WATERTOWN, New York (WWNY) – Watertown lawmakers will meet Monday night for a work session to set a direction for the future of the Thompson Park golf course and look at a zoo proposal that asks for less money.
(Click the above video for an interview with the mayor about these issues prior to the meeting Monday night)
According to city documents, the Thompson Park Golf Course, run by the city, lost $123,276 in the 2025 season. It lost $315,826 in the 2024 season and $306,590 in 2023.
Monday, council will hear about the options available to run the course in 2026 including keeping the way it is now, or cut back on tournaments allowing for more daily play. City officials have said tournaments aren’t a big source of revenue for the city.
Zoo New York will also present to city council Monday night and talk about how it wants the zoo’s visitor’s center to become a city-owned building which would mean the upkeep costs would be on the city.
The notes for Monday show the building needs a new roof and the zoo is willing to pay for the materials, and asking the city to pay to put it on the building.
Also, the zoo is revising its request for funding. Currently, the city funds the zoo at $100,000. In the next budget, zoo officials are asking for $75,000 and $50,000 in the following year.
Those numbers are down drastically from the $375,000 request made last spring to city lawmakers.
Monday’s work session meeting starts at 7pm.
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