West Pubnico club seeks help as it looks to the future

Darryl LeBlanc, president of the West Pubnico Golf and Country Club, speaking to Argyle municipal council Feb. 13.

Facing a number of challenges – including a downturn in golf and rising costs – the West Pubnico Golf and Country Club is turning to the Municipality of Argyle for help, including a request that the municipality consider purchasing the facility and allow the club to lease it back as a not-forprofit.

The club is proposing the municipality buy the facility for the cost of its debt – which totals about $280,000 to $290,000 – and have the club continue to run the operation, but as a not-for-profit, which would allow the club to do fundraising.

The West Pubnico club is a limited company, a structure that was set up in the late 1960s, when the club opened.

In the shorter term, the club also is asking the municipality for annual financial assistance – in the amount of property tax paid – for at least a five-year period to help with upgrading the facility and for equipment and repairs. This would be $19,000 per year.

Darryl LeBlanc, president of the West Pubnico Golf and Country Club, brought the requests to the Municipality of Argyle’s regular council meeting of Feb. 13. Council said it would review the matter and reach a decision at a later date.

The club has experienced a net loss of $174,000 since 2001, LeBlanc said, adding that while the club is able to operate and cover its bills, they are thinking of the future.

“What we need to do is look at moving to a not-for-profit at some point,” he said.

The club opened in 1968 with a nine-hole course. It expanded to 18 holes in 1991 and a new clubhouse was built in 2000, when the club had more than 300 members. It now has 192 members, about two-thirds of whom are over 55 years of age.

“At present, unless you are operating an elite course, the industry is in a downturn,” LeBlanc said in his council presentation. “With a strong economy in southwest Nova Scotia, there are many other activities that take people away from the sport.”

The West Pubnico Golf and Country Club is the only recreational facility in the Municipality of Argyle that has a full hall/ kitchen that can host other events, LeBlanc said, and the course holds potential for winter recreation.

The club doesn’t want the facility sold to private investors, he said.

“The board of directors’ goal is to ensure that the West Pubnico Golf and Country Club is a fixture in the Municipality of Argyle for many years,” LeBlanc said.