The Cowlitz Indian Tribe, which currently owns and operates a hotel and casino complex in northern Clark County, plans to get into the golf business.

Cowlitz Economic Authority was the only company to bid for the tender. Tri-Mountain Golf Course. Clark County put the 132-acre property up for auction in September. Tri-Mountain is just 2 miles south posting, 1701 NW 299th St., Ridgefield.

The 18-hole course has been operated by Troon Golf LLC for years, but Troon’s current contract expires at the end of this year, county spokeswoman Joni McAnally said. What happens next depends on the Clark County Council deciding whether to sell.

The district set the minimum bid requirement at $3.525 million for the golf course property, which includes a pro shop, commercial kitchen, offices, dining area and driving range; in addition, there was the requirement that Tri-Mountain remain a golf course in perpetuity. Only the district council has the authority to change this requirement, according to bid documents.

The district’s request for proposals went out in mid-September and bids were reviewed on October 30.

McAnally said the $3.6 million offer from the tribe was accepted pending further discussion. The council will consider the proposal during a public hearing that has not yet been scheduled.

Another offer from Cowlitz was much higher ($5 million, according to bid documents), but was rejected because it included ending the golf course obligation after five years, McAnally said.

If the $3.6 million Cowlitz bid is accepted, Tri-Mountain will remain one of Clark County’s last surviving golf resorts.

Green Mountain Golf Course, a full-size 18-hole course in Camas, closed in 2014, and Salmon Creek Cedars, another 18-hole, closed in 2021. The nine-hole Executive Hartwood Golf Course in Brush Prairie closed in 2021. So is the Lakeview Par 3 Golf Challenge near Lake Vancouver. As recently as late October at Vanco Driving Range Vancouver has closed its doors.

The remaining ones are Lewis River Golf Course in Woodland, Camas Meadows in Camas, Fairway Village in east Vancouver and Pine Crest, a par 3 course in the Salmon Creek area.

Rising revenues in the Tri-Mountain are not keeping up with even faster-growing expenses, according to a property appraisal included in bid documents. The evaluation states that there will be a 46 percent decrease in net income in 2022.

But Cowlitz’s interest remains.

“The sale of the property presents compelling opportunities, and we look forward to participating in discussions regarding the best potential outcomes for its future,” said a statement from Cowlitz Indian Tribe Chairman William Iyall.

Earlier this year, county councilman Gary Medvigy said the county faced a long list of overdue capital needs and needed to focus on them.

The county hopes to complete the sale of Tri-Mountain in January.