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Council Approves Funding to Maintain Wingpointe

Brian Grimmett

The Salt Lake City Council voted Tuesday night to set aside $65,000 to maintain the greens at what used to be Wingpointe golf course. The money is expected to buy Salt Lake City Mayor Jackie Biskupski’s administration time to look at reopening the course. 

Wingpointe closed last fall after months of analysis by city staffers found the city’s golf fund to be unsustainable. But Mayor Biskupski, who took office in January thinks there may be a way to reopen the beloved course. She asked the council to carve out $65,000 from this year’s budget to maintain the greens over the next six months while her administration studies the issue.

Councilwoman Lisa Ramsey Adams voted for the amendment Tuesday night.

“I’m not particularly thrilled with this, but I think that every day that we aren’t taking care of what we own out there, it’s getting worse,” Adams says.

Patrick Leary, the mayor’s chief of staff told KUER in an earlier interview the administration is looking at Wingpointe as an economic engine for the airport rather than part of the city’s golf fund.

“Whether or not Wingpointe can be reopened depends on a lot of different factors,” Leary said. “But before we draw any conclusions, we want to make sure that we’ve done our homework.”

Councilmembers Derek Kitchen, Erin Mendenhall and Stan Penfold voted against the amendment. Kitchen said it’s fiscally irresponsible.

“I can’t see how this is a good financial decision at the moment for the council or the city of Salt Lake to spend this kind of money out of context,” Kitchen said.

Mayor Biskupski wants to spend another $60,000 in next year’s budget to ensure maintenance continues.  The council must approve that before finalizing the budget by June 22nd.  

Whittney Evans grew up southern Ohio and has worked in public radio since 2005. She has a communications degree from Morehead State University in Morehead, Kentucky, where she learned the ropes of reporting, producing and hosting. Whittney moved to Utah in 2009 where she became a reporter, producer and morning host at KCPW. Her reporting ranges from the hyper-local issues affecting Salt Lake City residents, to state-wide issues of national interest. Outside of work, she enjoys playing the guitar and getting to know the breathtaking landscape of the Mountain West.
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