Councillor wants golf course sale proceeds put back into parks

Coun. Iain Angus says if the Thunder Bay had to sell Municipal Golf Course, at the very least it should reinvest the $650,000 purchase price into existing city owned parks.

Angus put the challenge out to fellow councilors on Tuesday, a day after the sale to Bruno’s Contracting Limited was made public. It was one of four expressions of interest entertained by the city after closing the course after the 2013 golf season.

Angus said he plans to bring the matter forward on Aug. 25, the next scheduled city council meeting.

In a release, he said that under the city’s 18-year-old land development policy, all proceeds from the sale of park lands are to go into the land development fund and used for either land acquisition or development.

“Given the importance of maintaining a healthy inventory of parkland to meet the physical and psychological needs of the community, it is inappropriate to see existing park and recreation land sold and have the funds used for other forms of development,” Angus said.

He added that while administration is looking into the extent of the deficit in funding for park and recreational land, it is clear the decline is “significant.”