One of the things that has surprised me so far in the debate over selling Lakeshore Golf Course to the Oshkosh Corporation for their new headquarters is that no one at City Hall or on the Common Council has said “Oshkosh doesn’t need to be in the golf course business”. I don’t know if that is because everyone wants to cover their butts in case the Oshkosh Corp purchase falls through, and the City continues to own the course property. Comments like that would lead everyone to believe that the City would just walk away from operating the site as a course and leave it on the open market for another development purpose.
So if the City is really interested in continuing to provide a municipal golf course to residents as a recreation option, I’d like to suggest a new deal for the Oshkosh Corp: We will sell you the Lakeshore site for $1, if you are willing to build us a new municipal golf course.
You talk about a win-win situation for everyone! Oshkosh Corp gets the “WOW!” site that they are looking for at a price that no other city will be willing to match (except for the old Plexus site in Neenah–at least that’s what I’ve been told) while the current and future golfers of Oshkosh get a brand new facility to enjoy for decades. And since City Manager Mark Rohloff stated right here on WOSH that the sale of Lakeshore will not be used to pay off city debts–the loss of revenue from the sale should be a wash.
The American Society of Golf Course Architects down in Brookfield estimates a practical municipal golf facility can be built for $3-million. That is very close to what several real estate brokers here in Oshkosh have estimated the City should get for the 30-acres they are looking to sell for the headquarters project. The huge benefit for Oshkosh Corp is that instead of spending that on a land purchase, by gifting the new course to the City it becomes a tax write off. Yet another win!!
The big question is where to locate our new, donated golf course? I would suggest the area designated as the new Aviation Business Park near Wittman Regional Airport–since actual development of that site is likely on-hold forever–since the Winnebago County Board refuses to fund construction of a taxiway to the airport–which is kind of a requirement for an aviation business park to have if you are going to get any aviation-related businesses to locate there. Or, there are site near the City that could be annexed in after construction on the course is complete.
But what if City officials actually don’t want to be in the golf course business anymore–and no one has said it yet because “We must do everything we can to keep Oshkosh Corporation in Oshkosh” sounds more “bold”? Well, there is precedence for overriding that desire. I don’t think the City wants to be in the waterpark business either (dragging the School District into the mix by having to staff the facility during the summer)–but when the Leach family “gifted” us one, it would have made City Hall look bad if they had said “no thanks”.
So what do you say Oshkosh Corp–a little quid pro quo? You get Lakeshore and us golfers get to keep playing?
