Private fundraising allows construction of new clubhouse bar

Newton City Council has approved the construction of the new clubhouse bar at Westwood Golf Course, which was not initially included in the interior work due to budget constraints. Officials authorized a change order on Feb. 17 after the fundraising group secured $75,000 in private funds to be used for the new bar.

According to city documents, when the city approved the contract with Ball Team, LLC to complete the interior improvements for the clubhouse — which included mechanical, HVAC, plumbing, finished floors and interior walls — lack of funds forced council to not approve the add-alternate bid for the bar buildout.

However, with the funding now secured, the city can move forward with the add-alternate bid from Ball Team to construct the bar. The designs for the bar were provided by ISG, Inc., an engineering consultant operating in Des Moines. The city included the 3D renderings of the bar designs in the council packet.

The cost to construct the bar is not to exceed $75,000.

Council member Randy Ervin is very excited to see the progression of the new golf course clubhouse project. He said some people may question why the clubhouse needs to have a bar. As someone who belongs to an indoor golf league in Des Moines and plays simulators, Ervin said the bar there is full.

“You have to call two weeks out to try to get a tee time,” Ervin said. “I’ve yet to be there that I haven’t seen people buying pizzas, buying lunch, buying beer, buying sodas. That’s a good revenue source for our golf course. So when a lot of people just see the headlines and go, ‘Oh! We’re spending on the golf course again!’

“This will pay for itself in the long run.”