Close the golf course, not Kirkbride, a Stony Point resident says
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- October
- 30
At a recent Stony Point’s budget hearing, several residents spoke against the town’s proposal to close Kirkbride Hall in Letchworth Village to save taxpayers’ money.
Town officials have said that they would have to close the building because it has been costing the town about $50,000 annually for utilities.
One of residents told the Town Board that the town should close the Patriot Hills Golf Club instead of Kirkbride Hall because the municipal golf course is losing a lot of money.
Town Board members had to explain to the resident that the golf course appeared to be losing money because of its debt payment.
To purchase the land and build the course, which opened 2003, the town borrowed $21 million. The debt payment has been about $1.5 million every year. After the debt payment, the golf course operation has been breaking even, although this year, operation costs would exceed revenue, officials said. Taxpayers have been subsidizing the golf course, paying more than $1 million a year.
The irony is that even if the town shuts down the golf course, the town will still have to pay back the debt.
Town Board member Geoffrey Finn, who opposes the idea of closing Kirkbride Hall, said he believed that the town should sell the golf course and pay back the debt. But to sell it, the golf course would have to be active and nicely maintained, Finn said.
Still, those residents who support youth sports activities at Kirkbride Hall appeared to be perplexed by the fact that the town paying $1 million for the golf course while trying to close Kirkbride to save $50,000.
This entry was posted
on Thursday, October 30th, 2008 at 6:55 pm by Akiko Matsuda. 
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