Decatur Country Club calls emergency meeting on possible closure
Dec. 8—As the club's 100-year anniversary approaches in 2023, Decatur Country Club members are meeting next week to decide whether to close the club for good.
In a Dec. 1 email, the Country Club Board of Trustees called an emergency meeting of club members that will take place Wednesday at 6 p.m. in the club's ballroom.
"It is imperative that we have a quorum of members during this meeting. We will be discussing the ceasing of club operations and calling for a vote with regards to dissolution of Decatur Country Club," the email says.
The email also advised members that payment will now be required at the time of service and that payment can only be made by credit card or check, not cash.
When asked about the emergency meeting, Country Club President Luke Howell said he would not "discuss anything outside of the discussion with club members."
Sherry Fite, whose family has been a member of the club since the 1940s, said she's hopeful the club can find a way during next week's meeting to survive.
"The club went through the Depression, World War II and the (coronavirus) pandemic and now this letter. Hopefully there will be a way to continue," Fite said. "This is a place where I raised my family and it's just been wonderful."
Fite compared the Country Club to the "Cheers" TV show bar "where everyone knows your name. It's a great place to have dinner, and it will be really sad to lose it."
Fite said it's ironic that the letter arrived when it did because the club has been particularly busy in the last few months.
In April 2017, the Decatur Country Club closed its golf course due to the expense of upkeep and a drop in golfers using the course.
Later in 2017, Cook's Pest Control's real estate holdings company, Cook Properties, purchased the 90-acre property on Country Club Road Southeast for $3.7 million from Club Properties LLC.
Brian Cook, Cook's Pest Control president and chief executive officer, said the Country Club stayed on as a tenant in the Country Club building, a lease that includes the swimming pool and tennis courts. The swimming pool is in good condition but the tennis courts have fallen into disrepair.
At the time of the purchase, Cook's planned to build a corporate office on the Country Club property as a way to consolidate its operations. While the corporate office is still in the long-range plans, Cook said, those plans are on hold because of rising costs in building materials and operations.
"The world has changed, and we're really not in a position to build a corporate office right now," Cook said.
Cook's sold 10 acres, previously the site of the Country Club driving range, to Lynn Layton Chevrolet. Cook said the dealership also put its plans for that property on hold.
If Decatur Country Club closes, Burningtree Country Club would become the city's only country club. The Southeast Decatur club on Burningtree Mountain features a 24,000-square-foot clubhouse with an 18-hole golf course and driving range, a fitness facility, tennis courts and 19th Hole Bar & Grill.
— bayne.hughes@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2432. Twitter @DD_BayneHughes.
