By Paul Leighton
BEVERLY — Mayor Bill Scanlon announced yesterday that he has awarded a five-year contract to operate the Beverly Golf & Tennis Club to the highest bidder, a North Reading company that runs two other local courses.
Golf Facilities Management, which operates Gannon Golf Course in Lynn and Hillview Golf Course in North Reading, will assume management of the city-owned Beverly club "almost immediately," Scanlon said.
Golf Facilities will pay the city a minimum of $310,000 in the first year and increase the amount by $15,000 each year to $370,000 in 2014, the final year of the contract. Scanlon said the payments would rise if the number of club members increases.
An evaluation committee ranked the proposals of Golf Facilities Management and Miller Golf Solutions of Marblehead equally, Scanlon said, but Golf Facilities offered more money. Miller Golf submitted a bid of $275,000 for the first year, rising to $375,000 by year five.
The third proposal, by Virginia-based Billy Casper Golf, submitted the lowest bid, starting at $228,121 in the first year.
Scanlon said he considered the possibility of the city running the club itself, but ultimately decided against it.
"We certainly thought about it, but we've tried very hard not to increase the number of people in our employment," he said. "At the end of the day, I think it makes sense to have someone operating it for you."
Beverly Golf and Tennis Commission member Jeffrey Klein, who was on the evaluation committee, said Golf Facilities Management is a "perfect fit for our golf course."
"I think the mayor made a terrific decision," Klein said. "Everybody we talked to about these people say Mr. (Stephen) Murphy (of Golf Facilities Management) is an extremely talented and efficient individual. They have experience running a city-owned golf course (in Lynn), and they're experts in knowing how to keep a golf course."
Murphy could not be reached for comment.
The awarding of the contract marks the end of the city's association with Bass River Golf Management, which ran the club for the last two years. The city advertised for a new operator when Bass River failed to pay the $600,000 fee it owes the city for 2009. Scanlon said the city has an attachment on property owned by Bass River president Manny Barros and is confident the city will get its money.
The $310,000 that Golf Facilities will pay Beverly represents a nearly 50 percent cut from the $600,000 it was getting from Bass River. Scanlon attributed the decline largely to the economy, citing the closing last year of Georgetown Country Club.
Scanlon said the city will earn more money as the club gains membership and if dues rise in the future.
"I think that gap will shrink," he said.
Klein said the city is in the process of making $1.5 million in improvements to the Beverly Golf & Tennis Club, which includes an 18-hole golf course, 10 outdoor tennis courts, a restaurant, function rooms and a pub.
Staff writer Paul Leighton can be reached at 978-338-2675 or by e-mail at pleighton@salemnews.com.
