WATERTOWN — Where were Mayor Jeffrey M. Smith and City Councilwoman Sarah V. Compo Pierce during talks with owner Michael E. Lundy about the purchase of the Watertown Golf Club, the three other council members want to know.
In a news release issued Friday, councilors Lisa A. Ruggiero, Patrick J. Hickey and Cliff G. Olney III defended their support of the pending $3.4 million purchase of the golf course at Thompson Park.
They are contending that the mayor and Councilwoman Compo Pierce are spreading misinformation about the deal at a time when the city’s attorney has advised them not to discuss any details of pending litigation.
But the mayor and councilwoman have not adhered to the advice, so the three council members said that they “need to address the disinformation,” they said.
They said they’re responding to Councilwoman Compo Pierce’s statements on Thursday that she decided to remain on council and not take a vacant seat on the Jefferson County Legislature.
In explaining her reason to stay on council, she said that the golf club was a factor in her decision because she would provide “common sense, transparency and fiscal responsibility” on council.
“There are so many more important issues and projects City Council deals with every day and many of those can be found in the $56.5 million 2022-2023 budget,” the three said in the release. “Watertown is not a one issue city.”
They also criticized the mayor and the councilwoman for not taking part in several meetings with Mr. Lundy to find out about the golf club’s finances.
The mayor and Councilwoman Compo Pierce failed to do their due diligence to find out about the golf club, the three council members claim.
“Not reviewing the financials of WGC shows a clear lack of fiscal responsibility,” they said. “They have been the most vocal critics against the purchase, yet they are the least informed.”
Councilwoman Compo Pierce, when reached Friday night, criticized the three council members for voting to stop the public from speaking during a Dec. 12 council meeting. The three councilors cited that it was a special meeting and it was past practice.
Councilwoman Compo Pierce also said she was invited to several closed-door meetings to discuss the deal, “one of which I would have been required to sign a nondisclosure agreement to attend.”
“I declined to participate because I believe that an expenditure of this magnitude should be fully transparent and discussed in public session,” she said. “Simply put, the public has a right to know how their money is being spent.”
She added that she has received calls from residents about the lack of transparency in the process.
The accusations against the mayor and councilwoman are the first volley taken in this November’s mayoral race and it’s only the second week of the New Year. The political season typically begins at the end of February when campaign petitions are circulated.
On Thursday, Mayor Smith said he’s considering running for reelection, while the two councilwomen said that they might enter the race.
On Friday night, Mayor Smith again contended that Mr. Lundy should have released the golf club’s tax returns that would show whether it was profitable.
The mayor also wanted to know why it just became known this week that the deal involves paying Ives Hill Country Club owner P.J. Simao $850,000 for turning that 18-hole golf course into nine holes.
That information came out on Wednesday during a court proceeding in which a Washington Street resident is attempting to stop the deal.
It doesn’t make sense to pay Mr. Simao “$850,000 for a golf course that’s been closed for three years,” the mayor said.
Councilwoman Ruggiero said she didn’t know how much Mr. Simao was receiving for the deed restriction that would restrict competition between the two golf courses.
“She didn’t do all her homework. She didn’t know all the details,” the mayor said. “You can’t criticize about not knowing the finances when you don’t know them. You can’t have it both ways.”
Mr. Lundy owns holes one through nine of the golf course, while the city possesses the other nine that it has been leasing to him.
The pending purchase of the club has prompted a lot of public debate, with residents both in support and against the purchase since it was first proposed last year.
If the deal hadn’t gone through, Mr. Lundy was ready to sell his nine holes to Mr. Simao.
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