Highlands Clubhouse open to card players

Almost 50 residents came out for a meeting at Highlands Clubhouse on Thursday afternoon representing two groups, the Friends of the Highlands and card players looking for a venue, according to board member John Nuttall.

At last week’s board meeting, the board approved a plan to close the Highlands Golf Course for two and a half months for maintenance. The Clubhouse has been empty since the restaurant lessee Mason Dixon Restaurant left at the first of the year, but renovations have been in progress to add a snack bar. When the snack bar opened, the former restaurant dining room was to be open for members to use as a card room.

When one of the card players, Deb Sorenson, used the open forum portion of the board meeting to ask about using the dining room, General Manager Tom Judson promised to speak to her about it after the meeting. He said it would be a challenge to pay staff to keep the building open while the course was closed.

Sorenson was one of about 20 card players who attended the meeting at the Highlands. She was satisfied with the results.

After that meeting, it was announced that the former dining room will be open for the use of card players and other game players, but the snack bar will remain closed until the golf course reopens.

“There was a vote and that’s what we chose. We all spoke our own opinions,” Sorenson said.

The other group at the meeting, members of Friends of the Highlands, were interested in having food and beverages available, Nuttall said. They all live in the area and volunteer to help out at the golf course.

“But they didn’t have quite enough support for that,” he said.

As long as the snack bar is closed, the card groups will be allowed to bring their own food, Sorenson said. They will also be able to use the building for free.

The Golf Shop will be closed along with the course, so recreation employees from Branchwood will be responsible for opening and closing the building. Card groups will have to reserve the room in advance so Branchwood staff knows when their services are required, Judson said after the meeting.

When the course and the shop open, members without a photo ID and guests will be charged a $2.25 facility-use fee. At that time, the building will be supervised by golf employees.