Assembly Approves Poxabogue Sale, Again

The sale of Poxabogue Golf Course from one town to another, a process that has taken more than two years, may finally be coming to an end.

The New York State Assembly approved legislation — for the second time — on Thursday that allows the Town of East Hampton to sell its portion of the Sagaponack golf course to the Town of Southampton, which already owns the other half. The legislation still needs ink from the Senate and the governor, but Assemblyman Fred Thiele said he expects final approval within the next few weeks.

The bill, which is required whenever there is a transferral of park land, was already signed off one year ago, but the entire process had to be redone when a problem with the description of the property was realized, Thiele said.

The sale of the course was part of Supervisor Bill Wilkinson's plan to right the town's finances in his 2012 budget.

"This legislation is an example of the cooperation and participating of both Fred Thiele and Ken LaValle in not only assisting East Hampton's balance sheets, but also keep the property designated as community preservation in perpetuity," Wilkinson said on Thursday.

In October 2011, the Town of East Hampton accepted Southampton's offer of $2.2 million through its Community Preservation Fund. As part of the agreement, East Hampton was also set to receive about $200,000, half of the total in an account that collects the golfing fees.

The towns jointly purchased the course in 2004 to prevent the land, which borders Wainscott in East Hampton Town, from being developed. Southampton used money from the CPF, while East Hampton bought it with general fund money because the property was outside of its boundaries. Southampton had the right to first refusal when the town decided to sell.

The $2.4 million from the sale will be put into a reserve account and used to pay down the principal debt on the $3.25 million bond, Len Bernard, East Hampton's budget officer, said at the time.

By state law, municipal bonds cannot be paid off until the 10th year, which will be in 2016, he said. Despite taking a $1 million loss on what it originally paid, East Hampton stood to save $2 million from paying it off eight years early. If there was no sale, the town would have to pay $250,000 per year in debt service for the last eight years, from 2016 until 2023.

In July 2012, state legislators approved a process called "alienation of park rights," which requires East Hampton to purchase another property of equal value to make up for selling one park property.

"During the transaction process between the two towns, it was determined that the metes and bounds of the property were incorrectly described in the newly enacted law," Thiele wrote in a memo attached to the bill. "In order for the transaction to move forward, it is necessary to place in statute the correct coordinates of the land comprising the Poxabogue Golf Center."

This is good news for East Hampton, Town Councilman Dominick Stanzione said. "We can see the light at the end of the tunnel."