Post Falls mulls golf course sale proposal

POST FALLS - The owners of Prairie Falls Golf Course believe they've got a deal for the city.

Keith Coultrap, one of the course's owners, has proposed to sell the 18-hole, 120-acre course to the city for $2.275 million to get rid of debt, preserve open space and provide recreational opportunities.

"I've approached the city to buy the land from us and we'd lease the land back from them on a revenue-neutral basis," Coultrap said. "It's a great opportunity for us and the city."

City Administrator Eric Keck there could be advantages to purchasing the course, including the recreation opportunities, water rights, using effluent for irrigation and possible future cemetery expansion.

But he called the price tag "fairly aggressive."

"But we will not look at the soundness of this price until the City Council gives us a green light to further investigate it," Keck said.

The course is currently on the market for $3.5 million.

The asking price was dropped from $6 million to $4 million in 2009. The course was then taken off the market before being re-listed last fall.

Coultrap said the bare land - 130 acres before 10 of it was developed into Grayling Estates - was purchased for $1.2 million in 1998. He said $3.5 million in improvements, including the greens, clubhouse, driving range, landscaping and irrigation, have been made, bringing the total investment to $4.7 million.

"We're offering it to the city for less than half of that," Coultrap said.

Aside from preserving green space and the golf course, the spot could also play host to future sports fields. It could also be worth exploring as a land application site. The city has pursued land application sites recently due the environmental crackdown on discharging effluent to the Spokane River. It purchased property on the Rathdrum Prairie several years ago for such purpose.

But the city doesn't have money to buy it, Keck said, and if it were to try and take on the financing to do it, it would be with general obligation bond to buy the property outright.

That requires a supermajority vote of approval from the public.

"There is no secret that Prairie Falls residents want the city to acquire the course to help preserve their property values," Keck said, adding that losing the course to weeds or future development is not in the city's best interest. "But how does the rest of the community feel about it?"

The City Council in January 2009 approved two subdivision requests by the course's owners that have yet to be developed, but would help pay the debt. The subdivisions include a 19-lot project on 4.6 acres at the northwest corner of Idaho and Poleline and a 49-lot project on 10 acres at the southeast corner of Spokane Street and the Union Pacific Railroad.

The project on Idaho would convert hole No. 5 from a par 5 to a par 4, while the one on Spokane would eliminate the driving range.

Coultrap said those projects wouldn't be developed if a deal is worked out with the city. If one isn't, development would occur "as soon as the market is right," possibly in 2012.

Coultrap, who shares ownership of the course with Gordon Longwell, Warren Brown and Marcus Curry, said he would rather preserve the golf course than proceed with the developments in the interest of the community.

Prairie Falls, like many courses, has struggled financially for several years, prompting owners to gauge cities' interest. Coultrap said the owners' debt is about $2.5 million, which is about $400,000 less than it was a few years ago.

"This is not a bailout," Coultrap said. "This is a business proposal that would be beneficial to both parties."

Keck said the city has no interest in operating or staffing the course, so it would seek a concessionaire to do so. He said if the city acquired the course with the public's approval, it wouldn't go into it with making money in mind.