The mayor of Windsor says residents won't notice a change at the Roseland Golf Course when it fully moves to city control.
Drew Dilkens says dissolving Roseland Golf Club Limited and its board of directors, will actually improve transparency.
The city announced on Friday that under provincial legislation through the Corporations Act that all social companies will need to be dissolved by October 19, 2026.
This requirement applies to Roseland Golf Club Limited, of which the City of Windsor is the sole shareholder.
Effective October 18, 2026, oversight of Roseland Golf Club and Little River Golf Course will continue through the Parks and Recreation Department, with direction and funding provided by city council. All staff at both courses will then become city employees.
Dilkens says residents won't notice a change.
"It's still going to be open as a golf course, it's still going to be the same staff, and what it really means is from a governance perspective city council will now have full oversight and control over the setting of rates like we do with all other user fees at arenas, parks, and community centres across the city."
He says this will improve transparency.
"Now all of city council will have the benefit of governing Roseland Golf Course and Little River. All of the meetings and all of the decisions will be fully transparent for the benefit of the public, where most of the public today has no idea when the Roseland board meets or where to go to be a part of a Roseland board meeting. And so now this changes that dynamic where the public can get more involved."
Roseland recorded a $595,000 profit last year.
Dilkens says Roseland generates revenue, but isn't a profitable operation.
"Much like our pools and our arenas, they all generate cash for rentals, but they don't cover all of the expenses of running the organization. And so city council is always the backstop to providing capital for Roseland, which means city council has to make the decisions when to provide that capital to our various operations."
The city says all services, amenities, and experiences at Roseland and Little River will continue uninterrupted.
The decision to dissolve the organization was made during an in-camera discussion by city council.
Roseland, located at 455 Kennedy Drive West, is an 18-hole golf course designed in 1926 by renowned golf course architect Donald J. Ross and constructed in 1927. The course itself was designated under the provisions of the Ontario Heritage Act in 2003.
Little River Golf Course is a 9-hole course located at 2861 Lauzon Road near the Forest Glade neighbourhood.
-with files from AM800's The Shift with guest host Kristen Siapas