SOUTHWICK – A public hearing was held at the Select Board meeting on Monday night regarding the Southwick Country Club property. Reported by the Westfield News on Nov. 3, Southwick Country Club owner Bill Najam filed papers to sell the 110-acre property.
The town of Southwick has the right of first refusal and can purchase the property if they choose to and the Select Board makes the ultimate decision on that matter. Before making any decision, the board wanted to hear from other town departments that may be involved and as well as the public.
Christopher Pratt, the Chairman of the Conservation Commission, is against the town purchasing it as the town is already making an effort to preserve the North Pond property.
“We don’t see any purpose in saving this land,” said Pratt.
If the town decided not to exercise their right of first refusal, Fiore Realty LLC is the secondary party that is interested in buying the land and will most likely use the majority of the land to build single family homes.
A public hearing at the Select Board meeting regarding the sale of the Southwick Country Club. (Photo courtesy of Greg Fitzpatrick)
Marcus Phelps of the Planning Board is pleased enough with the amount of infrastructure and resources that the property has and wants to see it developed.
“There are two zones there,” said Phelps. “It’s reasonable to have that developed.”
Najam then stood up and explained why he made the decision to put up the country club for sale.
“We’ve tried to operate the course well and provide a public play for as long as we could possibly sustain it,” said Najam. “It’s become increasingly difficult to make any money in the business.”
Najam also mentioned that the lack of profit can be pointed towards the high number of public courses that are within 30 minutes of Southwick that make it extremely competitive.
While Najam is standing by his decision, one of his most avid customers at the golf course wants to see the town purchase the establishment and have it remain as a golf course.
“I think a golf course is a tremendous resource for the town,” said Chris Vanasse.
Southwick Select Board. (Photo courtesy of Greg Fitzpatrick)
Although Vanasse pointed to the benefits that the course provided for the town, Select Board Chairman Doug Moglin discussed that golfers will still have Edgewood and The Ranch in Southwick, along with numerous other courses in the nearby area.
“I personally don’t want to see the town of Southwick be the operator of a municipal golf course,” said Moglin. “There’s no shortage of opportunities to golf in this area.”
Besides the fact that the Select Board believes that the removal of Southwick Country Club could help Edgewood and The Ranch, Select Board Clerk Russ Fox also thinks the adding of single family homes could really help the declining enrollment with the school district.
“The town has to grow,” said Fox. “We do need additional revenue.”
Fiore Realty was also in attendance for the hearing and understood Vanasse’s opinion but feels that their potential purchase for development is the best option.
“I would love to keep it as a golf course, it just doesn’t make any fiscal sense,” said Dick Fiore, who is the Vice President of Fiore Realty. “This is what I think the town needs.”
Despite the Select Board voicing their opinion to make it unlikely that they’ll exercise their right of first refusal, they decided to table the discussion until their next meeting to give the public a little more time to give more input and ask questions.
