By Kevin J. Sabo
For the Advance
After being directed to do so by council, Town of Castor administration has brought forward a draft lease between the Town of Castor and the Castor Golf Club.
The lease stipulates acceptable uses out at the golf course, and what the Town will look after versus the club - however it wasn’t the only document presented to council for review.
Believing that the relationship between the Town of Castor and the golf club is more complicated than can be effectively managed with a lease, the Castor Golf Club presented a draft copy of a Memorandum of Agreement prepared by themselves.
There are some subtle differences between the two documents.
The lease presented to council stipulates that the golf club and the Town would share costs for improvements on the property as Town finances allow, and that the golf course would be solely responsible for all of its own operating costs, including utilities.
Rent on the property would be $1 a year, and the lease would expire in five years, unless terminated early by either party with six months only.
On the other hand, the Memorandum of Agreement presented to council stipulates that the Town of Castor would be responsible for the exterior maintenance of all buildings, as well as the interior mechanical systems of all buildings.
The Town of Castor would also be expected to pay 50 per cent of all utilities.
The Memorandum of Agreement would run indefinitely, and the agreement as written would not allow the Town of Castor to withdraw without permission of the golf club.
While council members liked some of the wording in the memorandum, the general feeling was that a lease was preferable, though administration has been directed to rework the lease agreement using some of the memorandum language, and then bring it back to council before forwarding it to the golf club for signature.
Also received during the March 8th meeting of Castor was a funding request worth $22,000 for the re-tinning of the golf cart shed.
Administration informed council that if they were to consider this request, it would be the equivalent to a 1.5 per cent tax increase for community residents, due to how tight the budget already is.
“We cannot raise taxes to pay for this,” said Mayor Richard Elhard, a sentiment echoed by several other council members.
“We can’t afford it right now,” agreed Coun. Rod Zinger.
Administration was directed to write a response back to the Castor Golf Club denying the request for funding.