Bella Vista's Highlands course closing July 10

Zachary Coats of Springdale spots his ball Thursday on No. 18 at Highlands Golf Course during the final round of the Stacy Lewis KPMG Junior Open in Bella Vista.
Zachary Coats of Springdale spots his ball Thursday on No. 18 at Highlands Golf Course during the final round of the Stacy Lewis KPMG Junior Open in Bella Vista.

BELLA VISTA -- A second 18-hole golf course will be closed during the summer after a recent Property Owners Association board decision.

The Highlands Golf Course will close for about 10 weeks on July 10 and open at the end of September. Work on the area around the greens was planned for 2018, but needs to be finished sooner.

The 18-hole Berksdale Golf Course didn't open after the flooding in late April, however nine holes will open this month.

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Keith Ihms, the association's golf maintenance director, received three bids for the Highlands project. The board accepted the low bid of $293,500 from Professional Golf Services. The money isn't budgeted in 2017.

Sand from bunkers and greens has damaged the drainage around the collars, Ihms said. The sand also causes more winter kill. New grass, a hybrid Bermuda, will be planted after the area is leveled and the drainage addressed.

The work has to be done during the growing season because the areas must grow in, board member Jim Abrahamson reminded the board.

Meanwhile, the Highland's Clubhouse has been closed since the Mason-Dixon restaurant gave up its lease in January. The board agreed to renovate and create a snack bar in the building, leaving the large dining room for members' use. Several groups of card players and game players were displaced when the restaurant closed.

During the open forum portion of the meeting, Debbie Sorensen asked if the space for card players would be open while the course was closed.

General Manager Tom Judson explained it would be a challenge to keep the space open since there was a cost involved to have a staff member out there. He suggested Sorensen speak to him after the meeting.

Board member John Nuttall voted against the plan to close the course for the collar and bunker work, explaining he believes it will mean closing the clubhouse as well.

After the meeting, Nuttall explained his concerns. The multipurpose room was used during the Adams Tour tournament and the association has agreed to let other golf groups use it as well. "When I learned the POA was opening the snack bar for golf groups and not recreation groups, I tried to amend the plan to require staff to open the snack bar to all members," he said. "There wasn't enough support on board to do that."

The motion to close the course and do the work was approved.

A task force was appointed to consider Berksdale and the other "valley" courses, Chairman Ron Stratton said. The first project will be to hire an engineering firm to do a hydrology study. The task force has two standing members, Judson and Abrahamson. They will recruit other members as needed.

Judson said after the study is completed, decisions will not be made without input from the association membership.

Another plan approved by the board will lower water levels at Lake Avalon and Loch Lomond this winter. Avalon will be lowered so the association can add a sandy beach at one end. Lomond was lowered last year so work could be done near the new Lakepoint Event Center, but property owners weren't given time to plan their own improvements.

This winter residents can work on their docks and sea walls while the association dredges silted areas and repairs the ramp at Stonykirk.

NW News on 06/25/2017

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