Call for public debate on golf course future

In the April 15 Echo a letter from a land use attorney and avid golfer, was published that was intended (it appears) to spread misinformation in such a way as to prevent the citizens of Leavenworth from discussion of the long term future of one of its most beautiful and valuable assets – the golf course. The letter was laced with language like: “preposterous idea”, “destroys a publicly owned community asset”, “short-sighted money grab”, “should be rejected out of hand”. 

Unfortunately, the letter gave little in the way of accurate information about the golf course, the context in which the discussion came up, the time-lines, & trade-offs in terms of costs and economic benefits to the whole community, etc. Too many distortions to list here, but key to understand: the discussion is NOT driven by affordable housing. There is no “plan” to “destroy” this incredible asset – that stretch of the river and woods has been an asset to the valley for thousands of years, no? Only since 1923 has it been locked behind gates to the majority of the city’s (and valley’s) residents.

Yes, the discussion came up through the city’s quite public process of soliciting ideas, a RFI (request for ideas), on housing. The concept was submitted to the committee which recognized immediately that the discussion was way, way bigger than housing. Why? Because the members of the committee took some time to do some research and ponder a bit before reacting, like the author of the letter did.

Now to be fair, nearly every person I have talked to responds quickly, emotionally, and negatively to the concept of the golf course changing. Then they stop and think for a bit, look at some facts, think about the possibilities and trade-offs. Consider:

• Given the value of the property what is the economic return the actual owners (the citizens of Leavenworth) are receiving? (Spoiler alert, most, would say it is criminal the ‘owner’ is getting such a bad return.)
• Given the usage statistics, how many residents are actually benefitting from any access year around?
• What are the current and future impacts to diminished river flows from the thousands of gallons of water extracted annually? What will be the future impact to all citizens water bills if this commitment of water must be maintained?
• Do the techniques used to keep the weeds down and the grass green in our desert environment end up impacting the river water? What is the effect?
• What do water use and run off from the course do to fish populations, other wildlife?
• What is the actual historical significance of the land, how did it end up a golf course where restricted access is so counter the thousands of years it has played a role in the lives of people here without restriction?

Then consider:

• Could the riverfront multi-use trail and park settings expand from near the Highway 2 bridge on the east, all the way to the Icicle Bridge on the west – open year round to all citizens with no greens fees?
• Could the land values be leveraged to provide funding for the much needed year-round aquatic center?
• Would the residents of the city benefit from a mixed income, smartly developed neighborhood of required owner-occupied housing unlike the gigantic apartment complexes recently built by private developers?
• Could such an amazing transformation make the city overall more livable and thus attractive, perhaps slowing down the urban sprawl we are witnessing out the Icicle, Chumstick, & Tumwater? 

So, point is, why NOT do fact gathering, some education, have some open forums? The golf course is leased through 2034, so there is time to be thoughtful. Perhaps nothing changes, but certainly, before the asset is locked away for another 50 years to benefit a pretty small group, the owners (the citizens of Leavenworth), should have the opportunity to provide some informed input. If you want at least to learn more and perhaps provide input, let your City Council know. They haven’t voted to kill the conversation yet – but based on their study session on Tuesday that’s the real risk. 

Finally, let me just ask, if we were starting from a blank slate, looking at how to use the property, our precious water resource, etc., would we build a golf course?

John Agnew

Leavenworth