An audience applauded as the Board of Supervisors in Exeter Township discussed how the club was an asset and needed to be protected from development, before then voting unanimously to keep the property as green space and move forward with RFPs for efficiently leasing or managing its operation.

The Board of Supervisors in Exeter Township, Pa. has sided with the majority of public opinion to keep the Reading (Pa.) Country Club as a golf course, banquet and restaurant complex, the Reading Eagle reported.

The Township supervisors voted unanimously on February 24th to keep the club as green space and to move forward with requests for proposals to efficiently lease or manage the property, the Eagle reported.

An audience of over 30 applauded the supervisors as they discussed their plans, the Eagle reported.

Supervisor Joseph R. Staub said the club was an asset to the township and suggested forgiving the club its responsibility to pay the $1.5 million in legal fees incurred by a previous Board, and possibly using revenues from the sale of a wastewater treatment plant to cover some or all of the fees, the Eagle reported.

Supervisors Gregory Galtere, Michelle Kircher, John Cusatis and Chairman David Speece also commented, the Eagle reported..

“At the last meeting 44 [attendees] spoke, 39 in support of the golf course,” Galtere noted.

Kircher said the Rt. 422 corridor, off of which the club is located, is already congested. “The worst thing to do would be [to allow] more townhomes [to be developed on the club property],” he said.

In the upcoming weeks, supervisors will be meeting with a chef and people who run golf courses, Cusatis said. “I’m good with staying with the golf course, as long as it’s run properly,” he said.

“We should enjoy the property and learn from our past mistakes by putting a long-term plan in place to move forward and focus on optimizing this business,“ Speece added.

To jumpstart the process of moving forward, the supervisors also approved allowing Golf Property Analysts (GPA) of Conshohocken, Pa. to come up with a consulting proposal for the club’s operation, the Eagle reported.

GPA President Lawrence A. Hirsh talked about the pros and cons of leasing, versus hiring managers, to run the country club and golf course, the Eagle reported.

“Leasing the property transfers the operating risk from the township to the lessee, but capital expenditures would probably be required,” Hirsh said.

Management contracts work in a variety of ways, but may also leave the township vulnerable, Hirsh added. He suggested doing a market analysis, broadening and making proposals more flexible, examining economics, and absorbing feedback from other municipalities and management companies, the Eagle reported.