Robert M. Dick
When I look at the draft Golf Course - Pine Centre Neighbourhood Plan it seems obvious to me that the land occupied by the golf course portion of the Prince George Golf & Curling Club (PGGCC) was included in the draft neighbourhood plan almost as an afterthought, no doubt at the behest of the PGGCC. It also seems clear that the add-on of the Pine Valley Golf Course lands was the sole result of directions from council that an 18-hole par 3 be included in the plan. Clearly the land that is driving the new neighbourhood plan is the regional commercial land and to some extent the arterial commercial land.
The most valuable land, for which there is probably some immediate use, is the land that adjoins Highway 97 and Highway 16. In fact Prince George Investments Inc., which owns the Pine Centre Shopping Centre, has apparently indicated the land on Westwood Drive which they acquired from PGGCC is not useful to them, and their future intentions are focused along Highway 97.
As a long-time member of PGGCC I have talked to a number of the members about the changing circumstances regarding the future of our club and it seems that many of them are no longer in favour of a sale of the existing golf course. They would rather see the board of directors of PGGCC concentrate their efforts on saving the existing golf course portion of the PGGCC lands and operations.
The subject line of this message is "Good Idea, Wrong Time." That phrase formed the headline of a 2009 article in The Citizen concerning the proposed performing arts centre for Prince George. That same editorial could have just as easily have been written about the proposed new golf course - a good idea at the wrong time. I now feel the same way about the proposed sale of the golf course lands to fund the purchase and construction of a new course elsewhere (for which I voted in favour). Having reviewed an appraisal by Colliers, the club voted overwhelmingly in November 2005 to sell the whole of the PGGCC lands for not less than $15 million.
Since that time much has transpired in regards to various offers to purchase and attempts to satisfy the city and proposed purchasers regarding the infrastructure costs demanded by the city and the density being demanded by the purchasers. We all know that the bottom fell out of the real estate and development market in the summer of 2008, which was not something that anyone could have predicted. This has had serious implications for the economics of the golf club as well. However, apart from the traffic studies and other infrastructure matters, the main presentation of this matter to the public was done in the spring of 2008. Much has changed since then, and I wanted to raise my concerns before council adopts this current neighbourhood plan.
I feel that a much downsized proposal would be worth considering, as it might satisfy a number of concerns.
I want to urge the mayor and council of the City of Prince George to revise the draft neighbourhood plan to exclude the golf course portion of the PGGCC, and to only include the lands adjacent to the two highway corridors at the present time. That is to sa, PGGCC and the proposed purchasers, if any, should request the city to only include the present driving range, clubhouse, machinery buildings and duplex in the lands included in the city's present neighbourhood plan in determining the infrastructure costs and densities.These are apparently the lands that have the most value and potential for development in the immediate future. According to the city's presentation, the rest of the PGGCC lands have been stated to be for development some decades into the future.
Correspondingly, the only portion of the PGGCC lands that are crucial to the continuation of the golf course would be the current lands actually occupied by the golf course. Of course the club would need machinery buildings. If these machinery buildings could not be placed elsewhere on the golf course lands (e.g. between the fairways on No. 2 and No. 4 and No. 16) then could consider relocating the machinery buildings to the area to the north of the 11th fairway and/or negotiate with the owners of the Pine Centre mall for a return of the triangle of land along Westwood Drive.
It is my suggestion that the draft neighbourhood plan be revised to omit the clubhouse and tennis court relocation uses, and that those portions of the lands be included in the regional commercial designation (which will greatly enhance their value to any potential purchaser from the PGGCC). This is the property that will likely be of most interest for future expansion by the owners of the Pine Centre Shopping Centre.
My strong views on this matter are a product of my desire to see the current PGGCC golf course maintained at its present very walkable and mosquito-free location in the centre of our city. My proposal is for the existing PGGCC golf course to remain in place, rather than the stated intention of the city to require a par-3 facility as part of the neighbourhood plan. I urge council to recognize that preserving a full-sized 18-hole course in the centre of town will have a larger impact on a larger number of people than preserving the existing par-3 facility. I would rather see the arterial commercial designation along Ferry Avenue moved across Ferry to the Pine Valley Golf Course.
I think the board of directors of PGGCC needs to shelve its future plans for a new golf course, and concentrate on trying to save the existing course by whatever means are necessary. Over the years the golfing segment of PGGCC has been the economic engine of PGGCC. The city has already conceded that it has an obligation to help curling survive in this city, whether that means moving curling up to the Kin Centre properties, or arranging for them to stay in the present location until market forces make a move more feasible. I do not agree that the PGGCC needs to be in the restaurant and catering business to attract members or to survive.
Trying to figure a way out of the PGGCC's current economic woes would be much easier if we stay in our current location and sell off only those portions of the PGGCC lands that are surplus to our golfing requirements. The board needs to concentrate on paying off its debt and reducing expenses until they are in line with its revenues. Sales of the driving range, clubhouse, duplex and machinery lands would go a long way to achieving this end. The city can still control the PGGCC's use of the sale proceeds from land dispositions by its restrictive covenant on the PGGCC lands.
The experts from Toronto who calculated the amount of money PGGCC would need to stay at its present location included a large sum of money for a new sprinkler system. Well, the fact is that PGGCC has been patching the existing sprinkler system for 40 years and can presumably continue to do so.
We have now shown that we can continue to play on the course after the beetle-kill trees have been removed, and indeed with current move to add some trees the course is not nearly as bad from a playability point-of-view as we were led to believe.
If PGGCC sells the driving range, it could consider reverting to the old driving range that used to exist alongside hole No. 10.
These are difficult economic times, and I understand that the number of golfers and golfing rounds is down everywhere. Possible bankruptcies are rumoured throughout the province at many prestigious courses. That being so, I do not think the board of directors of PGGCC can continue on with their plan to build a new course. It seems to me they should retreat from their grand scheme of a new course. Instead they should direct all of their efforts to figuring out a way for us to stay afloat at the current location. They should sell whatever land is commercially saleable along the highway corridors, get rid of the clubhouse and replace it with a burger bar or on-course cart, or whatever that can be shut down during the winter months. They can investigate raising the fees if the market will bear it.
The directors need to save our old course if they can now, and await a return of more buoyant economic times before they give any more thought to going ahead with a new course.
I think the directors need a new mandate from their members, and they should convene another special meeting or hold a referendum to determine the present wishes of the PGGCC membership.
I think that the current unprecedented downturn in the economy, and the beetle-kill driven uncertainty over our regional economic future, require that council of the City of Prince George and the directors of PGGCC revise the draft Golf Club - Pine Centre Neighbourhood Plan as suggested in this message lest their aspirations lead to the ultimate bankruptcy of PGGCC and the possible loss of all that it has achieved since the 1950's in this city.
