Doyne Park is back
So let's have a party

May 9 -- The Doyne golf course is open and the basketball hoops are back up, so there is going to be a party.

Details are pending, but Doyne will be hosting a Saturday golf outing for neighbors, according to Supervisor Lynne DeBruin. There will be golf contests for young and old, and other attractions. DeBruin, Story Hill Neighborhood Association President Sandy Rusch Walton and Doyne neighbor Kelly Herald are working on the event.

Doyne lives

County Executive Scott Walker closed the course, locked the building and took down the hoops last summer after his budget broke down mid-year and he laid off dozens of parks workers. Doyne was chosen for closing after county officilas miscalculated how much it cost to operate, according to County Supervisor Lynne DeBruin.

"The high expenditures resulted from errors in coding of costs and a lack of coordination on purchasing," she wrote in an update to Story Hill residents. "The corrections have been made, resulting in a roughly $40,000 reduction in operational costs."

Walker administration officials produced the erroneous calculations, records show.

Walker wanted to keep the park closed this year, but the County Board voted to re-open the park and impose a $2 surcharge on Doyne golfers to help finance its operations.

Walker wanted to keep park closed

Now Parks Director Sue Black is eliminating the extra fee to make the course more competitive, DeBruin said.

The course is down in permits and attendance, and that likely is due to the surcharge, she said.