A bill that could open the door for the Lester Park Golf Course to serve alcohol will get a hearing in the Minnesota Legislature this year after all.
District 7A Rep. Jennifer Schultz, DFL-Duluth, said Wednesday she would introduce a bill that could exempt the municipal golf course from a provision that keeps all of Duluth’s Lakeside and Lester Park neighborhoods dry.
Schultz stressed that the bill would leave the final decision in the hands of the Duluth City Council, which ultimately would determine whether to allow the sale of liquor at the course. If councilors so choose, the bill would authorize a change in the boundaries of Duluth’s only statutorily defined dry zone to exclude the golf course property.
Schultz had earlier expressed her reluctance to legislate any change that would allow for the sale of liquor on the grounds but said her position shift is a result of feedback she received from constituents, including Jennifer Julsrud, who represents Lakeside and Lester Park on the Duluth City Council.
Julsrud had withdrawn her support for legislation allowing alcohol to be sold at the golf course last week, saying neighbors needed more time to consider the matter.
But on Wednesday, she gave her blessing to a bill that would exempt the golf course from alcohol restrictions governing the neighborhood from which it draws its name.
“It is an encroachment on the boundaries of the neighborhood, and people had to think it through,” Julsrud said.
Upon further consideration, however, people have overwhelmingly come out in support of allowing liquor sales at the financially struggling golf course, according to Julsrud.
In recent years, the Lester Park Golf Course has operated at an annual loss of between $100,000 and $150,000. Due to repeated losses, Duluth’s golf fund is about $1.6 million in arrears.
Beginning this season, the golf course will be under new management, and Daniel Fanning, Duluth’s director of communication and policy, said that adding alcohol sales to the operation could help shore up the bottom line.
“We’re happy this is going forward. Clearly, this is about more than golf or alcohol sales. This is about taxpayers’ dollars and being responsible with them,” Fanning said.
Schultz said she wants to empower residents of Duluth to chart their own path in regards to the golf course, rather than taking action from St. Paul.
“When it comes before the City Council, that’s when people can publicly testify, and they may convince councilors not to do it. I don’t want to be a barrier to what people want locally,” she said, noting that it will be easier for residents to advocate for themselves at City Hall than at the state Capitol.
Schultz said other local legislators, including Reps. Erik Simonson, Mike Sundeen and Jason Metsa, already have signed on in support of her bill.
Sen. Roger Reinert, DFL-Duluth, has agreed to introduce a companion bill.
