But in past years, there has been debate as to how important the course should be to the community, in spite of seriously-decreased rounds of play.

And - it has led to acrimony at City Hall. 

 

There are those council members who feel the course should be kept in as tip-top condition as possible.

 

And there are those who contend costs should be contained, as the course has operated in the deficit.

 

Both arguments are important, because Pebble Creek Golf Course is as much the personality of Becker as any other amenity.

 

Here’s where we stand.

 

Pebble Creek in the early 1990’s, at the zenith of golf popularity, had upwards of 50,000 rounds of golf each year. George Shortridge, the golf pro from Anoka, was a major attraction as he interacted with players and kept them signing up for rounds. Wednesdays, on mens club day, you had to drive to the far north end of the parking lot to find a place to park.

 

That isn’t so anymore - and  frugality must be a consideration in all operation or capital improvement ventures.

 

As a financial conservative, I find myself not supporting the capital improvements made to the course over the past two autumns. I don’t think the course will recoup their costs in additional play.

 

I hope in coming years, as the improvements continue, there will be a resurgence of activity and their cash register will ring louder.

 

But I don’t think so.

 

Troy Malo, golf pro at the course, will be releasing 2013 year-end activity and financial numbers in the future.

 

He’s positive about the things that changed at the course this year and the resulting financial situation.

 

Any enterprise fund borne by a municipal government should be money-making, or it is a burden on the many taxpayers who don’t use the facility.

 

But a contrasting attitude is that which the city has held towards the Becker Community Center, which has only survived with an annual injection of $400,000 to balance out deficit spending.

 

The biggest question for all to  answer - are these two community ventures providing enough upside to warrant tax injections?

 

We know Pebble Creek serves as a wonderful resource for local groups to hold charitable fundraisers. We’ve participated in many of them.

 

We need to know more about the positive side-effects of the golf course.

 

But we need first to learn about the bare numbers - through an audit conducted by an outside agency.

 

Showing that, the city can get on with establishing a course of action the community might not always agree with, but can understand.

 

As we suspect, no news usually takes on the form of bad news. And there have been those personalities out there who have seemed to enjoy the non-clarity.

 

Pebble Creek is a wonderful part of a wonderful community. But it needs to be cast in a light where it can be a coalescer, not a divider.

 

P.S. Back in Shortridge’s days, there were also issues of deficits. But he was hired as a golf pro, not a golf course manager. The council decided it needed a business manager - and George was sent packing.