Salmon Run golf course supporters jammed the Brookings City Council chambers Monday, but didn’t get the ruling they hoped for.

The council delayed until Dec. 12 a decision about possibly postponing the land lease payments set to begin in February 2012. Salmon Run officials want to put off payments for two years.

Council members pushed the issue back to give themselves more time to study Salmon Run’s 2012 business plan and the financially troubled golf course’s documents detailing losses over the years, said council member Jake Pieper, who made the motion to postpone.

It’s not the first time Salmon Run has sought an extension. Lease payments to the city, which owns the land, were to begin in 2010. However, the city gave Salmon Run a two-year extension due to financial problems.

City Manager Gary Milliman said Monday it’s time to come up with a solid plan “so we’re not here two years from now dealing with another extension.”

The course, built by the Brookings-based Claveran Group, opened in 2000 after an agreement with the city was signed two years earlier. The lease allowed several years of payment-free operation to let Salmon Run get on its feet.

However, the course lost an average of $41,000 annually from 2006 to 2010, according to the 2012 business plan written by course General Manager Ed Murdock.

If the council approves the latest two-year extension request, it would mean the city has lost $110,000 over the four-year period. Murdock said in a letter to Milliman the course is “at the brink of closing.”

Council members showed a range of reactions Monday. Brent Hodges, who acknowledged he plays at Salmon Run about once a month, said, “I don’t think the city is out any great amount of money. Giving up on the golf course would not be a wise decision.”

But Dave Gordon countered, “The city is not responsible for making the golf course profitable. It is a business. I think the city has bent over backwards and been patient.”

Hodges asked Murdock if an annual payment of $30,000 would be feasible in two years.

“Three years ago we were at break even, and that’s when the economy went down,” Murdock said. “Right now, $30,000 would be a lot in two years.”

Seven citizens spoke during the meeting and all of them urged the council to revise the lease.

Salmon Run treasurer Bill Smyth said tournaments at the course raise money for charities and Salmon Run draws visitors who bolster the local economy.

“It is going to take time and patience for it to really pay off,” he said. “It will pay off in due time.”

Tom Applebee said he and his wife, former Californians, chose Brookings as a retirement home in 2004 because of Salmon Run.

“That golf course attracted us here,” he said. “It was a necessary ingredient. It’s one of the crown jewels of the Southern Oregon Coast.”

Brookings-Harbor Chamber of Commerce President Les Cohen also supported the extension, saying people used to leave Brookings because there was no golf course.

“I strongly urge you to do what you can to maintain this beautiful asset to our community,” he said.

Murdock’s business plan lists several improvements he believes would help make Salmon Run profitable. Those include making the driving range longer, building a new clubhouse and building lodging to attract out-of-town golfers.

The lodging component, he said, is at a standstill because banks are not willing to give a loan for the project.

Milliman suggested that, if the council decides to revise Salmon Run’s lease, the new document should require a series of meetings between the city and golf course management to monitor the financial situation.