A special request for funding from the Powell Golf Club turned into a lengthy discussion Monday between the Powell City Council and Pat Day, president of the club. 

Every year, the council considers special requests from non-profits, the Powell Economic Partnership, and the golf course. 

The council ultimately approved $75,000 for the Powell Golf Course. The only direct allocation the course receives from that total special request is $15,000, which can be used for whatever is needed, including salaries and supplies. 

Another $30,000 was approved for asset purchases, which could go toward equipment repairs or replacement, if needed. That money comes from the course’s capital fund.  

Day also requested another $20,000 in funding from the city to match dollar-for-dollar against any donations the club raises toward improvement of the golf course, which is a city-owned facility. This is an annual request. The donations and the city’s matching dollars go into the course’s capital fund.

For example, if the Powell Golf Club raises $20,000 in donations, the capital fund will receive $40,000. During the fiscal year, if the course uses $5,000 for equipment repairs, then the capital fund will be $35,000 higher by the end of the fiscal year.  The fund currently contains $64,500. 

Some more please

Initially, the club requested $20,000 in matching funds. At the budget work session, however, Day asked the city to raise the total matching amount by $10,000. 

Earlier this year, the Moyer Foundation approved a passthrough grant of $9,717.70, toward the purchase of a filtration system that will improve the overall irrigation of the course. This award will be made available to the course sometime after July 1, Day explained. 

This donation will put the course nearly halfway into the funds the city will match for the coming fiscal year. Day said he was confident they could raise another $20,000 before the end of the year.

Mayor John Wetzel, however, was hesitant to approve the request. 

“I’m inclined to say no,” Wetzel said, explaining he doesn’t think the council should have to increase its annual special request approval or amend the budget later in the year whenever the golf course manages to get more than $20,000 in donations. 

Day agreed the city shouldn’t have to go through the budget amendment process every time golf course donations exceed $20,000. He proposed raising the amount the city would match to $50,000.

Wetzel said he wasn’t sure the city could afford it, and pointed out these matching funds are in addition to the $15,000 in unencumbered support the city provides. 

Wetzel suggested hypothetically that if the course managed to raise $100,000 in donations, the council would be expected to amend the city’s budget to match $120,000. Day said if that scenario came about, he would make that request. Though he later noted he wouldn’t do it if the city’s finances were stressed. 

“I don’t know that you’d agree to it, but it’s my fiduciary duty to the golf course as president … to come and ask,” Day explained. 

The mayor countered it’s not the council’s fiduciary duty to have a “floating amount” that increases as donations rise. The matching amount the council agrees to is what the city can afford to match, Wetzel said.  

“I think it’s great you got additional money, but I don’t know … that we can have a rollercoaster of requests based on your [fundraising] success,” Wetzel said. 

Day said the golf course could take in donations that exceed the city’s match as income, but the goal of the fundraising is to fill up the capital fund with as much as they can so the course is sustainable for the long-term.

Councilor Zane Logan said increasing the match could set a precedent in which other organizations that need more money expect to get it. 

“There needs to be a fairly firm number,” Logan said. 

Councilor Lesli Spencer pointed out the golf course property and the buildings on it are city property. Therefore, any funding the council provides ultimately ends up improving the golf course and the city. 

“If they can find the money and the city has the ability to match it, why don’t we?” Spencer asked. 

She agreed that other entities might also request more funding, but argued it’s the council’s job to consider the value of each request. In the case of the golf course, Spencer said, it benefits an asset the city owns. 

The council voted to increase the matched amount to $30,000, with Councilor Tim Sapp voting against the motion.