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Civic Kitchen | from page 1 the current lessee. Instead, the board is required to again conduct an open and competitive formal procurement process, allowing any interested party to submit a proposal,” the town wrote in a press release Jan. 27. “The town initially anticipated issuing [a request for proposals, or RFP] over the winter months with an award and lease in place immediately following the expiration of the current lease on March 1.”

According to Town Manager Kristi Williams, given the level of work needed on the building, there will be no RFP for the restaurant.

The golf course and pro shop will open as usual this spring.

“We’re definitely keeping the golf club open,” said Williams.

“I was disappointed” about the restaurant not being able to renew its lease, said Select Board Chair Ian Johnson. “We had a successful lessee … the town’s been leasing out a restaurant for close to 50 years.”

Williams said the Recreation Department is exploring options such as food trucks.

“We are exploring what our options are for food trucks and other options for quick food so that we have something to offer our golf community,” said Recreation Department Director Jenn Kirkland. “There will be more information available as we get towards the start of the golf season.”

Background

According to the press release, the Select Board had issued an RFP for a vendor to establish and operate a restaurant at the Westborough Golf Club in 2013. The RFP invited respondents to offer a lease structure in which the monthly lease payment would be lowered by an initial capital investment in the building.

Ultimately, the bid was awarded to Golf Course Management Inc., beginning in

September 2013 and ending on March 1, 2023. The lease agreement included a $135,000 capital investment, and the lease payment was proposed at $120 a month, subject to an annual adjustment based on the Consumer Price Index, according to the release.

In 2015, the Select Board authorized Golf Course Management to assign the lease to Civic Kitchen & Drink, which has been the lessee under the same terms since. That includes the March expiration date.

Money from the lease payment had gone into the general fund, but it has gone into the town’s building maintenance

Jenn Kirkland Recreation Department Director

revolving account since 2021.

What led to the decision

A plumbing issue in April 2022 caused “significant damage” to the restaurant.

Because the town is the owner of the building, staff filed a claim with its insurance company and worked to identify the scope of needed repairs to allow use of the food preparation and food storage areas in the basement to resume.

“Since these repairs would require closure of the restaurant for a period of time, Civic Kitchen & Drink used a temporary refrigerated trailer in order to stay open through October 2022 so that repairs could take place during the winter months,” according to the press release.

At the same time, the town was going through a procurement process to complete an assessment of certain townowned buildings, including the Westborough Golf Club. This assessment project was approved and funded at the 2021 Annual Town Meeting.

The assessment looked at the entire building, not just the areas affected by the plumbing issue, “to understand the comprehensive needs of the building for its current use as both a restaurant and a golf pro shop,” the release said.

The town received the completed draft report in December, and staff met with a consultant to review the results in early January.

According to the town, the assessment revealed issues with the building’s egress, fire blocking, sprinkler system and roof reinforcement. Ad -

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