Reading Country Club remains golf course, restaurant
Unanimous supervisors vote echoes public sentiment, ends longrunning issue
The Exeter Township supervisors have sided with the majority of public opinion to keep the Reading Country Club as a golf course, banquet and restaurant complex.
Supervisors voted unanimously on Feb. 24 to keep the club as green space and to move forward with requests for proposals, or RFPs, to efficiently lease or manage the property.
To jumpstart the process, the board also approved allowing Golf Property Analysts of Conshohocken to come up with a consulting proposal.
GPA President Lawrence A. Hirsh talked about the pros and cons of leasing, versus hiring managers, to run the country club and golf course.
“Leasing the property takes tax liability off the township, but capital expenditures would probably be required,” Hirsh said.
Hirsh said management contracts work in a variety of ways, but may also leave the township vulnerable. He suggested doing a market analysis, broadening and making RFPs more flexible, examining economics, and absorbing feedback from other municipalities and management companies.
An audience of over 30 applauded supervisors as they discussed their plans.
Supervisor Joseph R. Staub said the club was an asset to the township and suggested forgiving the club its responsibility to pay the $1.5 million in legal fees incurred by a previous board, and possibly using revenues from the sale of the wastewater treatment plant to cover some or all of it.
Supervisors Gregory Galtere, Michelle Kircher, John Cusatis and Chairman David Speece also commented.
“At the last meeting 44 (attendees) spoke, 39 in support of the golf course,” Galtere said.
Kircher said the Rt. 422 corridor off of which the club is located is already congested.
“The worst thing to do would be more townhomes,” he said.
Cusatis said that in the upcoming weeks supervisors are meeting with a chef and people who run golf courses.
“I’m good with staying with the golf course as long as it’s run properly,” Cusatis said.
“We should enjoy the property and learn from our past mistakes by putting a long-term plan in place to move forward and focus on optimizing this business,” Speece said.
Other business:
Also Monday, the board approved:
• $33,922 to support Exeter Township Police Department operations, which required replacement of three computer servers.
• $22,143 for the replacement of 12 outdated computers in the police department.
• $111,298 to purchase two police vehicles. All police items are part of the 2020 budget.
• Authorizing Simone Collins of Simone Collins Landscape Architecture of Norristown, Montgomery County, to prepare and submit state grant applications to the departments of Community and Economic Development and Conservation and Natural Resources for improvements at Farming Ridge and Pine Land parks.
• Allowing Boy Scouts Troop 319 to use the upper lot of the township’s EMS property for their Easter flower sale April 8 through 11.