Lynnwood weighs golf course options

LYNNWOOD — The city’s parks director is pushing for Lynnwood to outsource its golf course operations to a private company.

The parks director, Lynn Sordel, says the move would save the city money and give the 18-hole, 75-acre golf course a chance to thrive.

City Councilmembers also could vote to close the course, or sell off or repurpose the property.

They’re scheduled to make a decision March 25, council President Loren Simmonds said Tuesday.

The city-run Lynnwood Municipal Golf Course at 20200 68th Ave. W. has been losing money for years. In late 2012, the state Auditor’s Office lambasted City Hall for reportedly mismanaging city money to buoy the golf course budget.

About 45 acres of the golf course property are owned by the adjacent Edmonds Community College. The college signed a long-term lease with the city decades ago.

City officials still are sorting out what the co-ownership means for their options moving forward, Councilman Mark Smith said Tuesday.

“There’s a lot more information we need before we can make a decision on what to do,” he said.

The golf course, which is supposed to fund itself, owes the city more than $1 million, city documents show.

The course has three full-time employees, in addition to part-time and seasonal staff, Sordel said. Its operations budget for 2013 is about $1.2 million.

At Monday night’s council meeting, Sordel presented a 29-page report regarding the golf course’s finances and history, along with local and national golfing trends.

The council expects to go into a work session March 11 toward the end of the council meeting, Simmonds said. The public will have a chance to comment.

Another council work session on the topic is planned for March 18, also with public comment. All those meetings are set for 7 p.m. at City Hall.

Sordel’s recommendation to seek outside management is in line with what’s happened in cities like Everett and Seattle, he said.

The golf course currently has to pay the city for support services such as human resources, he said. He thinks a private company could invest in improvements, marketing and promotions, and technology in ways the city can’t.

“We need that emphasis to grow our business. We’ve been stagnant,” he said. “We’ve come through the recession fairly well, but we need that push to get up that hill.”

Golf course revenues depend on green fees and cart fees, Sordel said. About 1.2 million rounds of golf have been played there over the past 22 years.

Lynnwood in December 2011 paid off the bonds used to finance construction of the golf course.

Rikki King: 425-339-3449; rking@heraldnet.com

View Lynnwood Municipal Golf Course in a larger map

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

A firefighter stands in silence before a panel bearing the names of L. John Regelbrugge and Kris Regelbrugge during the ten-year remembrance of the Oso landslide on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Oso Landslide Memorial in Oso, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Flood of emotions’ as Oso Landslide Memorial opens on 10th anniversary

Friends, family and first responders held a moment of silence at 10:37 a.m. at the new 2-acre memorial off Highway 530.

Julie Petersen poses for a photo with images of her sister Christina Jefferds and Jefferds’ grand daughter Sanoah Violet Huestis next to a memorial for Sanoah at her home on March 20, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. Peterson wears her sister’s favorite color and one of her bangles. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
‘It just all came down’: An oral history of the Oso mudslide

Ten years later, The Daily Herald spoke with dozens of people — first responders, family, survivors — touched by the deadliest slide in U.S. history.

Victims of the Oso mudslide on March 22, 2014. (Courtesy photos)
Remembering the 43 lives lost in the Oso mudslide

The slide wiped out a neighborhood along Highway 530 in 2014. “Even though you feel like you’re alone in your grief, you’re really not.”

Director Lucia Schmit, right, and Deputy Director Dara Salmon inside the Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
How Oso slide changed local emergency response ‘on virtually every level’

“In a decade, we have just really, really advanced,” through hard-earned lessons applied to the pandemic, floods and opioids.

Ron and Gail Thompson at their home on Monday, March 4, 2024 in Oso, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
In shadow of scarred Oso hillside, mudslide’s wounds still feel fresh

Locals reflected on living with grief and finding meaning in the wake of a catastrophe “nothing like you can ever imagine” in 2014.

Everett mall renderings from Brixton Capital. (Photo provided by the City of Everett)
Topgolf at the Everett Mall? Mayor’s hint still unconfirmed

After Cassie Franklin’s annual address, rumors circled about what “top” entertainment tenant could be landing at Everett Mall.

Everett
Everett man sentenced to 3 years of probation for mutilating animals

In 2022, neighbors reported Blayne Perez, 35, was shooting and torturing wildlife in north Everett.

The Washington State University Snohomish County Extension building at McCollum Park is located in an area Snohomish County is considering for the location of the Farm and Food Center on Thursday, March 28, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Year-round indoor farmers market inches closer to reality near Mill Creek

The Snohomish County Farm and Food Center received $5 million in federal funding. The county hopes to begin building in 2026.

Dorothy Crossman rides up on her bike to turn in her ballot  on Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2023 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Everett leaders plan to ask voters for property tax increase

City officials will spend weeks hammering out details of a ballot measure, as Everett faces a $12.6 million deficit.

Starbucks employee Zach Gabelein outside of the Mill Creek location where he works on Friday, Feb. 23, 2024 in Mill Creek, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Mill Creek Starbucks votes 21-1 to form union

“We obviously are kind of on the high of that win,” store bargaining delegate Zach Gabelein said.

Lynnwood police respond to a collision on highway 99 at 176 street SW. (Photo provided by Lynnwood Police)
Police: Teen in stolen car flees cops, causes crash in Lynnwood

The crash blocked traffic for over an hour at 176th Street SW. The boy, 16, was arrested on felony warrants.

The view of Mountain Loop Mine out the window of a second floor classroom at Fairmount Elementary on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
County: Everett mining yard violated order to halt work next to school

At least 10 reports accused OMA Construction of violating a stop-work order next to Fairmount Elementary. A judge will hear the case.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.