Others contend the city has higher spending priorities, as the Miamisburg City Council approved funding the $999,890 upgrades at the same time it increased water and sewer rates for customers over the next five years.
The improvements at the Benner Road golf course, which Johnson said has an annual budget of $1.1 million, stem from recommendations by a consultant the city hired a few years ago, said Steve Morrison, Miamisburg project manager.
The new irrigation system will include at least 300 more sprinkler heads than the current one, permitting the watering of areas the current system cannot reach, he said. It will have multiple lines on each fairway, allowing for more efficient maintenance and water usage, city officials said.
“If you’re going to keep a course of championship quality, you’re going to have to do something like this,” Johnson said.
Johnson said the city has a strong commitment to Pipestone and is about seven years away from paying off its debt service. The pipes in the irrigation system, he said, will last 30 to 40 years.
“It’s a good investment for the city,” he said.
When the course was built, housing starts in the area increased and property values near the course also jumped, according to Johnson.
“It probably fueled the largest residential construction boom in the history of the city,” he said.
Council members Greg Thompson and Sarah Clark have a different take. They voted against the Pipestone funding, saying they would rather see the city’s money spent on capital improvements that address basic services for residents. The water and sewer fee hikes passed this month were put in place to pay for $69 million in work approve for the city’s water and sewer systems.
“I think the $1 million that will be spent on this over the next two years will be better spent” on items directly benefiting taxpayers, Thompson said.
Clark noted that there are more important issues to be addressed.
“I don’t think this is something we need to do,” she said. “An irrigation system at Pipestone is really far down on the list.”
The project’s contract has been award to Thielen Turf Irrigation, Inc., a Michigan firm which has installed more than 190 irrigation systems in that state, Indiana and Ohio, according to its website.
The city has allocated $500,000 for the project for both this year and 2015, Johnson said.
Work on the course is scheduled to begin in late September and is contracted to be complete in April, Morrison said. The work is expected to have minimal impact on golfers, he said.
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