Published in the October 4, 2017 edition

By DAN TOMASELLO

LYNNFIELD — The town needs a mulligan.

That will be the Board of Selectmen’s message to Town Meeting on Oct. 16, as the selectmen voted unanimously to indefinitely postpone Article 3 on Monday. Article 3 would have sought to allocate funds in order to construct a clubhouse and grounds equipment building at the King Rail Reserve Golf Course.

Architect John Savasta of CSS, Architects, Inc. gave a brief presentation on the proposed clubhouse and equipment building. He said the original design involved bringing nine feet of fill to the site in order to construct a two-story clubhouse, which would have had a storage area in the building’s basement. The selectmen determined that project was too costly.

In the wake of the selectmen’s decision, Savasta came up with a new design that involves constructing two different buildings in order to reduce the project’s cost. He said the project involves building a pre-fabricated storage building and a separate clubhouse. However, he said the soil at the site is not stable enough to support each building, so Savasta recommended removing the old soil and replacing it with new soil.

According to Savasta, the base bid for building the grounds equipment building, parking lot and site work has a cost estimate of $1,915,100. He said the first alternate bid involves building the clubhouse and the associated site work for $1,020,000. The second alternative bid entails constructing an exterior canopy on the clubhouse for $60,000.

Savasta said if the town approved the base bid and the two alternatives, the project would cost $2,995,100. He said last year’s estimate was $2,565,000, which is $430,100 less than year’s estimated cost. He attributed the price increase to removing fill from the site as well as constructing the road.

“We feel we can make all of this work and have it out to bid in the spring of 2018,” said Savasta. “We feel we have accomplished a beautiful setting for the property. We feel this is a worthwhile investment for the town.”

Reaction

Selectmen Chairman Chris Barrett said “there is a need” for King Rail to have a clubhouse and equipment building, but raised concerns about the project’s cost. He inquired if the town could appeal an order of conditions issued by the Conservation Commission to the state in order to reduce the cost of the road.

Town Administrator Jim Boudreau said “if we wanted to appeal the order of conditions to the state we could, but the governor can’t wave a magic wand and waive environmental provisions.”

“It’s not allowed,” Boudreau added. “I don’t think there is anything that onerous in the order of conditions that we would want to appeal, it’s just the nature of the site. The Conservation Commission has been very good to us and I don’t think we are going to get any relief from the state.”

Selectman Dick Dalton said he was disappointed “the cost estimate went up even further.”

“I don’t see myself supporting this at this point,” said Dalton. “I would like to indefinitely postpone this. Speaking for myself, we haven’t had a chance to do our due diligence as a board that is required for a $3 million dollar expenditure to go before Town Meeting. I am not comfortable with it at this point. I still find it hard to believe that a simple clubhouse for a nine-hole golf course could be $3 million. The other concern I have is this has to be viewed in the bigger picture of what the town’s priorities are in terms of capital expenditures. This has to fit into a longterm capital expenditure program.”

Selectman Phil Crawford said he has been working on the clubhouse project for the past two years, and said he appreciated Savasta’s work on the project.

“The important thing to look at here is none of this is going to get done until next fall,” said Crawford. “We are not going to do a construction project on the golf course during the golf season. It’s not that I don’t want to get this on the warrant, but there is no need to do it for this October Town Meeting. I think we should have more time to vet this and look at the options we might have. We don’t have the funds in hand to get this whole project done.”

Barrett echoed Crawford and Dalton’s viewpoints. “I think delaying it to the spring would be the prudent thing for us,” he said.

Boudreau said he reviewed the project’s cost with Town Accountant Julie McCarthy before the selectmen’s meeting. He said the town would be able to fund the maintenance building bid, but not the entire project.

PGA golf professional Donnie Lyons, who runs King Rail and the Reedy Meadow Golf Course, said, “If we don’t do something about the parking lot and the maintenance building in the near future, we are going to lose business.”

“We have a lot of women who play there and we have two women’s leagues,” said Lyons. “With all due respect, porta-potties are not making it, especially in women’s business. We have told them every year it will get better the following year and it hasn’t gotten better.”

Lyons floated the possibility of getting a better trailer with bathrooms that would replace the existing trailer and porta-potties in the interim.

“To make the business grow, you have to show (customers) you are willing to grow with it,” said Lyons.

The selectmen took the suggestion under advisement.