The Ramsey County Board of Commissioners have created & proposed a budget that would shut down operations @ The Ponds at Battle Creek GC in 2021 without feedback from residents, customers, local charitable benefactors or the City of Maplewood. Here's what you can do to help save it.
Help us communicate to the Ramsey County Board that golf operations at The Ponds at Battle Creek GC are a profitable, ecologically beneficial, valuable community asset that serves all ages, races, genders and income levels. Having a practice facility, First Tee program, and player friendly course, Battle Creek GC is also an essential "feeder" to ensure the long term financial success of all other Ramsey County Golf properties. The choice to shut down The Ponds at Battle Creek GC directly conflicts with the recommendation of their 2018 commissioned Golf Study and may based on incorrect or misinterpreted financial/customer diversity information and a short-sited vision which we desire to share through this website and social media. Alternatively proposed solutions (low income housing, community gardens, etc.) could also place additional tax burden on residents, pose threats to the land ecology & risk sacrificing this valuable Maplewood city asset that attracts 20,000+ customers (and $400,000+ in annual revenues) from many areas around the Twin Cities metro.
The Ponds at Battle Creek Golf Course fully embraces "Equity and Inclusion" and is committed to showing how this golf facility serves residents of all ages, genders, races and income levels. Golf is one of the few recreational activities that enable underprivileged individuals to advance their position in life through educational scholarships, employment (eg. teaching professional), grants, and life skills that prepare them to be more successful in life and business. Lowered cost, scholarships and fee opportunities for residents to play makes this a place where "All Are Welcome". You will find few golf facilities around Minnesota as diverse as The Ponds at Battle Creek GC. As a First Tee facility, we embrace the core values of:
If The Ponds is closed, the First Tee program will be LOST as there are no other nearby facilities to accommodate. Through the First Tee and local school programs, The Ponds at Battle Creek serves over 700 local youth annually.
11/21/20 Update: The City of Maplewood is conducting a survey to gather feedback on what people would like to see happen with the property. The best thing all supporters can do right now is to let the City of Maplewood know that you'd like to see the Ponds at Battle Creek remain a golf course.
STEP 1: To view presentation from the November 19 Community Meeting on the future of the Ponds at Battle Creek property, visit https://bit.ly/3336KnZ
**STEP 2 - URGENT: To fill out the survey to share your voice with the City of Maplewood & Ramsey County, go to https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZVQ7VC3 **
To view the project website, go to https://www.maplewoodmn.gov/Ponds
Golf cultivates multi-generational and cross cultural relationships while teaching values needed for success in life. The First Tee program hosted at The Ponds at Battle Creek promotes these 9 core values: honesty, integrity, sportsmanship, respect, confidence, responsibility, perseverance, courtesy and judgment.
The decision to remove The Ponds at Battle Creek GC from the budget and shut it down was made without ANY feedback from the residents or longer term studies for ecological or resident impact. It appears to be motivated by the personal preferences of a few board members rather than based on accurate financial data and resident preferences.
Strong communities are built when healthy, affordable outdoor recreational opportunities are provided. Golf at The Ponds at Battle Creek GC provides that opportunity for thousands of people annually.
The Ponds at Battle Creek GC was PROFITABLE in 2018 and is having a record profitability YTD in 2019. The course followed recommendations proposed in the Golf Study and it is working. We only need more time to prove the sustainable financial viability (profitability) of the facility.
All we are asking is for Ramsey County leadership to allow time for more careful planning as not to negatively impact area residents, share accurate data (eg. financial records for Ponds at Battle Creek) and respect the input from the residents of Ramsey County and Maplewood who have invested 16 years and over $5 million into this now debt free and self sustainable property. The interests/recommendations of a few board members alone should not steer a major land/economic/cultural/financial decision without feedback from the residents. Even if a few board members don't like golf (the only justification if it is financially self-sustaining), they should not be able to remove it as a recreational option for thousands of residents who do.
Nearly 20 speakers at todays Public Hearing for the 2020-2021 budget at the St. Paul Courthouse in favor of keeping the course open! Thanks to all who attended & mark your calendars for the next public hearing on Tues, Nov 26 @ 6:30PM @ the Ramsey County Library. Below is the full speech transcript of SAVE Battle Creek Committee advisor Kevin Unterreiner. Continue to help by contacting your Commissioner and spreading the word with fellow Ramsey County residents to sign our petition at www.SaveBattleCreekGolf.com.
"Commissioners,
My name is Kevin Unterreiner and while I currently live in Eden Prairie, I lived in Woodbury when I first moved to Minnesota in 1994. To this day, I continue to enjoy the park and rec facilities in Ramsey County with friends and family including the golf courses.
Thank you again for your service. We know everyone is just trying to do what’s best for the community. And that’s exactly why so many of us are attempting to voice our concerns over shutting down the Ponds at Battle Creek Golf Course.
As the founder of TwinCitiesGolf.com in 1998, I’ve spent the past 20 years helping charities raise money for their causes through golf events and providing marketing and consulting services to golf courses to help them be profitable and better serve their local communities. I see every day the positive impact a local golf course can have on it’s community - especially juniors and families. I’ve helped promote and build up the junior and First Tee programs at Ponds at Battle Creek - which are among the best in the Twin Cities. I’ve also seen how how diverse the golfing population in the Twin Cities has become. I regularly attend the board meetings of minority golf associations such the Hmong Golf Association, Kenyan Golf Association and Chinese Golf Association to help them increase participation in their programs.
When I heard of the proposed closing, I volunteered to be an advisor for the Friends of Battle Creek who have organized the Save Ponds at Battle Creek campaign. Yesterday I read through the 1,200 comments made by the more than 2482 people that have filled out our online petition and will do my best to summarize their collective thoughts with my words to follow.
Personally, I love the stated vision of the 21st Century Ramsey County with the vision of Equality, Diversity and Fiscal Responsibility. All individuals, businesses and government should be striving for that. Our goal is to show you how keeping the Ponds at Battle Creek open will actually help you achieve those stated goals.
We understand there may be ways you can make more money with those 35 developable acres that sit on the existing ponds at Battle Creek golf course.
We understand Ramsey County needs more affordable housing.
We know that 16 years and over $5 million of the county taxpayers money has been invested into that golf course.
We know that the early burden of initial jail labor staff expense, the recession and loss of government grants made the initial Enterprise Fund attempt unsuccessful.
We understand that many people think golf is - as Commissioner MatasCastillo stated this week “a sport primarily played by people who are older, whiter, and wealthier”. And while that is still true for expensive private country clubs, it just isn’t the case at The Ponds where we estimate nearly 40% of patrons are juniors or ethnically diverse. In reality, facilities like the Ponds are the only hope of underprivileged or lower economic status people learning and playing the game. This is a game that gives juniors especially the chance to learn life skills and maybe even a college scholarship or career path. If you close the Ponds, you only contribute to golf becoming more elitist and deprive many from the opportunity to learn, play and benefit from this wonderful game of a lifetime.
In reading through responses from the Commissioners on the motivating factors for wanting to close The Ponds Golf Course, there seems to be 2 main reasons: #1 it would be an ongoing expense and #2 it doesn’t match the vision for Equality and Diversity.
The great news is that The Ponds at Battle Creek Golf Course is now debt free, profitable and self sustaining. It’s been voted the Best 9 Hole Golf Course in Minnesota. Now profitable, it can actually support itself AND contribute revenue to other non-revenue generating Ramsey County recreational facilities like parks, hiking & bike trails, beaches, playgrounds and dog parks. To discriminate against a golf course because a portion of the population doesn’t golf doesn’t make sense given many residents don’t use the hiking or biking trails, plant gardens, go to the beaches or even have a dog or kids. Do we close down playgrounds because some residents don’t have kids or dog parks because some people don’t have dogs? They are still supporting those activities enjoyed by other county residents. We ask these questions out of confusion as to why golf is often discriminated against - especially when a course is a profitable entity.
Over 20,000 annual customers of all ages, races and income levels now use the facility. The facility will be profitable again this year while collecting over $400,000 income revenue for the county and employ more than 30 people. This is a treasured local recreational option for families uniquely provides an opportunity for juniors of low income to advance in life with skills and educational opportunities. This includes over 700 juniors annually impacted through programs coordinated through the course via The First Tee program and partnerships with local schools. The course offers free introductory clinics so it truly is accessible to everyone regardless of income level. If the Ponds closes, all that is gone. There is no where else for them to go - I personally called neighboring courses and their junior programs are full.
I’ve heard it stated that re-aligning the golf course portfolio will position Goodrich as the “entry level” course. I regularly play Goodrich - just hosted a golf event there last weekend with 70 golfers. Did you know that Goodrich doesn’t even have a driving range? With tree lined fairways and small, crowned greens the course is challenging even for skilled golfers. Plus they currently do 35,000 rounds a year and most days their tee sheet is nearly full. There is no room for juniors and beginners will not enjoy that course - it’s too hard and too busy.
Our concern with closing the Ponds is that it will remove the facility that best serves Equity and Diversity which is the stated vision of the 21st Century Ramsey County. Without a practice facility and beginner friendly course, the longer term success of the other courses is also threatened as fewer people in the area will take up the game. And if closed, during the remodel of the other courses there will be very limited options on where residents can play golf.
As shown on your August 13 workshop powerpoint, there are other developable acres available that could be utilized for your stated purposes of affordable housing or community gardens prior to the golf course property - including 38 acres across the road by the jail. I also noted that only 34 of the 88 acres on the Ponds current property are even developable so you’d be shutting down a property with only a 1/3 of it developable.
Our plea is that by closing The Ponds at Battle Creek, we are losing a valuable community recreational space that serves all ages, generations, races and income levels. As stated by one of the board members in the August 13 workshop, “As population density increases, the need for open recreational spaces becomes even greater.” If affordable housing was placed across the road first - say by the jail, the course could serve as a recreational option for those new residents. This approach would fulfill a need for more housing and increase business revenues for the course.
There are also a lot of financial unknowns with shutting down a course. Cost of repurposing? How many years it could sit empty while costing tax payers even more money? Maintenance during the rezoning period which can drag out for years. Reduction of neighborhood property values? Loss of local business owner income due to reduced customer traffic? Not to mention the loss of more than 30 jobs on that property.
We are asking for time to allow for “effective community engagements” - especially from the underrepresented populations. Many of the supporters of the course have asked why the initial decision to leave the course out of the budget was done without any community engagement by the residents whose tax dollars paid for the facility and whose families support the course.
In addition, there are ecological concerns including endangered bees, butterflies and watershed. Not to mention a gun range adjacent to the property. All things that should be considered carefully and that could block or greatly delay repurposing and actually increase costs and raise taxes to the Ramsey County residents while forever removing this local treasure.
Our more than 2,500 voices are asking for inclusion of The Ponds in the 2021 budget as part of a 3 year extension so that accurate financial, county resident & ecological impact can be calculated before it would be shut down forever.
This would be enough time to prove that the Ponds at Battle Creek is now a profitable, self sustaining recreational facility that matches your 21st Century Ramsey County vision and that it is a valuable recreational asset to Ramsey County residents.
Thank you for your consideration."
