WAVERLY -- The city's golf course, which recently underwent $1.5 million in renovations, needs thousands more after lagging use this summer.

Larry Vandaalen, who chairs the city's golf commission, reported a probable shortfall of up to $30,000 despite mostly favorable weather. Too few green fees were collected to meet revenue goals, he told the City Council on Monday.

While members of the council discussed the problem, resident Richard Shields called for privatization of the course.

"I'm opposed to something I don't use," he said. "Maybe we should consider getting out of the business."

Councilman Gary Boorom replied many residents don't use all city facilities, such as swimming pools, schools and airports.

"Can we live without anyone of them?" he asked. "Sure, but our quality of life would suffer."

The course, which operates on a $450,000 budget, was slated to get $45,000 from the city this year. Vandaalen warned of the increase to $70,000 or more after the commission found no places to tighten its budget without decreasing quality.

"We don't want to make cuts to our course and then draw people in and have them get an average experience," he said.

Cuts examined include reducing lawn care, shortening pro shop hours and reducing staff hours.

Instead, the committee recommends a new marketing campaign, which could take years before producing results. Funding would come from the hotel-motel tax, but Mayor Ike Ackerman cautioned that money might need to be channeled to other projects.

In other business, construction on the city's fire station will stall for at least six weeks after city attorneys found the bidding process flawed. City Council members voted unanimously to cancel all offers because bidding was restricted to a specific product manufactured by a specific firm.

The move will restart the bidding process and could cost the city more in construction costs, Ackerman said.

Contact Brian Spannagel at (319) 291-1570 or brian.spannagel@wcfcourier.com