Residents urged the city of Boca Raton and the Greater Boca Raton Beach & Park District to bring golf back to North Park during a two-hour joint meeting Monday evening. It was the first joint meeting between the two in three years, and the agenda had no specific topics.
Greg Stevens, the city’s Recreation Services director, and Briann Harms, the district’s executive director, explained which agency handles which parks and recreation facilities. Stevens said interlocal agreements between the two govern the arrangement.
Most of the 25-plus speakers focused on golf. Speakers criticized the district for taking too long to restore golf to the former Ocean Breeze golf course, which the district bought in 2018 and renamed North Park. Harold Chaffee, president of Keep Golf In Boca, said, “All we do is talk, talk, talk.” Other speakers pointed to a shortage of tee times at the city’s two public courses.
The district has no money set aside for golf in its next approved budget. District vice chair Erin Wright said the board is still working out what kind of golf fits the undesigned west side of the park. The district agreed not to compete with the city’s Alford Red Reef Family 9-hole course or the Boca Raton Golf & Racquet Club.
Mayor Andy Thomson said he opposed a golf component in North Park, and he rejected any request for city money to pay for it. Deputy Mayor Michelle Grau later released a document on the history of golf at the park and the questions still open about its remaining acreage.
