ALTON 鈥 The operator of a city-owned golf course closed by a mine collapse here is spending $100,000 a month on maintenance, with no end in sight and no financial help from the city.
The 27-hole Spencer T. Olin golf course shut down a month ago, after the collapse caused a nearly 200-foot wide sinkhole in the middle of neighboring ballfields. The subsequent investigation closed the main road to the course.
But daily upkeep, like lawn mowing, cannot stop, said course operator Vern Van Hoy.
鈥淭he money we鈥檙e losing is astronomical,鈥 Van Hoy said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 know how long I can keep doing this.鈥
And Alton isn鈥檛 helping. In fact, said Van Hoy, the city won鈥檛 really talk to him about any financial assistance.
Alton City Council Coordinator Bianca Jackson said they are 鈥渟till working through those things.鈥
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New Frontier Materials, the company that mines for limestone underneath the ball fields next to the golf course, first detected signs of mine subsidence at 4:30 a.m. on June 26, city officials have said. Three hours later, the city closed the park and golf course to the public.
At 9:18 a.m. that day, city security cameras caught dramatic footage of the collapse. A hole opened up in the middle of the fields, swallowed a towering light pole and coughed out a cloud of dust and debris.
Since then, summer camps have been canceled, sports leagues relocated and New Frontier has stopped mining, idling at least 10 employees.
The sinkhole is about 900 feet from the closest fairway, and there鈥檚 no indication of collapse under the golf course. But an ongoing federal Mine Safety and Health Administration investigation into the subsidence is drilling under a portion of Hole 10, across Tavernier Way, to the edge of the ball fields.
The Spencer T. Olin Community Golf Course, right, in Gordon F. Moore Park remains closed Friday, July 26, 2024, due to a recent mine collapse under the park鈥檚 soccer fields, top left, in Alton.
And Tavernier Way is the main entrance for golfers, Van Hoy said.
The closure has forced Van Hoy to lay off 30 workers, mostly those in the restaurant and pro shop.
But Van Hoy has a 30-year lease agreement with the city to run the course. The contract began in 2014 and was extended six months ago by an additional 10 years. And the agreement states the leaseholder is required to mow the greens daily and the tees and fairways at least three times a week.
So he has 14 workers left he has to keep on.
鈥淚 had a really good team, and they have to go through this too,鈥 Van Hoy said.
Moreover, he said, if he stopped mowing and watering daily, it would take $100,000 per green and a year to fix it.
鈥淚f I don鈥檛 mow that rough and fairway every week, you won鈥檛 have a golf course,鈥 Van Hoy said. 鈥淚 can鈥檛 just shut down.鈥
Grass on hole 10 at the Spencer T. Olin Community Golf Course grows longer than usual after a shut down of the course due to a recently collapsed mine at Gordon F. Moore Park in Alton on Friday, July 26, 2024.
The course is open year-round. A round costs $60 for 18 holes. And on an average day between June and August, Van Hoy said there are about 240 players out on the course.
Of that, the city gets $2 for each golfer who plays 18 holes 鈥 $1 for nine-hole golfers 鈥 half of which goes to a fund to beautify the area and maintain buildings and parking lots, according to the lease agreement between Alton and Van Hoy鈥檚 company, STO LLC.
鈥淭hey make a pretty penny off of us,鈥 Van Hoy said.
The city has not released how much it makes from the golf course.
And the lease says the city is obligated to maintain access roadways to 鈥渁llow golf patrons a safe and unimpeded access to the golf course.鈥
Van Hoy said he has no intention of breaking the lease but reiterated the need for answers from the city and New Frontier Materials.
Neither MSHA nor New Frontier have released a timeline for the investigation. The city said Thursday a second drill was brought in to speed the work.
And even when MSHA gives the green light to reopen the course, Van Hoy is worried about attendance.
鈥淚 have major concerns if people will come back and play the course, especially parents with kids,鈥 Van Hoy said. 鈥淚 can鈥檛 predict whether people will come back or not.鈥
Nine holes of Spencer T. Olin are designated collectively as a learning center. The course had been hosting seven golf teams from four local high schools.
Van Hoy, 62, runs four local courses, including Arlington Greens in Granite City, Rolling Hills in Godfrey and Rock Spring, also in Alton.
He had planned on selling the leases or the courses 鈥 he owns Arlington and Rolling Hills 鈥 in five years to retire in Naples, Florida.
Now, he isn鈥檛 sure.
A hole in the Gordon Moore Park athletic fields in Alton caused by a mine collapse on June 26 spreads further after rain, as seen on Wednesday, July 10, 2024. Video by Allie Schallert, aschallert@post-dispatch.com
