ITEM PHOTO BY OWEN O’ROURKE
Kelley Greens, a nine hole golf course in Nahant.
By BRIDGET TURCOTTE
NAHANT — The Kelley Greens Golf Course could have a new operator that would raise more cash for the town.
Nahant is accepting bids for new management of the 39-acre property at 1 Willow Road.
For the past decade, it has been managed by Michael O’Callaghan. But the lease expires at year’s end.
Jeff Chelgren, town administrator, and the Golf Course Management Committee said the new lease will include the option for an extension and more flexibility.
Chelgren said the previous lease required ground maintenance and a specific amount of revenue.
“The proposal we are looking at now it’s looking at setting optimum numbers and optimum expectations, but allowing the respondents to be more flexible,” Chelgren said. “If we can increase the number of respondents, we can increase the potential revenues to the the town through the successful lease or bidder, and we can also drive what we consider to be best business practices.”
The previous five-year lease with an option to extend for an additional five, required an annual payment of $129,000. The committee suggested setting a $95,000 minimum with a five-year lease and two, five-year extensions.
The longer term would allow improvements to the site, building, and grounds that would be worthwhile for the bidder, Chelgren said.
The town-owned property was seized by the military prior to World War I, according to assessor Sheila Hambleton.
“The government didn’t do anything with it,” she said. “It just became overgrown.”
The land was eventually sold and transformed into a golf course by Daniel Marcotte, groundskeeper for Fenway Park. It was renamed “Drumquill.” But the name was later changed to Kelley Greens, after the death of longtime selectman Charles Kelley, who led an effort for the course’s revitalization, and developed remedies for a flooding problem on the property, Hambleton said.
The golf course changed hands a few times, eventually belonging to Stephen O’Malley and Peter Dawson, who sold the parcel back to Nahant for $2 million in 1989.
Since the town acquired the property, it has contracted with several management companies who have generally run the facility for a decade at a time.
Mary Ellen Shuman, administrative assistant, said the town is hoping that the lower rent will attract more bidders, who will offer more money. But she said that won’t be the only consideration.
“There’s a rating system,” Shuman said. “They’re not just looking at price proposal. They’re looking for a certain criteria. The golf committee will rate each candidate on a list of values, it’s not just a matter of revenue for the town.”
Evaluation criteria includes golf course, bar and restaurant management experience. Financial stability and having a maintenance plan for the grounds will also be factors.
Proposals are due on July 15 at 10 a.m. at the Nahant Town Hall. Each will be rated on July 30, and the committee will finalize its recommendation in August. The choice will be presented to the Board of Selectmen in September, and a new lease will be signed.
O’Callaghan did not returns calls seeking comment.
Bridget Turcotte can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @BridgetTurcotte
