Options for the clubhouse include leasing the facility to another restaurateur or allowing the township to rent the facility to private parties and caterers for events, while options for the golf course include keeping the 18-hole course intact, reducing the course to nine holes, or closing the course and using the land for recreation.
Exeter Township supervisors unveiled options on April 9 for the Reading (Pa.) Country Club property, the Reading Eagle reported.
Township Manager John A. Granger presented a master plan with several options for the township-owned golf course and clubhouse, the Eagle reported.
As C&RB reported in December, the township evicted JMH Inc., the company that ran ViVa, the restaurant and banquet business at the club, over a liquor license dispute, the Eagle reported.
“There are two separate businesses at the country club, an 18-hole golf course and a clubhouse/restaurant,” Granger specified. Granger was directed by the supervisors in January to develop a master plan for the property, the Eagle reported.
Options for the clubhouse include leasing the facility to another restaurateur or allowing the township to rent the facility to private parties and caterers for various events, such as weddings and corporate functions. The township could earn $200,000 to $600,000 by renting the facility for private events, Granger said.
Granger presented options for the golf course: keeping the 18-hole course intact, reducing the course to nine holes, or closing the course and using the land for active or passive recreation, the Eagle reported.
A number of township community events, including a wine festival, winter festival of lights, egg hunt and outdoor movies, were held on the property in 2017 and are expected to continue this year, the Eagle reported.
Granger said if the course is reduced to nine holes, a splash pool and tot lot could be built on the property. Reducing the size of the course would cut maintenance expenses, he said, but would also reduce the number of golfers and decrease revenue, the Eagle reported.
If the golf course were to be eliminated completely and the property used for active recreation, indoor and outdoor pools could be built at a cost of about $15 million and a recreation center could be added for another $20 million, the Eagle reported.
This option was unpopular with the 60 people in the audience, at least one of whom pointed out that many private pools are struggling, the Eagle reported.
If the property were to be developed for passive recreation, Granger said, picnic pavilions could be built and a tot lot and splash pool might be an added attraction, the Eagle reported.
Regardless of which option is chosen, he said, the property will require some renovations and improvements, including access to Gibraltar Road, relocation of the aging maintenance building, and additional parking. The number of parking spaces needed will depend on use, the Eagle reported.
Several of the attendees spoke in favor of retaining the 18-hole golf course and others spoke in favor of attracting a restaurant to the clubhouse. “We need someone to come in and run the restaurant and catering business,” said resident Craig Perrotty. “Make a deal that ends up better for Exeter Township than what we had with ViVa.”
Perrotty also said he was in favor of preserving the 18-hole golf course, an opinion that garnered applause from the other attendees, the Eagle reported.
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