Readers Write: Town reneges on golf course agreement

0
Readers Write: Town reneges on golf course agreement

I am concerned about the ethics of the Town of North Hempstead Council and their handling of certain issues involving Harbor Links Golf Course and the manager of the golf course, Century Golf (an outsourced company that manages the course for Town of North Hempstead (“TNH”).

Over the past number of years, there has been a growing concern by the TNH residents over the increased number of private golf outings (65 in 2022) that effectively shut down the course for the residents for the day. In some cases, there have been up to four outings a week. Last summer, a group of concerned citizens spoke with Century Golf and were informed that Century Golf booked these outings with the approval of TNH. After hearing this, a number of us met with the Parks commissioner and subsequently the Town Council to voice our concerns.

In December 2022, the Town Council passed a resolution limiting these outings going forward to Mondays only, similar to the way most private clubs run outings at their facilities. We relied on the good faith of both Century Golf and the Town Council to uphold the terms of that resolution. Apparently, Century Golf subsequently asked for permission to add additional outings this year and that matter was put on the agenda for the regular meeting of the Town Council scheduled for March 14.

Then on Feb. 27, citizens learned (without any public notice) that the Council called a special meeting for the morning of March 1. The purpose of the meeting was to vote  and approve 26 additional outings on top of the already scheduled Monday outings. Residents who work during the day and who wanted to attend the meeting were likely be unable to do so on such short notice.

The Council hierarchy knew that they would encounter less or no resistance at all if fewer residents were able to attend. And, as predicted, the Town Council reneged on the commitment it made and the resolution it passed less than three months earlier with no regard for the taxpayers who support the Harbor Links facility.

There are enough unethical people in government today. We don’t need them in our town. I hope the voters will remember these actions when the councilmembers are up for election again in November.

Clifford Lewisohn

East Hills

No posts to display

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here