After unsuccessfully raising $2.5 million to continue operations, the Poughkeepsie, N.Y., club will likely close in mid-November. The 139-acre club’s latest assessed market value is $4 million.
In a letter to Dutchess Golf & Country Club members, club President Robert Lynch said recent efforts to raise $2.5 million to continue operations have proven unsuccessful, the Poughkeepsie (N.Y.) Journal reported.
“The effort to raise funds to continue operations has been unsuccessful,” Lynch said in the letter. “I offer many thanks to those who have offered to participate, which included members who only recently joined the club.”
The Poughkeepsie, N.Y., club is now in danger of closing in early November. Members will need to remove their belongings from the club by November 4, the Journal reported.
“There was a decision made not to pay the mortgage,” said club member Jim Bernard. “The bank refuses to give us any relief. We presented a plan of three or four years of forbearance and then after that period, we would start to pay again. At the end of the mortgage, it would all be paid up.”
Dutchess has had a negative $834,077 in revenue-less expenses listed on its form 990, with its highest negative total being $381,862 in 2009. Because it is a nonprofit organization, the club does not pay income tax, but is responsible for property tax, the Journal reported.
“It’s obviously upsetting to us from a town level, and we certainly don’t want to see the country club potentially close,” Town Supervisor Todd Tancredi said. “We hope they can find a way to restructure their mortgage. It’s a serious problem. I don’t have any other insight on it, but I’d certainly like to see it remain a golf club.”
Dutchess Golf & Country Club has been in operation since 1897 and until this past summer, had been in the three-course rotation of the Dutchess County Amateur. The club sits on 139.6 acres and its latest assessed market value is $4 million, with $1,775,800 earmarked for the land, the Journal reported.
In his letter, Lynch said all member account charging for services like carts, guest fees and food and beverage would cease after October 21. The driving range will close October 22, the Journal reported.
“We plan on keeping the golf course open as long as possible, with a mid-November date appearing to be the last day the course will be open,” Lynch said in his letter.
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