Sportsmen's club evaluating 'fair' value for county park lease payments

A Manorville sportsmen’s club said it is conducting an independent assessment of the value of 262 acres of parkland it leases from Suffolk County after an investigation found the county "failed to comply" with a law requiring it to conduct an assessment before signing a long-term lease.

The pending assessment by a firm for the Peconic River Sportsman’s Club is voluntary and could result in the club adjusting its annual payment, which now stands at $9,301, said John C. Armentano, an attorney at Farrell Fritz and a club member.

The club has leased 262 acres of the parkland donated to the county in 1963 by the Woolworth-Donahue family. A 1996 state law paved the way for the property to be alienated for lease to the sportsmen’s club. The club operates gun and archery target ranges on its own adjacent 135-acre property, and uses the wooded county property for deer and bird-hunting.

The club, formerly known as the Babylon Rod & Gun Club, purchased its 135-acre property in 1972 for $630,000. Jessie Woolworth Donahue, an avid outdoorsman and hunter, deeded the 262 acres to Suffolk County in 1963. 

The current 25-year lease expires in 2025, but the Suffolk County Legislature last September approved a resolution for a new lease, four years early, after it was approached by representatives for the club, who said the club sought more certainty in planning future events. The new measure, like the 1996 state law, required the county to lease it for fair-market value but a review by county comptroller John Kennedy this year found that no fair-market value assessment was conducted. Kennedy called that a "failure to comply" with state law and also found the cost of the new lease appeared to be for well under fair market value.

Armentano said the club retained the appraising firm Cushman & Wakefield to evaluate the property for its fair market value assessment based on club uses.

“We will consider that as part of our obligation to pay fair-market value and share that with the county to make sure we are all on the same page with the value of the property,” he said. If the assessment finds the payment should be higher, he said, the club would consider paying more.

In material prepared for Newsday, club members noted they incur costs totaling $22,961 a year to maintain the county property, which contains no buildings. The figure includes grounds equipment and maintenance, groundskeepers' salaries, snow removal and more than $8,500 in liability insurance, they said. Their maintenance work includes treatment for invasive species in waterways and clearance of fire roads. 

Officials with Suffolk County and its Parks Department have for months declined to respond to requests for comment about the fair-market value assessment and why they apparently failed to conduct one. Kennedy didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. 

John Turner, a conservationist who has criticized the exclusive lease arrangement, discounted the club's claims of maintenance and other costs as relevant to the lease payment, and said the club's assessment does not lessen the county's obligation to conduct a review itself.

"Why would you ever allow the client to establish fair market value?" he said, referring to the club. "If the county were to use that number without some rigorous assessment of their own, I think that would be illegal or at the very least highly inappropriate."

An attorney who has reviewed the lease agreed. 

 "There's nothing wrong with the club getting their own evaluation — they are exercising prudence and judgment to protect themselves," said Paul Sabatino, a former chief deputy Suffolk County executive and now lawyer in private practice. But the county "can't just rely on one appraisal submitted by the tenant. The county has a fiduciary and legal obligation to obtain a [fair-market value assessment] as quickly as possible." 

Sabatino also noted that the new lease signed by the county appears to be more restrictive keeping non-club members off the property without an invitation, allowing only that they can request to enter the county's 262 acres. He said the language was added after legislators approved the measure last September.

Newsday toured the expansive wooded property on Thursday. Amid handgun target practice by State Police and skeet shooting by club members, officials emphasized their charitable events and the widespread use of the facility for arms qualification and training by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, at no cost.

They also noted it's used for certification of children’s conservation and other groups and fundraising for breast-cancer charitable organizations, which has provided more than $30,000 a year to the groups, said Joseph Hocker, a retired Port Authority police officer and the club’s vice president. 

"We have lots of events that open to the public," said Mike McEnroy, president of the club, including a recent event that raised funds for firemen in need. 

By Mark Harrington

mark.harrington@newsday.comMHarringtonNews

Mark Harrington, a Newsday reporter since 1999, covers energy, wineries, Indian affairs and fisheries.