Mart, co-owner to sell Battle Lake Golf Course

Mart City Council on Monday unanimously agreed to sell the course, deciding to get out of the real estate business and use the revenues for city projects.

The formerly nine-hole golf course became an 18-hole course in the 1970s when the city began shared ownership of the property.

Mayor Pro Tem Henry Witt III said the co-owner, Chuck Higgins, has agreed to sell his half of the golf course which he has had since 1990 so the property can be sold in one piece.

While the city wants to get out of the real estate business, it doesn’t want to lose the recreational opportunity the golf course provides the area, Roberson said.

To ensure golfing remains an option, Roberson said, the city will work to include in the contract that the new owners keep the land as a golf course for at least a certain number of years.

The bottom line, he said, is that the city doesn’t want the golf course to go away.

Witt said the city held an election in 2014 asking residents whether selling was the direction they wanted city leaders to take.

Department of Agriculture’s funding includes a $5 million grant and a $17 million loan to the city over 40 years at a 2.215 percent interest rate.

Witt said he estimates the city’s portion of the golf course could bring in at least $250,000.