The continuing saga of the Bay Pointe Country Club took another turn on Tuesday when Digital Credit Union approached the Board of Selectmen to request that the board waive the town's right of first refusal to purchase the golf course.

DCU foreclosed on the previous owner of Bay Pointe in June and has been advertising the property throughout the summer. The search for a new owner seems to have been successful with an unnamed individual willing to pay $1.7 million for the course. Mark Harriman, Senior Commercial Lender at DCU, advised the Selectmen that his company has entered into an agreement to sell.

Under the terms of the agreement with DCU, the town has 60 days from the time of the third-party offer to decide whether to purchase the country cub. If the town declines or waives this right, then DCU will proceed with the sale to the successful purchaser.

Despite only receiving the offer six days ago, it was clear that DCU was keen to get matters moving and this was the reason that Harriman had appeared before the Selectmen to ask for the waiving of the right, saying “we want to get the property into developers' hands as soon as possible.”

Selectman Cara Winslow was concerned that the board was being railroaded into making a decision without the time to consider all the options.

“I wouldn’t be comfortable after a forty-five second presentation,” she said, but added: “It’s a good thing that there is someone interested in buying it.”

Winslow proposed that the Selectmen be given time to complete a review of all relevant information. Members of the board agreed and noted that there is an item on the October Town Meeting agenda which asks if the town will purchase Bay Pointe Country Club for $1.4 million.

“Bay Pointe has a long and complicated history,” Winslow said. "What seems like a simple matter of waiving the right of first refusal means that we have to cover our bases.”

Selectman Michael Schneider was more concerned about the intentions of the new owner. The use of the word "developer" by Harriman may have been unintentional but Schneider wanted to know if DCU had seen future management plans from the buyer.

Due to a confidentiality agreement in place between DCU and the proposed buyer, Harriman was unable to confirm this, but advised that the company is “selling to someone who wants to buy a golf course.”

The desire to own a golf course was also brought up by Selectman Ellen Begley who, while acknowledging that the topic would be discussed at Town Meeting, said the issue was not just about exercising the right of first refusal but on the impact of the land currently leased by the Community & Economic Development Authority (CEDA).

“This was a privately owned golf course that was foreclosed [on] by Digital Credit Union and they have a buyer,” Begley said. “It’s not whether or not we approve the sale, it’s whether or not we want to be golf course owners.”

CEDA has received a letter from DCU regarding the proposed sale but only discussed it on October 3 and will need some more time to consider its position going forward. There is nothing in the new proposal that precludes CEDA from continuing with the lease of property with the new owner, but it was agreed that another meeting of that board should be held to allow time for the consideration of all terms and conditions.

With so much new information to be considered and with Town Meeting less than a month away, the Selectmen decided not to take a vote Tuesday. Members noted that the the terms negotiated with DCU allow for the Selectmen to make a decision within 60 days from the date of the offer by a third party.

Selectman Steve Holmes was adamant that this was a matter that needed further discussion, pointing out that “there has never been a conversation about the Town getting into the golf business” and that the time for this would be at Town Meeting.

“It doesn’t matter what we vote or what the Finance Committee votes [regarding the golf course], it’s what the taxpayer votes,” Holmes said. "We have an article on the agenda on the 24^th to see if the town is willing to purchase a golf course.”