The city is still looking for someone willing to take on Pine Valley and handle its extra baggage.
During tonight's meeting, city council will receive a staff report outlining administration's plan to start the search for a new golf course manager before the current contract runs out next spring.
Though owned by the city, Pine Valley is operated by an outside contractor who is responsible for maintenance and daily operation.
The city is paid a base commission fee from sales, but only after a certain amount of revenue has been earned.
A two-year contract was signed with GNR Management last year, despite the city's attempts to find someone willing to take the 18-hole, 3-par course on for a 10-year term.
But included in that decade would be the need to make the necessary capital improvements to the aging course, ranging from $750,00 to $1.2 million. This includes a new irrigation system, safety netting and putting in a driving range.
"The intent was that a longer contract period would provide more certainty for the proponent and encourage more investment for capital improvements from them," said the report by community services director Rob Whitwham.
The city only received one bid that met the overall criteria, but even that didn't include any meaningful investment, and "administration was advised by the proponent that it is difficult to obtain capital for financing given that the tenure was a ten-year lease," Whitwham's report said.
The new proposal is to get someone to sign on for a five-year contract to provide the course's management, operation and maintenance.
It's being suggested that agreement be made this fall, despite the months still left on the existing contract to allow "an operator to successfully market the course for the 2016 golf season."
Last year, the city didn't receive any money from Pine Valley since sales never reached the benchmark required for the operator to pay commission.
In 2014, 12,286 rounds of golf were played at Pine Valley, down from 13,977 in 2013. In 2004, more than 36,000 rounds of golf were played.
During core service review-related discussions about selling the course, members of council cited declining interest in golf overall.
Numbers at Pine Valley may also be going down because of the loss of the driving range in 2003 and the loss of the course's trees, said the staff report.
A telephone survey conducted last year as part of the community recreation services plan identified golf as the second most-popular outdoor activity for seniors and among the top five in which the city has a direct role.
