BREC: Dumas will be closing or is it?

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As for golf, all three Greenwood Park proposals involve shutting down the 18-hole course at Dumas Memorial and leaving the 9-hole course at J.S. Clark open for play within the new plans.

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Wilson said BREC has to subsidize both golf courses to the tune of $600,000 a year due to poor use. BREC closed the golf course at Howell Park in 2015 for the same the reason. Dumas, a 200-acre course, only has 12,000 rounds of play last year, he said.

A course typically sees about 30,000 rounds of play a year. Dumas is also the most expensive to maintain, according to Wilson. "We don't have a problem subsidizing stuff that has a community benefit," Wilson said. "Golf is a private benefit so (public dollars) really shouldn't be paying anything that's not a benefit to the entire community."

The Dumas golf course was named after former-mayor president Woody Dumas, also a former Baker councilman, who's credited for spearheading the effort to build the course. If and when the course closes, Wilson said BREC plans to name something else within the park in honor of Dumas. As for the other course, the three preliminary plans for Greenwood Park include options for a 9-hole golf course with various amenities, depending on themed model. Those various amenities include driving ranges, a 18-hole mini golf course and/or 9-hole disc golf. "While this part of the plan, until we get money to do the things that could potentially replace Dumas, it’s just a plan," Wilson said. "I don't want people to think we're closing (Dumas) tomorrow. We'll continue to play golf there until we have the money to move forward."

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