Aug. 9, 2002
Selectmen authorize next step in golf planning

By Brian Burns
Staff writer

Selectmen have authorized the members of the Brownfields Committee to take the next step in their efforts to convert several parcels along Route 1A into a nine hole golf course and training center.

The board voted unanimously to allow the committee to pursue state and federal grant money that could be used to conduct a comprehensive site assessment of the parcels in question.

The site assessment will determine the extent (if any) of environmental contamination at the site and how much it will cost to clean it up.

The parcels are currently occupied by several automobile salvage yards and scrap metal facilities, one of which is the site of the former town dump.

They are located in close proximity to the Spring Brook aquifer, which provides the town’s drinking water.

Town officials are hoping to prevent contamination of the aquifer by cleaning up the land and converting it into a more environmentally friendly site.

The results of the assessment will be an important factor in determining the site’s attractiveness to potential developers. Clean up costs could vary by million of dollars, depending on how much work is needed.

The assessment will also help the town decide if building a golf course is the best option at the site.

A recently completed study indicated that a golf course would be economically feasible, but it may turn out that an office building is more reasonable.

"The project is not about golf courses," Selectmen Chairman Alan Rockwood said. "It’s about cleaning up a contaminated site."

Selectmen also authorized the Brownfields Committee to meet with the various property owners along Route 1A in order to discuss the idea of selling their properties.

The town has yet to appropriate any money for the purchase of properties and is hoping to act as the middleman between property owners and a golf course developer.

Under ideal circumstances, the developer would purchase the land directly from the owner, thus saving the town from using tax dollars.

The project is expected to cost $7.3 million, with profits beginning to show in the course’s fourth year of operation.

Prior to granting their approval to move forward with the project, selectmen held an hour-long public forum Tuesday night to hear from some of the property owners involved.

The most vocal opponent of the committee’s plan so far has been Chris Colahan, the owner of Chris’ Towing.

Colahan’s attorney sent a letter to the board earlier in the week indicating that he was not interested in selling his property as part of the golf course project.

The town’s preliminary plans for the 9-hole course have the sixth hole and the maintenance shed located on the edge of Colahan’s property.

The beginning of the forum had all the makings of a heated showdown as dozens of Chris’ employees packed into the room to show their opposition to the project.

Rockwood eased some of the tension right off the bat by apologizing to Colahan for what he characterized as a level of "misinformation and miscommunication" about the project.

Rockwood then asked selectmen to make a formal declaration that they were not in favor of taking any land by eminent domain in order to complete the project.

The board stopped short of making that declaration, but at least three members gave a strong indication that they were against any taking of property from an unwilling owner.

Health Board Chairman Paul Millette told selectmen that they would still be able to move forward with the project without using any of Colahan’s land, though he asked Colahan to keep his mind open to negotiations.

The town may only want a small portion of his property along its southwestern edge, he said, and they may be able to compensate him with another piece of property at the site.

Millette said that other than Chris’, there are no other significant eminent domain issues that he is aware of.

That doesn’t mean that the property owners are willing to sell, but that they are at least willing to talk, he said.

Joe Connolly, who lives on Wendy Street near the Cedar Street border of the property, said that he had been surprised to find out that the project includes the taking of some conservation land at the edge of Cedar Street.

He and his neighbors enjoy that land because it acts as a buffer between their homes and Goldie’s Salvage Yard.

Connolly said that he would be concerned about the town taking that land if they decided to move forward with something other than a golf course at the site.

Attorney Hans Stoeckler, who authored the letter to selectmen on behalf of Colahan, told the board that the term "environmental contamination" was being misused in their discussion.

The recently completed report gives no evidence of environmental contamination at the site, and all recent chemical tests of the Neponset River (which feeds the aquifer) have come back clean, Stoeckler said.

"Thousands of dollars have been spent on that report and it’s completely worthless," he said.

Health Agent Robin Chappell told Stoeckler that the site assessment would include the detailed chemical analysis that he was looking for.

The recently completed report was intended to be a marketing and financial analysis, she said.

Speaking towards the end of the public hearing, Colahan said that he resents the area of Route 1A where his business is located being characterized as an eyesore and a blighted area.

Colahan said that aside from a few wayward owners, the area is relatively neat.

Aug. 9, 2002
Town would make money, consultants say

By Tom Glynn
Staff writer

Consultants who conclude that Walpole could make money on a golf facility on Route 1A stress that a thorough environmental assessment is a "crucially important" first step.

Working through a state grant for the town’s Brownfields Committee, Camp Dresser & McKee estimates that a nine-hole course and training facility would cost $7.3 million and begin making a profit for the town four years after opening.

The cost estimate is based on the assumption that a clay cap, at $1.8 million, would be adequate for the 131-acre site, much of which is occupied by salvage yards. But a membrane cap might be needed instead, at a cost of $3.6 million. That cost difference and other potential remediation expenses have "a significant impact on the feasibility of this project," CDM states in its report.

Those costs should be nailed down before closure, the report indicates. The town owns 50 of the acres; 80 acres belong to four private owners and include auto salvage yards, scrap metal recycling facilities and a parking area for big trucks, the report says. The budget includes $2 million for the acquisition of the 80 acres.

Parcels are within and next to wetlands that feed the town’s sole-source drinking water supply and are "a top priority in our Brownfields program," the report says.

"The town is sensitive to the types of redevelopment that can occur on this site in order to protect its drinking water supply. That is why a strong potential use for this site being considered is recreational," CDM says.

After analyzing alternatives, the consultants settled on the combination of a nine-hole regulation course, a double-ended driving range with 40 tees, practice bunkers and chipping greens.

A regulation nine-hole course would appeal to golfers who are short on time, women and youngsters. Such courses are the fastest growing sector of the game, CDM says. By the fourth year, the Walpole course would host 32,500 rounds annually.

Driving ranges and other training facilities are recognized as "valuable revenue centers," the report says. An alternative for a more expansive nine-hole course would not work financially because it cut the number of range tees, the consultants said.

If the town were to develop the course on its own through tax-exempt bonds, it would make $83,000 in the fourth year, the report says.

"However, discussions with town officials have made it clear that the preferable development strategy would be for the Town to package the deal, assemble the parcels and then issue a Request for Proposals (from private companies) for the development and long-term management of the golf course and training facility," the report says. "This strategy has proven to be successful for many municipalities."

The facility would earn a profit for the private developer/manager by the fourth year, and over the first 10 years provide a rate of return of 12.5 percent annually, the report says, without providing an estimate of the town’s cut.

The return would rise to 15 percent if the town were able to get state or federal Brownfields money. "Given the overall goals of this project, and the multiple sources of Brownfields development financing available, we believe that securing an additional $500,000 in grants would not be too difficult," CDM says.

The report takes a look at the other golf courses and facilities in the region, including a new nine-hole par-three course in Norfolk, two miles south down Route 1A form the Walpole site. "Due to its design length, degree of difficulty and target market, it is not expected to be directly competitive with the proposed (Walpole) course," CDM says.