Above: This year, rain kept the Southborough Golf Club greens a welcoming green. Investing in a new irrigation system would be needed to attract golfers in drier years. (photo by Beth Melo)
Six years ago, Town Meeting voters were asked to fund a big project involving the purchase of the golf course from St. Mark’s School. Proponents pitched that the course would become a self funded operation.
Now Town officials are considering asking for another $525K in CPA funds to replace an outdated irrigation system. That would bring the Town’s investment to over $1.4M beyond the project’s initial 2017 ask.
Last night, the Select Board received an update from the Golf Course Committee. Chair Tony Schoener apprised the board of the accomplishments of the committee and golf course management. He requested, and received, permission to use revenue generated by the golf course to pay for some smaller improvements, to begin this fall.
Schoener also asked for the board’s guidance on funding the irrigation system.
Below are highlights from those discussions, plus some context on the history of the course and past investments.
Recent and Upcoming self-funded improvements
The course has seen year over year increased use by the public and revenue. As a result, fees paid out of the revenues to the Town (by the management company) have also increased annually. Those fees go into a revolving fund that covered recent infrastructure improvements.
Those improvements included were made to reduce the number of errant balls on Latisquama Road. Tee boxes for holes 6 & 7 were repositioned, additional screening trees planted, and more fencing installed.
On Tuesday, the Select Board approved using the fund to pay for four more projects requested by the management company. $60K will pay for installing additional netting on Latisquama (at holes 3 & 4), improving drainage at the first hole, improving the cart path for the third hole, and refurbishing 14 bunkers that haven’t been refurbished in over 20 years.
Irrigation System Request and Funding Issues
The committee chair highlighted that the course has been green (and welcoming to players) this year because of the rainy summer and spring. Schoener warned that if next summer is dry, the impact to the course might turn off some golfers.
Schoener explained that the current irrigation system for the course is leaky, requires frequent repairs, and is time consuming for golf course staff. The management company received a $525K estimate (9 months ago) for a system that would provide better coverage, be more cost efficient to operate, and require less labor time.
His committee was looking at applying for use of CPA (Community Preservation Act) funds for the project, possibly with some of the funding out of the revolving account. He hoped to have the work done before the golf season begins in the spring or only causing a short delay to the opening.
Select Board member Kathy Cook pointed out that if voters approve CPA fund use at Annual Town Meeting, they couldn’t be used until July 1st. Therefore work would need to wait until after the season ended in fall 2024.
Town Administrator Mark Purple explained that the legal roadblock to using the revolving fund to pay for a long term bond for the project is that the fees that go into the fund are based on a shorter term contract with the current management company. (It’s a three year contract that expires in 2026 with an option for the town to renew for two more years.)
That wouldn’t be an issue if it was a CPA project.
Select Board member Al Hamilton said he didn’t want to see CPA funds used on the project. He noted that if they could get things to line up legally, he believed the figures would work for the golf course to pay for itself.
Cook floated using CPA funds for the project (which include a state match) for the project, then eventually transferring money out of the Golf Course revolving fund to pay for non-golf expenses (Town operational and capital expenses in the General Fund.)
However, she was concerned there might not be enough money in the CPA Recreation “bucket” to fund the project. It is competing with two other Town projects seeking those funds (a Recreation Commission proposal to use Lundblad field for a dog park and other purposes, and at Trails Committee project).
Hamilton opined that since the management company would benefit from the project, it would be a good time to renegotiate the agreement. (Labor savings of a new watering system would benefit the management company, which pays the employees, not the Town.)
Member Sam Stivers preferred to wait until the renewal date. He explained that that the company was just starting to see a decent profit after a few years of the margin being squeezed while work on the Public Safety Building impacted the course.
Hamilton rebutted that if the company wants the Town to invest another half million dollars, they should propose how the Town will see a return on its investment.
Hamilton stressed, “I’ve got a lots of other uses for this money.” He spoke of a need for more playgrounds in town. His neighborhood doesn’t have playgrounds, hydrants, parks, or sidewalks.
History of Golf Course investments
In 2017, Annual Town Meeting voters approved spending $4.5M (and giving up some land parcels) to purchase the 9 hole golf course between Latisquama and Cordaville roads from St. Mark’s School.
The Town’s main reason for proposing the deal was to provide a place to build the Public Safety Building.
At the same time, voters were told that if the Town didn’t make the deal, the school would sell the land to the highest bidder. For some vocal proponents, the deal was structured in a way to allow the course to remain open for golfers and keep it from being developed.
Subsequent to the 2017 vote, the private school changed the terms of the agreement, choosing not to take a parcel on School Street. That increased the Town’s payment by an additional $449K.
In 2018, voters approved funding $250K for restorations to the course (required based on the public safety building), plus another $646K in CPA funding related to the Conservation Restriction, parking lot and more course restorations, and an Audubon program.
That brought the cumulative investment to almost $5.9M. And that doesn’t include the value of having traded away the 2.47 acre parcel on downtown Main Street.
The golf course is nominally “Profitable” this year it will generate about $80,000 which will flow into a revolving fund. The revolving fund is used to pay for capital improvements to the course. This year the fund will use $60,000 for the improvements cited above.
Because, as a public body, we never think about depreciation we miss considering the regular need to fund capital replacement and expansions in our accounting of an operation. If we did so the course would at this point be at about break even.
In addition to the generous funding to date we should remember that the course, because we own it, does not pay property taxes as well. This sum should be added to total subsidy.
The golf course needs to stand on it’s own as promised. This includes funding depreciation and capital improvements. If the town is to invest another half a million dollars (or more) there needs to be a clear mechanism that provides a substantial return on the investment in terms of actual monies that flow into the General Fund.