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SENT BY: 3-27-98 ; 11:09 ; MN. SENATE 612 784 3462;# 2/ 3 • To: Honorable Keith Langseth From: John D. Hammerschniidt • Course Manager City of Mounds View Issue: National Youth Golf Center Location: Blaine,MN. Resolution: Sponsors-Torn Duffy, Bob Milburt The City of Mounds View is a leader in the metro area youth golf programs. We employ 4 PGA Professionals who give over 1500 youth lessons, administer league play of 1000 rounds, and hold seminars and non-league lessons for another 400 youths. They also are involved in overseeing the use of our facility for 14 different High School teams. Our direct costs after revenue for these programs are over$5000.00 and lost revenue mostly due to discounts is $20,000.00. So as you can see we are dedicated to the advancement of youth • golf and its future.We are NOT against building a Nation Youth Golf Center that would be JUST for the proposed youth uses of the golf facility, but we currently have no assurances that is what this proposal will accomplish. The lack of any attempt to involve the surrounding golf community in this proposal has raised some serious concerns as to what exactly is to be built, what will be the other sources of funding to continue operation of this facility, what assurances that it will always be a YOUTH golf center, and why other alternatives to promote youth golf have not been considered. • Conflicting statements as the very nature of the facility has changed in the last six months. The original thought was to build three nine hole youth courses and has changed to build an eighteen hole championship , a nine hole executive, and a driving range. At first the proposed center was to be affiliated with the national St. Tee program, and now we find there is not an application to be in this program. Although our golf course is less than two miles away from this proposed center,we have never been contacted or asked to provide feedback to this proposal. Under the St. Tee program the evaluation and feedback of area courses is a must before any money for youth golf be considered. Why weren't alternatives considered? The St. Tee program asks that areas be evaluated to see if the area be better served by new facilities or better programs. This area alone has S facilities that could handle 5,000 to 10,000 rounds more of youth golf if the programs were subsidized. Circle Pines,New Brighton, Shoreview, Roseville, and a new 9 hole in Blaine are among those. Other facilities, such as our course could build 3 hole youth corses if capital funds were available. A program structured as the mighty ducks program could serve all of