PANAMA CITY — Bay Dunes Golf Course will remain open for at least another couple of months after a decision by the Bay County Commission on Tuesday.
After hearing pleas from golfers of the course to keep it open, commissioners agreed to have the county operate the course for two months after its slated closing date Monday. They also directed a county Parks and Recreation advisory committee, along with county staff, to come back with a list of different options outlining how the course might be able to remain open after that.
The course at 5304 Majette Tower Road opened in the early 1990s after being built on top of a county landfill.
Tony Ray has been leasing out the course property since 2011, but county officials recently served him an eviction notice after he could not produce a bond the county required. Ray then sent county officials a letter stating he would be leaving on his own volition.
Commissioners on Tuesday talked about different ways to save money to run the course, including using inmate labor and having the golfers pitch in.
CountyCommissionChairman Guy Tunnell talked about a possible private-public partnership, where a private individual operates the course and the county maintains the property.
“We’ve got a lot of liability issues for the benefit of people using it and regulatory and environmental issues,” Tunnell said.
Commissioner Mike Thomas said he would like staff to research how much it would cost for the required $25,000 bond, which is less than the $100,000 bond the county initially was requiring. The evaluation to be conducted over the next two months would, among other things, look at how much it would cost not only to repair the course, but its ongoing operational costs, as well.
Thomas said finding a way to keep the course open “is not going to be quick or simple.”
More than 30 golfers, some clad in lime green Bay Dunes shirts, showed up to the commission meeting to urge commissioners to keep the course open.
Because the course sits over an old landfill, there are state requirements such as maintaining a cover over the landfill and having methane gas vents.
The county was not charging Ray to lease the land, but he was required to carry insurance and bonding and make sure environmental requirements, such as methane gas detection, were met. Assistant County Manager Dan Shaw said state environmental rules require maintaining the cover over the landfill.
“The cover appears to be OK. The methane monitoring system is not in good shape,” he said. “The buildings are supposed to have methane monitors in them. They don’t appear to be working, so there are issues with that.”
He said the county has learned from golf course experts that it would cost several hundred thousand dollars to bring the course up to “playability standards.”
But Carolyn Rossmann, who has golfed the course for five years, said the course is in pretty decent shape.
“Right now, the golf course is in the best shape that I’ve seen it in last two or three years now,” she said. “Granted yes, the golf cart paths do need attention, but the golf course itself, the greens, have been over-seeded. They are in really good shape, and they are looking pretty green and rolling true.”
She also noted the county would have to maintain the cover on the landfill and adhere to environmental regulations no matter what is on the property. “It’s not that that is an extra cost to you,” she said.
Popular with retirees: Golfers in the audience said the course is the only reasonably priced course in northern Bay County and it is popular with retirees who enjoy socializing there.
“Last year we lost Tyndall (golf course), and now we are in jeopardy of losing ours here,” Rossmann said.
Mac McKenney, who was among the golfers urging the commission to keep the course open, said this was a terrible time for the course to be closing.
“You know all the Canadians are coming into town,” he said. “This place every Sunday is chock-full. It’s a blow to our economy.”
He added that every Sunday different veterans groups play the course, and it is used for numerous charity fundraisers.
In other action Tuesday, the commission:
- Approved a resolution renaming a portion of U.S. 231 in Bay County to Allan Bense Highway.Bense is the former Florida House speaker and a Panama City resident. On Nov. 3, the Florida Department of Transportation requested the County Commission approve the resolution renaming the highway between the Jackson County line and U.S. 98 in Bay County.
- Approved keeping Tunnell as the chairman and Mike Nelson as vice chairman.
- Approved a $1.9 million maximum guaranteed price with GAC Contractors Inc. to develop the North Bay Booster Pump Station. The maximum price on the water project is less than the $2.2 million the county was expecting to pay.