Jill Smith
Sartell
To date, the sale of Pine Ridge Golf Course has been one of the biggest and most difficult decisions in my time on the city council. Without a fund for long-term liabilities, the council was tasked to determine whether we should raise taxes to cover the upcoming costs, reallocate funds from other park priorities or divest from the business and privatize the golf course.
The privatization or sale of government assets and related responsibilities of ownership to the private sector is nothing new. The concept assists municipalities in saving money and increasing efficiencies. What services should be privatized? Non-essential services the city/community sees value in maintaining, but lacks the staff, resources and dollars to adequately maintain. While some may disagree, this is the core principle and importance for why council engaged in this process and decision – to eliminate or minimize the impact this property already has had and will continue to have on taxpayers.
As a municipality of our size, I believe it’s critical we focus staff resources and dollars on our essential services: drink, drive, flush, protect. If we fail at any of those, we have nothing. The current city council is the FIRST to establish an ordinance protecting the street fund, as this has historically been a slush account for other projects. We are a community of aging systems and streets. Most of our roads were built 20 years ago, and their maintenance and repair need to be a top priority. Cash reserves in our other capital improvement funds ensure we have the equipment and technology needed for our other essential services such as our water/sewer/fire/police departments, without encumbering debt. This needs to be our focus.
Residents may disagree with the decision, the price and the process. That’s fine. But attacking the character and integrity of myself, fellow council members, staff and the buyer is concerning. As humans we will inherently have different perspectives due to personal values surrounding land, amenities and the government’s core competencies. That is OK and welcomed. What we cannot afford is intentional division due to differences of opinion.