Lackawanna County has applied for $4 million in federal money to buy a former golf course in Jefferson Twp. and preserve most of it as open space, according to a copy of the application.
But two of the three county commissioners say they didn't know the county applied for money to buy the land.
“Clearly, it didn't come from me,” Commissioner Bill Gaughan said. “I had no knowledge that this golf course project was going to be a part of an ask of the federal government and specifically Rob Bresnahan.”
The application asks U.S. Rep. Rob Bresnahan to obtain the money through Congress’ community project funding. Congress doles out the money for community projects to individual congressmen to distributre annually. The county and the state of Pennsylvania would contribute $2 million each to buy the land for $8 million, according to the application.
Though Gaughan brought up the application at a commissioners meeting Wednesday, Chermak said he learned the application was actually filed with Bresnahan's office when a WVIA News reporter told him about it Thursday.
“I do now,” he said when asked if he knew.
Efforts to reach Commissioner Thom Welby were unsuccessful.
DeNaples brothers partly own land
SMGC Realty LP owns the land. Local businessmen Louis and Dominick DeNaples at least partly co-own the company, a real-estate agent publicly said six years ago. The property has not changed hands since, records show.
Gaughan said state Sen. Marty Flynn approached him and former Commissioner Matt McGloin about buying the course long ago, but they declined because of the county’s financial position.
“He had mentioned it to us on a few occasions, and then once we took office,” Gaughan said.
Gaughan raised the application at a commissioners meeting Wednesday.
“This was something that was discussed two years ago with Commissioner (Matt) McGloin and I,” Gaughan said.
The plan was “for the county to essentially run the old Scranton Municipal Golf Course,” he said. “And we decided not to pursue it because we did not think it was appropriate for the county to get into the business of running a public golf course, especially in light of the fact that we inherited a county government that had a $37 million deficit, among many other financial problems.”
McGloin resigned last year.
During the meeting, Commissioner Chris Chermak said he knew nothing about a golf course plan.
“Billy just mentioned a golf course. I don't know anything about county buying a golf course,” he said.
On Thursday, Chermak acknowledged he knew about a county-commissioned 2024 study about reopening the golf course, but didn’t know about the application either.
Flynn said he thought the commissioners had abandoned the idea. He said he knew nothing about the federal application, but was pleased the idea seems revived.
"I think it would be a good thing for the area," he said. "The people of North Pocono, they would love it."
Flynn confirmed the DeNaples brothers still co-own the land. He said they were asking more than $8 million previously.
"The number started a lot higher than $8 million," he said.
Flynn said he inserted $2 million into the state budget a few years ago to cover the state share, but the deal faltered. He said a South Korean company whose name he could not remember was interested in operating the course. Renovations would cost $10 million, Flynn estimated.
Golf course history
The course, opened in June 1960, closed in 2020 as local interest in the publicly owner golf course waned.
SMGC Realty owns the 176.6 acres that included the golf course. SMGC, an acronym for the former golf course’s name, bought the land from the city of Scranton for more than $3.4 million in 2003.
After the golf course closed, a California company hoped to build six warehouses there with almost 4.2 million square feet of space. Residents objected, fearing traffic and noise.
In June 2022, the township supervisors thwarted the warehouse construction by voting against rezoning the land from low-density residential.
In 2023, the county — led then by Chermak and commissioners Debi Domenick and Jerry Notarianni — commissioned a study to determine if restoring and operating the golf course could work.
The Greater Scranton Chamber of Commerce carried out the study, and the county reimbursed the chamber $24,000 to pay for it, Gaughan said.
What the study found
StoneCreek Partners, a national real-estate consulting firm, conducted the study and found:
- A public golf course would attract plenty of golfers and could thrive with better management than before.
- The course could pay back its loans borrowed to raise money to restore the course with operating revenues.
- The county would buy the land with grant money.
“This transaction has merit given the possibility of grant funds for the acquisition of the property,” the study says. “The grant funds allow a property to return to community use at a price that the property owner finds acceptable and for which sufficient grant funds may be available.”
What the application says
The federal application does not call for restoring the golf course. It says the county would preserve about 160 acres permanently for recreation, including walking, hiking and other outdoor activities and events.
About 25 acres may accommodate 125 townhouses, generating “an estimated $75 million in private housing investment in the region.”
“This balanced approach preserves the majority of the property while helping address regional housing needs and expanding the local tax base,” the application says.
The application assumes a March 5, 2027, project start date with completion by Dec. 28, 2027.
Gaughan questioned if anyone appraised the land, who decided to apply for the federal money and why the county would be involved in a housing project better left to the private sector.
Chermak said he was familiar with the 2024 study and he’s willing to entertain the proposal but isn’t ready to commit to it.
“I haven't gotten that far yet,” he said. “I'm still trying to figure out what I'm supposed to do with data centers and all kinds of things that don't even cover what a commissioner is supposed to be doing, but I guess that's what I'm supposed to be doing.”
