Eighty-two per cent golf course
lease discount considered by city
Northern News Services
Friday, July 31, 2015
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
City council could decide next month whether to grant an 82 per cent discount for five years on a lease fee for a proposed golf course near Grace Lake.
Arctic Farmer operates a sod farm in the area and hopes to convert the fields to a grassy seven-hole green that would be open to the public.
It would be adjacent to the proposed Grace Lake South subdivision and have a larger area than the company currently leases.
Councillors considered a range of recommendations related to the subdivision's design Monday at a council meeting, including one suggesting the lease for the golf course be capped at $10,000 per year.
Leases on city land used for a commercial purpose are five per cent of the assessed value. The land is assessed at $1,129,250 which would mean a lease fee of $56,500 per year without the discount.
"Given the initial start-up costs, site maintenance/operational costs, and limited annual revenue, the applicant has indicated this lease fee is not commercially viable and requested a reduction," the city report to council states. After five years, council could re-evaluate whether to extend the discount.
Property taxes would still be incurred.
Councillors were generally in support of the recommended lease, though several asked why the five-year reduction couldn't be extended for the life of the 30-year lease.
"There's no way you can build a golf course with a surety of only five years," Coun. Bob Brooks said.
The Yellowknife Golf Club off Highway 3 pays a lease fee to the GNWT but does not pay property taxes to the city.
"I think the golf club has gotten a pretty good deal over the last 65 years," Darwin Rudkevitch, owner of Arctic Farmer, told reporters outside the meeting.
According to the city, the company pays $2,000 per year for the sod farm lease.
He said that without a reduced lease fee, the proposed operation wouldn't be worth the effort to get started. The course would have grass, unlike the sandy Yellowknife Golf Club.
He believes there's a sufficient market for a second course in the city, which would include a club house with a bar and restaurant.
"I think a lot of Yellowknifers are excited about that project," Coun. Phil Moon Son said about the golf course.
