Eaglecrest Golf Club and the Town of Qualicum Beach appear to have settled their differences over lease rates and are expected to ink a new five-year agreement.
What remains unclear is whether the 18-hole course will be reduced to nine holes as of April. Last month, Eaglecrest announced it would cut the number of holes, citing financial issues with the town as one reason.
On Wednesday, the town announced that it had issued new lease agreements to Semiahmoo Golf Centre for the use of the 17th fairway and the 18th tee box at the golf club. Semiahmoo Golf Centre Ltd. of Vancouver owns and operates the the remainder of the course and leases those two areas from the town.
“It is the town’s understanding that Semiahmoo is agreeable” to sign leases for those two sites, a municipal release said.
An Eaglecrest spokesperson could not immediately be reached.
The new lease allows for a five-year agreement for the 17th fairway based on the current rate of $1,902 for the first year with a two per cent annual increase for the subsequent four years of the term. It also covers the 18th tee box, at the current annual lease rate of $376 for the first year, and a two per cent annual increase for the subsequent four years of the term.
Starting last year, Eaglecrest and the town faced off over lease rates after the municipality proposed increasing the annual payments under a new agreement. Qualicum Beach subsequently scaled back its proposed rates to the levels outlined in the upcoming lease agreement. The previous five-year lease expired at the end of December.
The town said in its statement that it hopes the course will continue to have 18 holes.