Scotsdale club renovation progressing

An application for a full liquor license has already been submitted, but the bar will probably serve only beer and Scotch whisky.

Clubhouse renovations should be complete when the Scotsdale Golf Course reopens in September, according to action by the Property Owners Association board at its meeting Thursday. Like the course, the clubhouse will reflect a Scottish Highlands feel.

The board approved spending $315,000 for the clubhouse project on Thursday. It will retain its footprint, Business Manager Tommy Lee told the board, but a 300-foot-long deck will be added in back. A bar with seating and a service window facing the deck will be added to the pro shop. One employee will be able to easily move between the golf counter and the bar, he said.

An application for a full liquor license has already been submitted, but the bar will probably serve only beer and Scotch whisky. There may be some wine, he said.

The course is closed while Bermudagrass greens are planted, pot bunkers are added and signs installed. The board approved $300,000 for the greens and bunkers last winter. Work is well underway.

The Scotsdale course is part of a larger effort to make each of the association’s six golf courses unique, board member Ron Stratton said earlier in the week.

The only food available in the clubhouse will be packaged snacks in the pro shop, but the course is convenient to the planned Lake Point restaurant and event center. In fact, one of the project’s goals is to make the course attractive to corporate groups using the event center at Lake Point, Lee said. The Lake Point project, a renovation of the old Yacht Club building, was approved last month with costs estimated at $1.3 million.

Outside, the Scotsdale building will be painted and dark accents will be added for a Scottish Tudor look. Landscaping will be added.

The restroom building close to Glasgow Road will be painted to match, Lee said. Improved signage will also be part of the project.

The board also voted to waive a three-bid policy on cart path work on the course. Only one company bid on the project to repair some sections of cart path at the cost of just under $100,000, General Manager Tom Judson explained. They will get the contract.

In other action, the board approved a policy making the Young Residents Committee an official joint advisory committee of the association. The group has been meeting for the last year. More members are needed for the committee, said Bob Brooks, board chairman.

Board member John Nuttall suggested a policy that might help residents near the dams on Lakes Avalon and Norwood. Although fireworks are not permitted on POA property, the roads

over those two dams have been popular places to shoot off fireworks and residents complain about the noise. Nuttall suggested closing both roads from six p.m. until midnight during the time period when fireworks can be used in the city — June 27 to July 11. Lake rangers can put

up sawhorses to close the roads, Nuttall said.

Although the POA owns the dams, the city owns the roads and they cannot be closed if they are used by local residents to get home, Doug McCash, the POA’s staff attorney warned. The police might chose to help with enforcement, but because

it’s a POA policy rather than a city ordinance, they will be able to choose their level of enforcement.

The board voted to make the change and work with the city on enforcement.