Save Muny!

Our speakers on April 13 were Mary Arnold and Peter Barbour, who spoke to us about the Lions Municipal Golf course, which has been an institute in Austin since the 1930s.  Peter Barbour, along with several other folks, founded the third Save Muny committee in 2008 with the goal of  not only saving a historic golf course, but the last open green space in West Austin. He spoke to us about the current campaign to save "Muny".  Currently, the lease for the golf course ends in 2017.  The University of Texas, which owns the land, has developed a master plan for the development of the golf course acreage and other lands that were originally donated by Mr. Brackenridge in the early 1900s.  The committee is concerned with the loss of the golf course, the loss of green space and the increased traffic that would occur if the tract was developed more heavily. Golfer Ben Crenshaw, who grew up on the Muny golf course with Mr. Barbour, has provided a testimonial with regard to the course and the reasons it should be saved.  Mary Arnold spoke about the early campaigns to save the golf course in 1970s and 1980s, which were successful in extending the lease until 2017, and her involvement in the current campaign.  Hopefully, the current campaign will be successful in saving this historic Austin institution.