Only cool heads will resolve the funding issue

Whether you golf or not, it’s likely you have an opinion about the Powell Golf Club — or, at least, about city funding for the golf course.

If so, you’re one of many Powell residents who are passionate about the issue. That is evidenced through repeated debates over funding for the city-owned course, and most recently, through results from an informal — and inaccurate — opinion poll about it on the Powell Tribune website.

While the average number of responses to Powell Tribune’s online opinion polls is around 150 votes, this week’s poll drew an astounding 26,798 responses as of press time Wednesday. Of those, 58.8 percent of the votes were for providing more city money for the golf course, and 39.4 percent were for closing the course. Votes for the other three options listed in the poll were minimal: 1.4 percent for for more private funding; 0.3 percent to revise the rates and 0.1 percent for finding more budget cuts.

Those five poll options were chosen because each has been expressed by city officials or others when discussing golf course funding.

While it would be nice to think that every person in Powell took time to express their opinions on the matter, we know that’s highly unlikely. And, since Powell’s population is slightly over 6,000, it’s impossible that all 15,782 votes in favor of more city money were cast legitimately by golfers in Powell. It’s also highly unlikely that there are that many people outside of the community who have an opinion either way.

We also know that golfers were urged through a recent email from the golf pro at the course to cast their votes for more city funding. It was after that email went out that “More city money” pulled sharply ahead of “Close the course.”

It’s equally impossible that the 10,548 votes cast for closing the course were legitimate.

Obviously somebody — probably several somebodies — have been gaming the informal poll. In retrospect, we should have charged $1 for each vote in the poll; that could have raised more than the $25,000 in matching funds for the golf course.

In a much more scientific survey conducted by the city of Powell last year, the majority of respondents indicated they opposed more funding for the golf course.

But the Tribune’s opinion poll reinforces one truth: People are passionate about golf course funding, for or against.

Let’s look at some other truths:

• A golf course is seen by many as a necessity to attract entrepreneurs and successful professionals, thereby aiding economic development in a community.

• Golf is seen by others as an elitist sport in which only the well-to-do generally can participate, and therefore, they say, not worthy of public funding.

• The Powell golf course is owned by the city. Several other city-owned courses in the Big Horn Basin enjoy a much higher rate of city investment.

• Much of the Powell City Council’s frustration over providing funding for the golf course is the fact that the council has little say over how the money is spent. Council members are particularly concerned about the fact that debt incurred years ago by the club is ongoing, and that it consumes funding needed for operations. The council’s request that the golf club raise $25,000 in matching funds to help retire that debt seems entirely reasonable.

If the city and the club management can continue to work together to get the club out of debt, money provided by the city will go farther toward upkeep and promotion of the golf course. But the recent oppositional rhetoric does nothing to accomplish that. It simply fans the flames of contention.

We urge golf club leaders and the city council to keep cool heads and work jointly to overcome these problems to ensure the golf course remains a viable community asset instead of a financial drain.