The Board of Selectmen voted unanimously for a new five-year fee schedule for the town-owned North Hill Country Club. The schedule will last for the life of the new contract when it begins in January 2009.

Following the recommendation of Recreation Director Gordon Cushing and the Fiscal Advisory Committee, the Board of Selectmen approved the fees at a public hearing so that bidders on the contract for the nine-hole golf course on Merry Avenue will know exactly how much revenue they can make. The new fees represent the maximum a manager could charge.

Cushing said that in the current ten-year contract, fee increases were tied to the consumer price index. Calculating that percentage has led to headaches for both the manager and the town.

“What we did in the past was flawed,” said Cushing. “Experience is the best teacher. To set fees for the length of the contract will give our bidders a level playing field.”

Cushing said there was no formula used when creating the five-year fee schedule; increases range from zero to $120 depending upon membership category. Some memberships didn’t increase the first year at all, such as the family resident and non-resident categories because those were at the upper end of what the market will bear, said Cushing.

The junior membership is the most popular. Currently, 150 memberships are offered and they always sell out. Cushing said the junior membership will rise from $215 to $275 next year, and to $300 the year after. Even at the increased prices, Cushing said the juniors are getting an “extremely excellent price.”

According to Cushing, if membership sales and daily guest fees and cart costs were to remain the same, the new operator could potentially make an additional $20,000 to $30,000 in the first year of the contract. 

North Hill Advisory Committee Chairman Mike Doolin said that the best way for a manager to increase revenue is to increase the number of rounds played and to offer better service.

Resident Joe Lamothe of Mill Pond Lane said he had recently taken up golf to play with his nine-year old son and could compare many local courses to North Hill. He said in many cases, the cost to play North Hill was more expensive and the course did not offer specials, such as resident greens fee discounts or reduced rates for twilight play.

Selectman Betsy Sullivan asked if the new contract will require the manager to build a new driving range, allowing a golf professional to give lessons and making it more appealing to juniors and beginners.

Cushing said that while the committee would like a driving range, it decided not to ask for one because under a five-year contract, the cost of building it might reduce the amount the town receives as a lease payment. Under the ten-year contract the current manager, Johnson Golf and Turf, Inc., built a $500,000 clubhouse and a new septic system. The longer contract allowed them to recoup the costs of these items.

Sullivan wanted the committee to ask potential new managers to bid on a contract with and without a driving range.

“There has to be some value added,” said Sullivan. “Let’s take another look at the driving range.”

Setting the fee schedule will now allow the committee to issue a request for proposals for the new contract.