484 PARKS 



once and pay $1,000 per acre or a total of $154,000 for the land, payment 

 to be made as hereafter provided, (b) Armour & Company shall advance 

 the cost of constructing the golf course (after plans have been mutually 

 agreed upon) to the extent of $45,000. (This was later increased by $10,000.) 

 The board constructed the course from the money so advanced, (c) The total 

 obligation of $209,300 and the interest thereon at four and one-half per cent 

 per annum is to be paid to Armour & Company out of the net receipts of 

 the course, which is operated exclusively by the board. Twenty years are 

 allowed for the liquidation of the obligation. 



The course was opened to the public on May 30, 1925, and after the 

 first year will be operated on the following plan: greens fee, seventy-five 

 cents per round; locker charge, $5.00, $7.00 and $9.00 per season per locker, 

 allowing one, two or three persons per locker; rental of golf clubs, ten cents 

 per club or bag per round, with appropriate deposit; refreshment stand to 

 be operated by the Recreation Department of the Board of Park Com- 

 missioners. It is estimated that the net receipts will approximate $17,500 

 per year. Upon this basis a schedule of payments has been worked out 

 which shows the course paid for "without cost to the tax payer" in nineteen 

 years. 



The second course, Meadowbrook Golf Course, comprises 207 acres, 

 one and one-half miles west of the west city limits. The contract with the 

 Atlas Realty Company contains practically the same provisions as that 

 made with Armour & Company except that the total obligation is $130,000 

 $80,000 for the cost of the land and $50,000 for construction cost. The 

 contract also provides that the board shall operate the cost at least three 

 years before it will be permitted to abandon the enterprise. 



Another interesting instance of this method of financing is the Recrea- 

 tion Pavilion, Hamilton Park, Waterbury, Connecticut, erected in 1925, 

 the cost of which, including equipment, was approximately $75,000. Funds 

 were raised through a bond issue, but the plan involves the retirement of 

 the bonds and the paying of interest out of the net profits of the operation 

 of the pavilion, consisting of admissions to and rentals of the dance hall, 

 checking of garments and sale of refreshments. 



In 1925 a swimming pool was constructed at Pana, Illinois, the funds 

 for which were secured by the Chautauqua Association through the sale of 

 bonds in $50 denominations, redeemable in five years and paying interest at 

 six per cent. The Chautauqua Association is responsible for their redemp- 

 tion through pledging not only the income from the swimming pool, but 

 also the income from the sessions of the Chautauqua. The cost of the pool 

 was approximately $17,000, all of which was secured through the sale of 

 bonds in a three-day drive. 



