Herb Wycherley, the chair of the board with the Osoyoos Golf Club, and board member Paul Daminato made a presentation to Town of Osoyoos council on Monday asking the Town to contribute $300,000 towards a project to upgrade the system that sprays millions of gallons of effluent at the local golf course. Daminato pointed out the immense positive economic impact the golf course has had in this community over the past 45 years. Council said they would consider the request as part of upcoming 2018 budget meetings. (Richard McGuire file photo)
The board of directors with the Osoyoos Golf Club has asked Town of Osoyoos council to contribute $300,000 towards complete upgrade of the watering system for the original nine holes at the current Park Meadows course.
During a presentation to Town council on Monday, board member Paul Daminato and new board chair Herb Wycherley detailed how the Osoyoos Golf Club has since 1980 been using effluent from the Town’s treatment ponds.
An initial pricetag of $1.58 million to build a new watering system for the original nine holes can and will be reduced significantly, said Daminato.
An estimated 150 million gallons of effluent is used for irrigation by the golf course annually and Osoyoos Golf Club is the only golf course in Canada that uses effluenct for 100 per cent of its course watering, said Dominato. Because the piping system installed on the first nine holes that opened in the early 1970s is so old, it’s falling apart and needs to be replaced, he said.
“The entire nine holes is at risk if there is a major system failure,” he said. “The greens cost approximately $25,000 apiece to restore … and the entire course could be out of service for four to six weeks.”
The current piping systems used to water the other 27 holes at the course are satisfactory and the board doesn’t believe they will need to be upgraded any time soon, said Wycherley.
A new system to water holes 1 to 9 on the current Park Meadows course would be much more efficient and would allow for an additional 60,000 gallons of effluent water to be used daily, said Daminato. An engineering design has been completed with initial pricing and design revisions completed at a cost of $1.58-million, he said.
The board believes cost savings of $330,000 from that figure are achievable. The board is also exploring further design revisions, possible phasing options before sending out again for re-pricing, exploring numerous grant opportunities and exploring club and membership financing options, he said.
“We are requesting the Town consider funding of $300,000,” said Daminato.
The board has decided to continue with the existing effluent system until final pricing and funding is in place sometime in either 2018 or 2019, he said.
A recent 2014 study indicates that the economic impact of the game of golf in Canada is substantial with more than $14 billion contributed to Canada’s Gross Domestic Product and Canadians are involved in more than one million trips involving golf, resulting in more than $2.5 billion spent annually on golf-related travel and on-course spending.
The economic benefits in this community are equally as impressive with more than 60,000 rounds played annually and the Osoyoos Golf Club having an annual payroll in excess of $1 million, he said.
The club has average 480 members over the past five years, with an average of 22,000 green fee players visiting the course over that same time period, he said.
There are 175 groups who visit Osoyoos each year specifically to play golf at Osoyoos Golf Club and 14 annual tournaments that attract hundreds of visitors who spend big dollars on accommodation and food, he said.
There are “stay and play packages” with nine hotels in Osoyoos and the club has a working relationship with six tour operators as well as cross-promotion and advertising with numerous local partners, he said.
Many people who have chosen to retire in Osoyoos do so in large part because of the golf club, he said.
The Osoyoos Golf Club has had a wonderful working relationship with various town councils and municipal leaders since the early 1970s “and we look forward to a continued successful partnership in the future,” said Daminato.
Coun. C. J. Rhodes said using effluent to water a golf course “was ingenious back in the day and it still is.”
Using the effluent from several large storage pond to water the golf course has also allowed the Town to save millions of dollars in costs relating to constructing water treatment facilities and not having to disperse huge amounts into Osoyoos Lake, he said.
The original pricetag of $1.58 million to upgrade the watering system for nine holes “is just a staggering cost” and asking for $300,000 in local taxpayer money is something council must take a long look at before any final decision is made, said Rhodes.
Coun. Jim King pointed out that not being able to disperse huge amounts of effluent onto the golf course could lead to serious infrastructure issues within the Town and this must be considered in looking at this request.
McKortoff told Daminato and Wycherley that their request for the $300,000 in funding will be discussed during upcoming 2018 Town budget meetings.
KEITH LACEY
Osoyoos Times
