Boca Raton Mayor Andy Thomson said this week that the city should not foot the bill for a golf course at North Park. He made that position clear during a joint meeting between the City Council and the Greater Boca Raton Beach and Park District, even as more than a dozen residents stood up to demand exactly that.
Thomson said the city should not pay to build a golf course at North Park, according to Boca Post. He was careful to note that his position is not anti-golf. The mayor said he still supports golf at North Park and had floated the idea of a family-friendly executive course there back in 2019, per the same outlet’s report. Thomson added that any golf development needs to fit within the city’s broader recreational priorities and capital projects, and he said the district is capable of building facilities at North Park on its own.
According to TAPinto Boca Raton, Thomson warned that having the city pay for the golf component specifically would warp the relationship between the city and the district. He pointed to a comparison from West Palm Beach, where Boca Post reported that a family-friendly golf course was built using roughly $55 million in private donations rather than municipal money — a model Thomson suggested could apply closer to home.
Residents Pack the Room to Push Back
The turnout at the meeting left little doubt about public sentiment. Of roughly 30 people who spoke during public comment, 18 urged the City Council and the district to bring public golf back to North Park, Boca Post reported. TAPinto Boca Raton similarly noted that more than a dozen residents called for golf to be included in the development during the session…