An air of inevitability hung over the standing-room-only crowd at Thursday's final meeting before Omaha decides the fate of Fontenelle Golf Course.
About 70 people packed the basement at Edmonson Recreation Center. Most advocated that the course stay open.
“I'm tired of walking into meetings where decisions have already been made,” said Willie Hamilton of Black Men United. “This park means so much to this community, and you all basically are saying ‘Eighty-thousand is the key, and we don't care what you think.' ”
Reports from the city indicate the nine-hole course at 48th Street and Ames Avenue has lost between $80,000 and $110,000 annually in recent years.
City Councilman Ben Gray, who represents the neighborhoods around Fontenelle, said the future isn't promising.
“Keeping golf at Fontenelle is going to be a serious challenge,” Gray said. “I have been honest and upfront with you: We cannot continue to subsidize golf.”
The city will decide the course's future in two to three weeks, said Brook Bench, acting parks director. If the course is closed, it will be immediate.
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The odds favor a closing:
» Golfers' use of Fontenelle continues to drop.
» Financial losses at Fontenelle drain money from other city golf courses.
» Significantly enlarging the lagoon could help the city meet a federal stormwater mandate.
» Two other public golf courses are within 1.5 miles of Fontenelle: Benson and Miller Park.
John Condon, who founded the Omaha Public Golfers Association, said if money is the sticking point, then the city will have to close all of its nine-hole courses.
“This is a dangerous precedent,” he said.
A handful of people spoke in favor of converting the course to a full-service park, including Todd McGruder, president and chief executive officer of Edmonson Youth Outreach Center.
“I'm not opposed to golf, but we have a perfect opportunity to broaden the uses of the park,” he said. “That's everybody's park, not a golfer's park.”
The city last year hired Big Muddy Workshop Inc. to take public comments on the park and develop possible uses for the land.
John Royster, a landscape architect with Big Muddy, said if the course is closed, the city this year will:
» Tear down the chain-link fence around the course.
» Complete a 1.3-mile walking trail around the park.
» Begin stocking the lagoon with fish.
» Install picnic tables.
» Convert the pro shop into a youth center.
» Start plans for a disc golf course.
Golfer Judith Rhodes said the city let the course fall into disrepair.
“That's why people don't go there, (the city) didn't keep it clean,” she said.
The parking lot next to the course has become a “campout for people who sell drugs,” she said. “Our Police Department watches it and doesn't even care. I'm here to say, ‘Save Fontenelle.' ”
Contact the writer:
402-444-1102, nancy.gaarder@owh.com
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