Content area
Full Text
Some golf experts and former patrons say the $1 million in state funds going to revamp the Fort Benjamin-Harrison golf course is being used to fix something that wasn't broken.
Teed-off military personnel and golf managers call the state's decision to redo the entire course using state funds a waste of money.
"That was the biggest fiasco I've ever seen in the recreational industry," said Ron West, owner of Royal Oak golf course in Greenwood and manager of two city courses.
"That golf course was a great course. The only thing it needed was some tender loving care."
Instead, the course is getting a facelift. Golf holes have been replaced by mounds of dirt and machinery as all 18 holes are redesigned.
The price tag on the project is about $5.9 million. That includes $2.4 million the state spent to buy the course from the military. State officials say none of the money is coming from taxes. The state will sell bonds to fund most of the project. The principal and interest on the bonds will come from course revenue.
The remaining $1 million for the project will come from the Build Indiana Fund, which is made up of profits from the Hoosier Lottery.
Build Indiana money is used for public building projects voted on by state legislators. Some legislators say the money should have been used for other projects. In 1995, Build Indiana funded 60 projects worth $46 million.
"I think that the...