As Lee County moves forward with plans to build a $50 million dollar hospital on the property currently occupied by the Grand Island Golf Club, local leaders say they hope that in addition to adding a significant economic engine to the community, the county is headed toward a future where it is no longer losing money in the golf course business.

Since 2002, the county has ultimately been subsidizing the Ledo Road-area golf course, which has been a bone of contention for many county residents. After Tuesday night’s county commission work session, during which the county signed off on a memorandum of understanding that will begin the process of developing the hospital on the golf course property, Commission Chairman Rick Muggridge said the recent trend has been that subsidies to the 18-hole tract have been in the neighborhood of $100,000 a year.

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