City eyes country club buy
By Ethan Smith
Published in News on February 15, 2015 1:50 AM
esmith@newsargus.com
Slightly more than two months after the Goldsboro Country Club announced it was closing its doors, the Goldsboro City Council will consider voting Monday night on buying the club to keep it in operation.
The club closed its doors just before Thanksgiving after accumulating more than $400,000 in debt in recent years.
The city would buy out that debt at cost, and spend another $475,000 to renovate the property inside and out.
City Manager Scott Stevens said the project could cost up to $1.5 million once all the needed renovations are completed.
"When the idea was first brought to the city, we were probably semi-lukewarm about it," Stevens said. "We weren't sure we really needed it. I know for me, if I was a one or a two on a scale of one to 10 when we started talking about it, right now I'm probably a seven. Looking at it, the facility is really in better condition than I thought it would be. I thought it may have had more neglected maintenance in it that needed to be done."
Stevens said what warmed him to the idea was the availability of the golf course on the property. The city would have a good gathering space, club house and golf course all in one area if the property is purchased, he said.
"There is a demand for meeting space in the community, so that's a side benefit to me," Stevens said. "If it were there by itself and the golf course wasn't there, I think I would have stayed at a one or a two. I wouldn't have gotten to be at a seven."
The pool would be done away with, the parking lot resurfaced and rearranged in certain areas and the trees blocking the property from Slocumb Street would likely be removed, he said.
In the city's 10-year plan, one item that has consistently popped up is the need for a new golf course clubhouse, Stevens said. Purchasing the country club would allow for this item to be taken care of, as well as providing extra benefits Goldsboro's current golf course does not have.
Stevens said the space would provide a rental space, soft tennis courts, a replacement for its current clubhouse, a better golf course, a nicer bar and grill and a one-level facility for the city.
"I can't tell you that I'm to the point yet of saying we're going to replace the golf course clubhouse, but some day, at some point in time, the city is going to have to spend money on the current clubhouse," Stevens said. "So our thought would be tear it down and add another one by a building that would be a grander one than we would ever build, and it would give us a good meeting space."
Stevens said the main renovations needed inside the country club are new paint and new carpeting in several rooms.
The city would not use the existing kitchen as a full-service kitchen, but would cut the area in half and make half of it a warming kitchen for catered events, and the other half a locker room for the golf course.
The men and women's bathrooms would switch sides in the front of the building to allow the women's bathroom to have more space.
Stevens said the city would likely borrow the money needed to purchase the property and to buy out its existing debt, and would pay it back over time. The money would be placed in the city's general fund.
If the council decides to move forward with the purchase of the property, the deal would most likely move quickly.
"We'd be looking to take over the property as quick as we can," Stevens said. "We don't have a firm timeline yet, but we'd probably close on the property in 30 to 45 days and look to be in the building by June."