WATERTOWN, New York (WWNY) – More than 6,000 rounds of golf have been played. Nearly 5,000 golf carts have been rented.
Between its opening on May 1 and July 9, Watertown’s Thompson Park Golf Course earned $236,472.21 in net revenue.
“What I’m amazed by are how many cars are in the parking lot in the evenings, on the afternoons, the weekends,” said City Manager Ken Mix.
Back in February, Mix made projections for the golf course for its first fiscal year, which was from its spring opening through June 30.
“The amount budgeted for revenue was $164,500. We did exceed that for the period ending June 30,” he said.
These numbers only tell half the story. Expenses like payroll and maintenance aren’t included in the report.
“There have been a tremendous amount of expenses going into getting the course to the point that it is right now when you factor in the repairs that had to be made, the electrical issues,” said City Council Member Sarah Compo Pierce.
“The more revenues we get, it hopefully lessens that net loss to the taxpayer, and that will not even take into account the initial $3.4 million investment,” said Mayor Jeff Smith.
An example of expenses listed in the May city manager’s report includes the Department of Public Works doing 640 labor hours of tree trimming and removal at a cost of $28,000.
Despite those expenses, Council Member Cliff Olney says he’s remaining cautiously optimistic.
“You give competent people the resources they need, and the investment into this becomes possible, and you can see the success of it,” he said.
Council Member Lisa Ruggiero says golfers have shown up despite some negativity over the sale.
“When you have income that is a lot more than expected, that’s pretty good, and it’s only the first year with the city operating it,” she said.
Mix says council should have a full report including a list of expenses next month.
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