Lynn buys Gannon golf cart shed

LYNN – The city bought a golf cart shed Monday when city councilors approved a transfer for $84,500 during a meeting that lasted less than five minutes.According to City Attorney James Lamanna, Mike Foster operated the golf cart concession at Gannon Municipal Golf Course and built the shed that housed the enterprise. With Foster now gone, “the city will need to buy the shed or he can take it down and take it with him,” Lamanna told councilors during a finance meeting Monday.Foster ended a career in November that included 39 years as head pro at Gannon and five years as an assistant, along with leasing the golf carts. It was also in November that longtime groundskeeper Steve Murphy offered the only bid to operate the municipal golf course. The bid came after city officials followed the state Inspector General’s recommendations to put Gannon’s operation out to bid. Previous operator Gannon Building Association ran the course under a contract that expired on Nov. 30.Part of the operation of the club includes the golf cart concession and the building that houses it. Lamanna said Foster had been paying taxes on the building he erected and the city could let him dismantle it but replacing it could cost upwards of $200,000.”State law states we can’t pay more than 25 percent of the assessed value,” Lamanna said. “He will get the maximum we can pay and it will still be cheaper than if the city had to rebuild.”Ward 2 Councilor William Trahant asked if Foster, who was not in attendance, was okay with the arrangement, and Lamanna said he is.Ward 3 Councilor Darren Cyr wondered who would maintain the building and what will happen to the golf carts. Lamanna said the city will be responsible for maintaining the building, which would be included in the lease deal with a new operator.”We never owned the golf carts,” added the city’s acting Chief Financial Officer Peter Caron. “A successful bidder will operate the golf cart concession. (Foster) leased the carts in the past and the new person will too. We just provide the building.”