By Kathryn Reed

Get out the golf clubs, not only does Bijou Golf Course open Saturday, but a round costs less than it did a year ago.

“We need to recapture the market we lost,” South Lake Tahoe City Manager Tony O’Rourke told the City Council this week. The city discovered fewer people were playing, with much of that attributed to a spike in fees and not being competitive with area courses.

Last year most fees in the Parks and Recreation Department increased by 14 percent.

Dropping the fee from $19 for a local to play a round of nine holes to $15 still has the price higher than it was two years ago.

Bijou Golf Course in South Lake Tahoe opens April 21. Photo/South Lake Tahoe

On April 17 the council voted on its annual fee structure. Most services related to recreation are now less expensive.

Camping fees are dropping for spring and fall users by $3 to $24 for no hook up and $35 with hook up.

“At the campground we were charging more than some commercial sites,” Stan Sherer, who oversees the parks department, said.

Sherer added that he’s hoping income will be better this year. Weather and construction hampered revenue last year. The golf course did not open until mid-June because it was so wet and kept snowing, and campers wanted their money back because nighttime road work on Highway 50 made for less than an ideal experience.

Airport fees are still being worked out, though talk is to have those decrease as well. That fee structure should be before the council in May.