Regarding Augusta Commissioner Joe Bowles' campaign platform ("Incumbent Bowles pushes smaller government," Oct. 18): It sounded good until the last line: privatizing the Augusta Municipal Golf Course.
Where did that come from? We all know there are some things broke in Richmond County. The Augusta Municipal Golf Course is not on that list; it belongs on the other list. All the folks running "the Patch" are well-trained for their jobs, hard-working and courteous. Every dollar spent is well-managed. No other golf course in the area stretches funding better. Most other cities of similar size have municipal courses. Certainly the home of the Masters Tournament should have a municipal course.
Large numbers of seniors are members. We like to meet, get our exercise and enjoy the course. I am shocked that this would be a priority area for Bowles, a person who should be working to improve both the function and image of our community.
Without a change of heart, I certainly hope the good folks in District 3 show Bowles the door.
Tom Walters
Augusta
Comments
Half the money they need can be found by defunding the DDA who gets $150,000.00 a year. You know them, they spent $37,000.00 on an idiotic study of the stupid trolley idea. People who spend money like that don't deserve it and things like the 'Patch' give us back more than the DDA ever will. SAVE THE PATCH!
last time i was at the patch you couldn't get waited on because they were all playing cards in the conference room. a change of management would be a wonderful idea!
If I am correct, Mr. Bowles is looking for was to ensure the course stays open since it is on the list to be closed by the city, Please correct me if I am wrong.
Mr. Walters, please see the article titled, "Management firm keeps three area arenas busy" in today's metro section."
I guess some people don't understand what privatize means????????? Mr. Walters and Brad its not a private club just a professional management firm to run the course. Brad, it was this way when we were in high school.
You want to play golf then YOU should pay for it. If the course is not self-sufficient then you should pay more. I don't want to pay for your hobby especially in this tough economy. Spend the money elsewhere, not on a luxury.
I want taxpayers to pay for my hobbies, too. Why don't they?
Why does Joe care if the The Patch closes? He plays golf at the Country Club. I would too, except that I can't tee off before noon because I'm a woman....
We need to look at all the ways Augusta can save money and cut cost. This is going to be painful but it is something that has to be done or our property taxes are going through the roof, that is if we have a roof left over our heads. Joe is just looking at a way to take the burdens off the tax payers and place them on those that play the game. Those of us that don't play, shouldn't have to pay for those that do. I love the game but I would not want others to be taxed for my hobby or yours.
The Augusta Municipal Golf Course is in danger because the commission failed to make the decision to pay a management company to manage the course years ago. Now we are at a crossroads. With this commission, there are going to be quite a few crossroads. Many of them running into dead ends. The worst is yet to come, because ignorant voters continue to elect ignorant politicians. You just can't fix stupid no matter how hard you try.
The Augusta National is a private course. It seems to be doing fairly well. We need to privatize everything we possibly can. Our local government shouldn't be in the business of entertaining anyone until we get basic services paid for and property taxes lower. Has anyone thought about cutting waste and less spending to cover these defecits besides Joe Bowles?
Richcoresident quit complaining. You obviously agree with the tee off times for women or else you wouldn't go there. If we want to hold politicians accountable, make them post all checks issued along with the supporting documentation outlining what the expense was for. Bot that would be a career ender for all of them.
hey joe, maybe it is you who doesn't know what it is....the DEFINITION OF PRiVATIZATION: "the transferring some or all of the company's assets or ownership from the public sector or institution to a private sector person or entity" that is the textbook definition that can be found in any dictionary or business school textbook. so i guess you would say the james brown arena is privatized, because it has a management firm running it, am i not correct. so by your definition if privatization means being run by a management firm then why does the commission still have control over the day-to-day operations and it receives funding from the city..let alone some, if not all of the board members are appointed by the augusta representitives in atlanta....
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