Six activists across the county have written a letter to Baltimore County opposing the closing of Gunpowder Falls Golf Course in Kingsville.

The six are present or past officers of civic groups stretching from Kingsville in the northeast to the Catonsville area on the west, but their spokesman said most were writing as individuals.

"There hasn't been time for all the groups to meet and vote on the closing," said Carl "Bud" Herb, the spokesman, of Linover.

A Jan. 1 closing of the Gunpowder Falls course is included in a legal notice run by the Baltimore County Council. The ad gave a Dec. 22 deadline for comments to its proposal that the course on Raphel Road "be no longer deemed as part of the golf course properties."

Gunpowder Falls is one of six public courses operated by the Baltimore County Revenue Authority, a quasi-public agency. In November, the authority voted to transfer the 112-acre property to the county for other recreational purposes.

The county will give the Authority a break on entertainment taxes and a future payment of $2.8 million for the property.

Opposition to the closing includes the civic group that covers the area where new playing fields and hiking trails would be built in place of the golf course.

Leigh Keller, president of the Greater Kingsville Civic Association, said, there is space on land adjacent to the golf course, already owned by the county, to fill the needs of the Kingsville Recreation Council.

Other signers of the letter were Richard Parsons, a longtime activist in the Towson area; Donna Spicer, active in the Loch Raven community; Herb, a golfer and officer of the Linover Improvement Association; Steve Whisler, president of the Westview Park Improvement and Civic Association; and David Marks, an active leader in Perry Hall.

The letter was endorsed by the Linover, Kingsville and Westview groups, Herb said.

No. 1 on the activists' list of reasons is the compact size of the Gunpowder course.

"The course is unique in Baltimore County and surrounding counties in that the length is half that of other courses. This allows the senior player an opportunity to enjoy playing an 18-hole course that is far less demanding," the letter said.

The shortness also makes it suitable for children learning the game; several high school golf teams practice there, it continued.

Further, the course's location near Interstate 95 makes it accessible and of increasing value to future residents of the northeast area who will arrive in response to the federal Base Relocation and Closing process, the letter said.

Opponents also question the need for more sports fields, claiming that those at Honeygo Regional Park and in Kingsville are frequently empty.

An operating loss at Gunpowder Falls is due to a lack of promotion, Herb said.

County officials don't agree.

In August, Don Mohler, a spokesman for County Executive Jim Smith, and Robert Barrett, director of Recreation and Parks, expressed eagerness for a large, multipurpose regional park in the location.

"The upside for the community is fantastic -- to have 200 acres all locked up for open space and recreation," Mohler said.

The 200 acres would be made up of the golf course's 112 acres, an adjoining 28 acres already owned by the county and a parcel of 66 acres now for sale, Mohler said.

In hopes of serving golfers who need a short course, the authority has voted to rebuild Longview, a course in Cockeysville, into a nine-hole design and to add a lighted driving range.

Opponents do not know if they will be able to address the County Council directly because of the wording of the legal notice, Herb said.

The notice said that the council "shall schedule a time and place for a hearing if any valid objections are raised."

"Who knows what they consider a valid question?" Herb said.

In addition to the letter from the six activists, "at least 15-20" other residents have written to the council in opposition, he said.

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user comments (1)

user misteeta says...

It would be helpful if the article were in all the Baltimore County papers since this affects people in those areas as well. County officials don't agree that the corse is losing money due to a lack of promotion. It's interesting that the firm that did the marketing for the golf course was dismissed a month ago and replaced with a new firm. Do you think that says something about the marketing efforts ?

Posted 12:00 PM, 01.01.09

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