City council accepts donation of former country club building

In a unanimous vote, city council approved the donation of the former Newton Country Club clubhouse building on its second try. Council also approved an agreement with the William and Georganne Talsma trust to acquire approximately one acre of land for a right-of-way and remove the former pro shop and current Gingerbread House Daycare.

Both properties are adjacent to the previously city-purchased 4.25 acres for the future development of the Cardinal Ridge town home subdivision.

Council originally saw the proposal for the former clubhouse at its April 3 meeting. The vote failed 3-1, not reaching the four vote minimum. Factors such as the unknown status of the day care building and lack of progress with already approved infrastructure work were given as concerns to the additional acquisition of the clubhouse building.

"I would like to thank the staff for the work that has been done since out last city council meeting to address the concerns about the Cardinal Ridge donation and project, I feel much better," councilwoman Evelyn George said. "We now know that the extra building is going to be gone."

Owned by XCO II, LLC and managed by Walt Smith of Newton, the 1.63-acre parcel located at 601 W. 12th St. S. includes the former country club building. To complement and facilitate residential growth in Newton, Smith offered to donate the property to the city to be a part of the Cardinal Ridge townhome subdivision.

Since purchasing the property three years ago, Smith has invested in a remodel of the building, which currently houses a chiropractic clinic, Spinal Solutions, and salon, DeVyne Solutions, among other uses. Following the transaction, all tenants, who are on short-term leases, would vacate the building and relocate to other Newton locations.

To clear the property, the city plans to burn it down as a part of a fire training exercise. It would then be incorporated into future residential development consistent with the Cardinal Ridge subdivision.

The acceptance of the donation is contingent on the negotiation of a final agreement that would provide the specific details of the transaction. The details include title work, environmental investigation, vacating the building and the terms and timing of the closing, among other items. It is anticipated that this due diligence would take approximately 90 days, city administrator Matt Muckler said.

Also, in order to have access to the public road network for Cardinal Ridge and to complete the removal of all buildings from the property, the city sought an agreement with the Talsmas for the removal of the former pro shop.

The agreement will have the building vacant by the end of July and demolished by mid-September. The city will provide grant funding for the demolition or incorporate it into the project that will demolish the former clubhouse.

"We are appreciative of the Talsmas willingness to have the right-of-way available for the full road construction and their willingness to part with the pro shop and have that incorporated into the action that was just approved to acquire the former country club clubhouse," city director of finance and development Bryan Friedman said.

Also in the agreement, the city will state its intent to have some aesthetic features installed in association with the connecting road and to accommodate future residential development by potentially establishing Tax Increment Finance Districts to help defray the cost of residential infrastructure.

Cardinal Hills Golf Course, where the property is located, closed in 2013 after owner Mark Davis’ plan to develop an 11 lot housing subdivision was rejected by the sitting city council. The 72-acre golf course was then purchased by the Talsmas for $475,000. In 2014, XCO managed by Smith purchased the property approved for donation for $125,000.

As a part of due diligence investigations, the city will also explore the possibility that there may be benefits for Smith and the city to have the Newton House Development Corporation become owner of the property. As the project moves forward, city staff will work with NHDC and Smith to see if the change in ownership is possible. If it is not determined within 30 days the city will accept ownership of the property.

City council also approved an order to accelerate the construction of public infrastructure associated with Cardinal Ridge. The contract with Halbrook Excavating, approved last fall, included the paving of the road within the subdivision along with installing water and sewer lines.

To move the project forward and have the development proceed in an orderly fashion, the score of work will change to eliminate the paving work but extend the grading work to prepare the full roadway from West 12th Street through the subdivision. The city will then proceed with a separate bid process to award the paving project for the roadway. The change order will reduce the contract price by $34,875, to $676,156.

Finally, council approved engineering firm Bolton & Menk, Inc. to manage the construction of the permanent public roadway going into Cardinal Ridge. The roadway will connect West 12th Street South to the subdivision from a southerly route aligned with South Seventh Avenue West.

The scope of the projection includes construction administration, observation, staking, testing and additional bidding. The contract was approved at $66,000 to be paid for using the city’s Housing Initiative Infrastructure bond fund.

“The engineering contracts for this project amount to approximately 10 percent of total project cost,” Muckler said. “It is good practice to retain the design engineer for construction services to provide continuity on a project.”

Contact Jamee A. Pierson at 641-792-3121 ext. 6534 or jpierson@newtondailynews.com