The committee considering the future of the clubhouse at Beaver Meadow Golf Course will move at a slower pace while considering a wider slate of plans that includes possible renovations.

The city hit the brakes on a proposal to spend $10.3 million to build a new clubhouse after vocal public demand at the end of last year. Multiple residents criticized the scope of the plan, a rebuild tripling the size of the existing one, and its price tag. Others expressed concern that it had been developed without sufficient public input. 

On Wednesday the Beaver Meadow Golf Course Building Committee met for the first time since the clubhouse proposal was sent back from the City Council.

Mayor Byron Champlin said he wants the committee to explore plans and costs of more options for clubhouse improvements, including renovation, renovation with an addition and a scaled-back rebuild.

He also wants the committee to look into adding a public fundraising target. He cautioned that the fundraising goals of other recent city projects have not been met. 

“We need to be realistic about what we expect a citizen fundraising committee to raise,” he said.

How long the committee will spend developing a new recommendation is currently unclear. It typically holds monthly meetings at 8 a.m. at the golf course.  

The intention is to move “more slowly,” but a set timeline has not been laid out, according to committee member and Ward 3 City Councilor Jennifer Kretovic. 

“We just moved too fast,” Kretovic said Thursday. 

Members of the public criticized the committee for forwarding only one option for the clubhouse, a complete rebuild that became twice as expensive as originally estimated. 

Resident Charlie Russell asked Concord to ask its architects to follow the same process they laid out in Bow for the town community center – one proposal was to renovate the existing structure, a second more expensive proposal included renovation and an addition, while the most expensive option included constructing an entirely new building.

The committee recognizes the importance of the public being at the table as these discussions continue, according to Kretovic.

Champlin also asked the committee to be “attentive to public input” and “very intentional about their process.”