Country Club of Wilbraham still a ways off from new lease

Date: 4/17/2012

April 16, 2012

By Chris Maza

chrism@thereminder.com

WILBRAHAM — The State Senate and House of Representatives recently approved special legislation that would allow the Country Club of Wilbraham to extend its lease with the town, however, the finalization of a new long-term pact is still a ways off.

"This was step three or four of what's a 12-step process," Board of Selectmen Chair Patrick Brady told Reminder Publications.

The Country Club of Wilbraham is in the process of attempting to refinance its debt, Brady said, and hopes to use a new 30-year lease extension as collateral.

A lease with the town is necessary because the semi-private 18-hole golf course and clubhouse sit on town-owned land. In 2011, the 10th year of the current 25-year lease, when the Board of Directors went to the town to request an extension, it was discovered that a state law, known as the Uniform Procurement Act, prohibits leases of more than 30 years and that the town would only be able to offer a five-year extension.

"From a refinancing standpoint, it didn't make a lot of sense and wouldn't be worth the time and effort that would have had to be put into it," Dean Helm, general manager of the Country Club of Wilbraham, said.

The town, however, could pursue special legislation in order to circumvent the Uniform Procurement Act.

"In order for this to happen, there first had to be a vote at a Town Meeting for approval, then it had to be approved at the state level," Brady said.

After Helm explained to the town that the club wished to take advantage of "record-low interest rates," residents approved the pursuit of special legislation to extend the lease beyond 30 years at the Oct. 18, 2011 Special Town Meeting and roughly seven months later, the State Senate and House of Representatives agreed.

"Our State Representatives and State Senator really helped us out with this," Helm said."The next step is the legislation passing on Gov. [Deval] Patrick's desk. We have already worked out the terms of the lease extension with the town, then it will have to be approved at town meeting."

Once those steps are complete, it will open up the opportunity for the Country Club of Wilbraham to negotiate with Country Bank on a new financing agreement, according to Brady.

"What they would like to do is go from a variable rate loan to a fixed rate loan and extend the life of that loan," he said.

Brady stressed the importance of the refinancing for the club, given the unsteady economy and the especially heavy toll on the golf industry.

"The economic downslide has been very hard on golf courses," Brady said. "There have been four or five golf course bankruptcies in the last year, including Hampden Country Club."

Hampden Country Club was foreclosed upon by TD Bank on Dec. 1, 2011 and sold at auction to Jerry and Frank Antonacci, owners of USA Hauling and Recycling in Enfield, Conn., on Jan. 10.

However, Helm emphasized that the Country Club of Wilbraham was in no danger of bankruptcy and the refinancing is solely a sound business move.

"There is no concern whatsoever. The club is very stable. Through the years we have run a pretty stable operation with no peaks and valleys because we have reinvested conservatively in this club," he said. "This move is nothing but positive. With as low as interest rates are right now, we'd be crazy not to take advantage of them. It's a lot like how people are trying to refinance their homes. We're trying to save money in the long run."

Brady echoed those assertions, adding that Helm and his staff have done well in maintaining the course both physically and financially.

"They're simply trying to be responsible by getting on firmer financial footing," Brady said. "Dean Helm has done a great job managing the course and its debt and has maintained a really nice resource for the town."

The Country Club of Wilbraham was first opened as a nine-hole course in 1927. In 2002, the club opened its back nine and expanded its banquet facility and clubhouse.

The club was unscathed by the June 1, 2011 tornado, but suffered damage from both the July 26, 2011 microburst and the Oct. 29, 2011 snowstorm.

However, Mother Nature has been on the club's side ever since, allowing for a speedy cleanup and the early start of the 2012 golfing season.

"The golf course is in great shape," Helm said."The microburst hit a very specific area of the course, but with the snowstorm, we experienced a lot of the widespread damage the rest of the town did.

"But the weather has been fantastic and we were able to spend the winter cleaning up from that and now the course is in phenomenal shape," he continued.