LYNNWOOD — Alcohol will soon be sold at the Lynnwood Municipal Golf Course to help pay for building a new clubhouse.
Starting next spring, golfers at the course will be able to buy beer and wine from the beverage cart, which travels around the course. Golfers will be limited to buying one alcoholic beverage each time the cart drives by, which usually happens three times during a round of golf.
Alcohol is sold at most golf courses, Lynnwood Parks and Recreation Director Lynn Sordel said. At the Lynnwood course at 20200 68th Ave. W., alcohol sales are expected to bolster flagging revenues as attendance has declined, Sordel said.
The Lynnwood City Council made beer and wine par for the course when it voted last week to adopt the city’s long-term business plan for the golf course. The course is owned by the city and Edmonds Community College.
“Four or five years from now, I’m hoping to come back to the council and ask them how we should spend our profits,” Sordel said.
The golf course business plan calls for the construction of a clubhouse with a full-service restaurant to be built in 2010. The revenue generated from alcohol sales is a key part of that plan.
City Councilman Ted Hikel, who voted in favor of the plan, said controlled alcohol sales will give people less of a reason to bring their own alcoholic beverages, which has been known to happen.
“Although I don’t drink myself, I have no objection to serving beer and alcohol on the golf course,” Hikel said. “It would be controlled, and it would be handled by a leasing agent, not the city itself.”
City Councilman Jim Smith voted against the business plan. He said the city should be more focused on discouraging alcohol abuse, not promoting alcohol sales. Also, he believes the city should focus on other projects before spending money on a clubhouse.
“The city of Lynnwood is now going into the restaurant-and-alcohol business, and that’s offensive for me,” Smith said.
Reporter Scott Pesznecker: 425-339-3436 or spesznecker@heraldnet.com.
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