The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Hamden mulls new deal with golf course manager
HAMDEN — Some say it’s a deal the town can’t pass up. Others say it puts Hamden at risk.
Under a proposed amendment to a municipal contract, Triumph Golf Management Inc. would invest roughly $300,000 in the building at the townowned Laurel View Country Club. The business also would pay more in rent for the property, which includes a golf course.
In return, it would be able to use the banquet facility and have the option to renew the lease through 2041.
The amendment and accompanying bid waiver made it through a recent Legislative Council committee meeting, clearing their first hurdle — though some local lawmakers shared reservations.
Now the agreement needs to pass the full council.
Formerly run by the municipality, Hamden in 2000 leased the golf course Matt Menchetti, who now runs Triumph Golf Management.
The starting rent of $190,000 was
slated to increase by $7,500 annually, according to past reporting, though the contract has undergone several amendments since then. The New Haven Register requested the previous agreements but they were not immediately available.
In the first years of Menchetti’s management, course conditions reportedly improved.
He installed an irrigation system. MDM Golf LLC, his former management company, had invested $2 million in capital improvements by 2010, according to a letter that year from Hamden’s former purchasing agent.
But by 2013, Menchetti, who declined comment, had come under scrutiny amid complaints that the course had deteriorated. The town filed a lawsuit against MDM in 2017, alleging the company was behind on rent payments.
While council members acknowledge that history, some say the town been at fault, too. They also said Menchetti has beautified the property since 2019, when the existing contract was negotiated.
“If anyone has seen the course recently … it’s absolutely gorgeous,” Councilwoman Marjorie Bonadies, R-9, said during last week’s meeting. “We did have problems in the past — that is true … (but) Mr. Menchetti is in compliance. He has paid our rent.”
It’s the town that is out of compliance, according to Bonadies, who said Hamden has not addressed a lack of hot water in the women’s locker room.
Menchetti pays $25,000 in annual rent under the existing contract, which is available on the town’s website. The new contract would set the rent at $50,000 with an increase of $1,500 each year.
It also would give Menchetti the keys to the disused banquet facility, which occupies the top floor of the country club building. Menchetti currently utilizes only part of the building.
That facility, for which the town is responsible, is in serious disrepair, council members said.
Republican at-large Councilwoman Betty Wetmore told colleagues she toured the building.
“I saw the rot,” she said. “Pretty soon the termites are gonna take over.”
The town pays the property’s utility and water bills, Director of Public Works Craig Cesare said at the meeting.
It also “(is responsible) for the entire building and upkeep of the building” and “for any repairs over $500,” he said.
The contract amendment would alleviate the town’s obligation to fund building repairs and free up public works staff, Cesare said.
In a town memo, he described the $300,000 in capital improvements Menchetti has promised. They include replacing the building’s wood shingle siding, rebuilding the outdoor deck, repairing decorative beams, replacing windows and installing a granite fountain in front of the building.
Republican at-large Councilman Austin Cesare called the current state of the banquet facility an “embarrassment” to the town. If the council does not approve the agreement, there will be no path forward, he said
“We don’t have the money,” he said. “If we wanna get this up and running next year, we gotta approve it. … I trust (Menchetti) to do a phenomenal job”
But some worried the agreement does not give the town sufficient recourse should Menchetti fail to live up to his end of the agreement.
The current contract gives Menchetti the option to extend the lease until 2031. The amended version gives him until 2041.
“We’re talking about a contract that the next time that we will see it, I will be 47,” said Councilman Justin Farmer, D-5. “I take issue with these generational contracts because it does not give us the flexibility to react to things that are going on such as COVID.”
During public comment at the meeting, resident Elizabeth Collins asked the council to table the item and adjust the contract to include more “measurable quality management indicators” to clarify what compliance with the agreement would look like.
Democratic at-large Councilwoman Dominique Baez echoed those concerns.
“We need to have a standard that’s clearly written for what we’re expecting at the golf course,” she said. “I do believe that (Menchetti) has put safeguards in there, and it’s our responsibility to put safeguards in our end, as well.”
As it stands, the tenant can renew the lease as long as they are in compliance, Town Attorney Sue Gruen told the council. “We don’t get to say no to extensions.”
“I’m not aware of any standards as far as maintenance of the course that’s in the lease – expressly stated,” she said.
The contract does, however, require the course to meet certain standards “consistent with the Turf Advisory Standards of the United States Golf Association,” which Bonadies said was a safeguard.
What should the council do, then?
Cory O’Brien, who sat on the council when the 2019 contact came around and is running for an at-large position on this year’s Democratic ticket, does not believe the question requires an either/or answer.
The council does not need to reject the plan outright, but it should ensure the new agreement spells out standards of upkeep.
“It’s just some standard risk management,” he said.