By a 5-2 vote, the Wichita City Council voted down a management agreement for the city's golf courses.
The city's park board had recommended the council approve a contract with KemperSports, a private firm who currently manages Sand Creek Station in Newton and multiple municipal courses around the country. The contract would have cost the city $200 thousand per year for 5 years.
Vice Mayor Becky Tuttle and Council member Bryan Frye were the lone yes votes on the measure. Frye said the city could not afford to lose more money as they have in the past. The golf system lost $315 thousand dollars in 2018. The following year, the city closed Clapp Golf Course.
The golf system has seen an increase in rounds played during the pandemic, reversing the trends of the past 20 years. Mayor Brandon Whipple said he is not sure that COVID alone accounts for the increase in rounds played and voiced concerns with the length of the proposed contract. Council member Brandon Johnson said he is going to “bet on ourselves”, meaning the city will find a way to make golf profitable without the help of outside management.
Golf experts do not believe that growth is sustainable without aggressive measures taken.
City Manager Robert Layton said participants in an online forum were overwhelmingly against a private company managing the city’s four courses.