"The golf course was going to be the catalyst to turn the county around," said Jim Kuipers, Superfund technical adviser for Anaconda-Deer Lodge County. "The county has yet to see that turnaround."
Kuipers spoke at a gathering of local, federal and Arco officials aimed at identifying roadblocks to Superfund redevelopment. Discussions addressed expectations versus realities, with the Old Works Golf Course as the example.
But today, the course provides about 10 full-time jobs, hosts 20,000 rounds a year and surrounding lots remain undeveloped, Kuipers said.
"The Old Works Golf Course has not lived up to expectations in terms of driving redevelopment," he said.
Golf Course Authority Board members acknowledged Old Works has fallen behind some projections, but said it still has value as a recreational asset.
"The economic value to the community itself is probably difficult to measure," board member Bill Finnegan said.
The course is consistently busy with golfers from near and far. But initial revenue projections are out of reach with a short playing season and the need to balance profits with locally accessible prices, member Mike King said.
"The course tends to cover its expenses every year," he said. "There have not been substantial revenues left over. Golf courses always struggle to break even. It's the real estate sales around it that generate" growth.
County Chief Executive Becky Guay said there are people who come to the area, "see the golf course and say 'Wow, this is a nice place to live.' It's just not at the level projected in the 1990s."
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