Southborough debates $900,000 estimate for golf-course irrigation; booster pump and funding sources in question

Representatives of the golf committee and the town's Department of Public Works detailed outstanding questions about a long-planned golf-course irrigation upgrade during the June 11 Community Preservation Committee meeting.

"Our preliminary estimate is about 900,000," said Bill Kundiff, DPW superintendent, after outlining needed scope changes and a booster pump component he said adds roughly $200,000 to the system. The project had previously gone out to bid and initial responses exceeded the budgeted funds, the committee heard.

Proponents said they are working with an irrigation peer-review firm and the project architect to value-engineer roughly $160,000 in savings and to refine the scope and bid documents. Even with those savings, the addition of a required booster pump increased the net projection and left funding gaps.

The golf-course committee has approximately $200,000 in a course revolving fund it can contribute, proponents said, but members noted an annual revolving-fund withdrawal limit (discussed in the meeting as $75,000 per year) and the need to consult the Select Board and town counsel if spending is to exceed those limits or rely on multi-year revolving-fund assumptions.

The CPC also urged proponents to provide documentation from the Sudbury Valley Trustees and other stewards confirming that the irrigation work would not violate existing conservation restrictions. Proponents said they plan to include such confirmations in the revised application.

Committee members discussed options including: (1) moving a refined warrant article forward for the fall special town meeting (revised applications are due June 30), or (2) postponing to the spring annual town meeting to allow more time for design, pricing and public outreach. Several CPC members said a spring submission — with the stronger record of consultant reports and public materials — would reduce risk at town meeting.

The CPC also discussed an immediate parallel step: issuing an RFP for a course management/standards consultant (references to Ottabon International standards were made in the meeting), whose work could review irrigation design and provide an independent report for the CPC and town.