreed to let other golf groups use it as well.
"When I learned the POA was opening the snack bar/bar for golf groups and not recreation groups I tried to amend the plan to require staff to open the snack bar/bar to all members" he said. "There wasn't enough support on Board to do that."
But in spite of Nuttall's objection, the motion to close the course and do the work was approved.
A task force was appointed to consider Berksdale and the other "valley" courses, Chairman Ron Stratton said. Their first project will be to hire an engineering firm to conduct a hydrology study. The task force has two standing members, Judson and Abrahamson. They will recruit other members as needed.
Judson said that after the study is completed, decisions will not be made without input from the POA membership.
Another plan approved by the board will lower both Lake Avalon and Loch Lomond this winter. Avalon will be lowered so the POA can add a sandy beach at one end. Lomond was lowered last year so work could be done near the new Lakepoint Event Center, but property owners were not given time to plan their own improvements. This winter residents can work on their docks and sea walls while the POA dredges silted areas and repairs the ramp at Stonykirk.
Stratton reminded the board that they are accepting applications for a new member to replace Andrew Davis, who resigned due to personal issues. The new director will serve until the May elections.
General News on 06/21/2017