The Minneapolis Park and Rec Board approved a controversial $43 million plan on Wednesday night to revamp a golf course near Lake Hiawatha that will cut the course from 18 to 9 holes.
The vote, which passed 6-3, comes after years of failed attempts to address environmental issues caused by a number of issues, including flooding and garbage.
A number of people addressed the Minneapolis Park Board ahead of Wednesday's vote.
"I walk by it every day and I see all the garbage and debris that flows into where my kids play, go to school, and go to the parks," one woman said. "The opportunity to expand, clean-up the park, and make it more diverse and accessible to youth and players would be extremely beneficial."
Proponents of this plan say it will make the space environmentally balanced as the Park Board currently pumps more than 400 million gallons of groundwater a year out of the course to prevent it from flooding.
Other believe the plan will take access to golf away from Black Minnesotans. The course's history includes Solomon Hughes, who helped integrate the course in the 40s. The clubhouse is named after Hughes.
"A reduction of holes limits tournament play and detracts from the Hughes Golf Academy, and equal access to a full golf course," Solomon Hughes Jr. said. "It also reduces a championship golf course that's been available to the community since 1930."
More about the vote is expected to be released Thursday.
"I do sincerely apologize. This has been very difficult," board superintendent Al Bangoura said after the vote. "I support this board. I support the work that the staff had done. I support the community's work, but I also understand the real challenge around this and the very difficulty around this"
