Royal Oak Gives Golf Course One More Year
(Crystal A. Proxmire, Feb. 18, 2014)
City Commissioners voted 5-2 to continue negotiating with the manager of Royal Oak’s two golf courses, while agreeing to keep Normandy Oaks open for one more year while the city considers alternative uses for the land.
The golf course cost the city $96,000 last year as usage has been declining.  Normandy Oaks is half a mile away from Royal Oak Golf Course, which has nearly twice the traffic.
City administrators recommended closing Normandy Oaks, but Commissioners argued against it.  Commissioner David Poulton said he wanted more information, saying that closing it seemed “reactionary to me.”  He added “I’m concerned we’re being asked to make a quick decision on this issue. If it’s so important, the golf season ended last fall, why are we just talking about it now?”
The City could re-purpose the land for parks, trails, disc golf or other uses, but any sale of the property would require approval of voters.  A task force is planned that will explore the issue.
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