Council sets public hearing dates for Westwood clubhouse demolition

The contract to demolish Westwood Clubhouse is now out for bid. Newton City Council accepted the plans and ordered bids for the project as part of the consent agenda. According to city documents, the bid opening will occur in a month’s time on Dec. 7, with a public hearing to accept or deny the bid on Dec. 18.

If the council approves and awards the contract, the demolition is expected to begin in mid- to late January. The demo is to be completed on March 29, 2024.

Newton will be paying for the demolition using a portion of its American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds. It is estimated to cost about $51,400.

During the 2023-2025 goal setting session in October, the Newton City Council made the second phase clubhouse improvements its No. 1 priority, with an estimated cost of $500,000. In September, the council rejected the clubhouse construction bids for being too expensive. The cost was $2.5 million.

The city administrator told Newton News after bids were rejected that he was hoping to see bids below the $2 million mark; it would have been a stretch, but it could have been possible. But the submitted bids made it impossible to pay. With costs increasing, the construction will likely have to continue in phases.

To pay for the clubhouse project, city residents voted to pass a $1.6 million park bond, but it would also pay for portions of three other parks projects.

With some of those parks projects also coming in high, funds for the clubhouse are sparse. To make up the funding difference of the project — which is made up of public and private money — the city council agreed to transfer $1.15 million in ARPA funds earmarked for the second phase of Arbor Estates to the clubhouse.

Brian Laube, community services director for the City of Newton, said staff is setting up a scaled-back clubhouse out of a portable office unit to maintain golf operations. Laube said the city intends to have all 18 hopes open for play for the entire 2024 season at Westwood Golf Course.

The demolition project should not affect the nearby dog park, Laube said.