Millinocket votes $25,000 for golf course

MILLINOCKET – A town effort to keep the Hillcrest Golf Course afloat got a $25,000 infusion Thursday from a unanimous Town Council.

A group of residents of Millinocket and East Millinocket led by town resident Kitty St. John is looking to raise about $150,000 to buy the 65-year-old course from the Katahdin Federal Credit Union, which acquired the property from a mill bankruptcy proceeding.

St. John wrote a letter to the council dated Aug. 11 requesting the funding, saying that her group had reached a purchase and sale agreement with KFCU for the $150,000 that includes a 90-day period to raise the funds.

Councilors acted with rare unanimity in agreeing with the request, saying the town should not lose the use of its only public golf course.

“This certainly is a good thing,” Councilor Jimmy Busque said. “The [golf course club] members deserve to own the complete package. My only other concern is that there are rumors about limiting or banning snowmobiles on the golf course.”

With Hillcrest as “a major link” in the town’s network of snowmobile trails, Busque said he hoped no ban would occur.

“It is a good chance for young and old to get out and play. If nothing else, it’s a great opportunity to get out and spend a couple of hours in the woods,” Chairman John Davis said.

The town’s agreement came with five years worth of strings attached and a nice bonus at the end of that period. As part of it, the town would not pay the $25,000 until the rest of the $150,000, and any other purchase costs, were raised to the town’s satisfaction.

The money should only be used to pay for the course, and if the golf course is dissolved or sold before the five-year period ends, the money will be returned or owed to the town by whomever buys the property.

If the course stays in business, the $25,000 shall not be repaid to the town. The course board of directors must also adopt a resolution conforming to the agreement. The $25,000 will come from the town’s Undesignated Fund Balance, which stands at about $425,000, Town Manager Eugene Conlogue said.

St. John expressed gratitude at the council’s vote. To date, about $82,800 in pledges have come in, not counting the $25,000, she said.

Residents Alyce Maragus and “Money” McGibbon said the town’s stipulations were too complicated and onerous for the golf committee, which is doing good work that the town should better support, but fundraiser Tony Moscone disagreed.

“I appreciate comments of people, but we can live with these [conditions]. They are reasonable and prudent,” said Moscone, an East Millinocket resident who is helping raise money.

The golf course, Moscone said, would not close or limit snowmobilers’ access to the trail system, which runs through part of the course’s sixth hole. Its members will instead seek to limit snowmobile damage or usage in other parts of the course, he said.