CAPE MAY — Cape May Tennis Club has asked City Council for a 50-year term on their lease of city-owned property in order to make over $500,000 in improvements over the next 25 years.
City Council considered the matter at its Tues. Oct. 5 meeting and seemed more inclined to offer the club a 25-year lease with an option to renew for an additional 25 years.
City Manager Bruce MacLeod said the club requested an advance of the current expiration date of their lease with the city which ends May 31, 2012. He said he received a letter from the tennis club outlining capital improvements the club would like to undertake:
• New fencing around 11 courts = $37,000, purchase new equipment to maintain courts = $13,000.
• Upgrade five clay surface courts at a cost of $50,000 per court, total of $250,000.
• Install underground irrigation system =$200,000.
MacLeod said the club indicated in a letter to the city they believed a longer lease would aid in fundraising efforts.
As with all city-owned properties leased to non-profit organizations, the tennis club’s lease fee is $1 per year. MacLeod suggested a $500 to $1,000 annual fee.
Councilman Bill Murray said the tennis club was a wonderful asset to Cape May. He said he agreed with MacLeod to break up the lease into a 25-years with a 25-year renewal option.
Deputy Mayor Jack Wichterman said he endorsed a 50-year lease and opposed a $500 to $1,000 yearly lease fee. He said the tennis club brought people into the city.
Mayor Edward J. Mahaney Jr. said the tennis club was one of seven public/private partnerships in the city.
“Situations such as the tennis club provide an opportunity for cultural and artistic, recreational and social events and activities which the city couldn’t afford to provide,” he said.
Mahaney said most of the lease agreements were put in place because the city did not have the capital funding to develop and maintain the properties that it owns and provide programs. The mayor also endorsed a 25-year lease with a 25-year renewal option.
He said “to bind the property for 50 years is unrealistic especially in the changing economies and activities of today’s world.” Mahaney said the club has proven itself financially since 1979.
Both parties should have a 25-year extension option, he said.
Murray said the city should not mandate the capital improvement as part of the lease.
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