Agawam upping its golf cart game by $100K
AGAWAM — Don't think of the $100,000 being transferred to the municipal golf course as a subsidy, city councilors urged this month. Think of it as an investment.
"We're giving ourselves a loan," said Councilor Robert E. Rossi, before joining an 11-0 vote to use that sum from the town's general capital fund to help pay for a new fleet of golf carts at the public course in Feeding Hills. Rossi added: "No taxpayer is going to pay for something that's supposed to be self-sustaining, which the golf course is. It's self-sustaining."
Mayor Christopher C. Johnson, who requested the transfer, said at the Oct. 20 meeting that the golf course will repay the loan, with 4% interest, out of its own revenues over the next two years. The capital stabilization fund money will cover less than half the cost of 65 new golf carts. The golf course's own savings account will pay the remaining $158,700.
Johnson said the current golf carts, which the town acquired on a lease-to-own contract five years ago, are showing their age, with "10% out of service on any day, based on repairs." On a fair-weather day during golf season, it's common for all available carts to be rented, he said, so having any carts in the repair shop means losing revenue. The older these carts get, he said, the more often they will break down.
Johnson said Tom DiRico, the course's general manager, "feels very strongly that in order to maintain revenue at the levels we're now seeing, we need to keep investing in the golf course, and keep investing in golf carts. … You have my word, this money will be repaid, with interest, to the capital stabilization fund."
Catherine McDougal, who is also a School Committee member, told councilors she was "concerned that there hasn't been a lot of transparency" about the need for new golf carts, or the question of whether previous subsidies from taxpayers to the golf course have been repaid. She questioned the need for new golf carts only five years after the last time the entire fleet was replaced, and said she would like to see a maintenance plan for ensuring these carts last longer.
Johnson said he considered another lease-to-own contract, rather than buying the carts outright, but it would have incurred $35,000 in interest charges.
"This is simply a question of economics," Johnson said. "In an effort to try to be as frugal as possible, this came out as being the best possible solution."
The golf course, which is part of the town government but manages its own revenues and expenses, has barely enough money saved up to afford the new carts, Johnson said. Paying for the carts with the funds available now would leave the budget without enough money for the planned purchase of course maintenance equipment this winter.
Under previous administrations, the golf course had a history of asking for bailouts from taxpayers, noted Councilor Dino R. Mercadante. He said he was impressed by the promise to pay the funds back, with interest, and likes how DiRico has restored the course to profitability since 2018.
"Prior times, before this administration, before this council, that's in the past," Mercadante said. "There's a new sheriff in town."
Councilor Edward Borgatti bluntly stated that he would have voted "a big no" if this request had come up years ago, when the golf course was not profitable.
Although it's meant to operate as an independent fund, the golf course serves a public function, said Councilor Gerald F. Smith. He said it's an "ideal" facility for young people learning the game, and older golfers seeking pleasant exercise without too much challenge. Many of the patrons are Agawam residents, he said.
The total cost of 65 new Club Car golf carts is $415,000, Johnson said. The $258,700 bill that Agawam will pay takes into account the trade-in value of the current 65 carts.
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