When City Manager Tom Aspell introduced a new, scaled-back design for a rebuilt clubhouse at the Beaver Meadow Golf Course on Thursday, he concluded by agreeing with a common refrain from the project’s critics.

“I believe, there’s a new facility, folks who use it should pay for it,” he said.

Instead of an $8 million plan for a 10,000-square-foot new clubhouse, Aspell has proposed a 6,000 square foot building that would cost just under $6 million. The difference in size and scope comes from cutting one of three golf simulators, reducing the size of the pro shop and “eliminat[ing] the idea for a full restaurant” from the previous design. City councilors will consider this new option as part of the 2026 city budget, which is under review now.

“I put aside all the other plans that you had before,” he said, “and essentially began anew.”

What is most different about this new design, however, is how it would be paid for. Instead of taxpayers at large, it will be the course and its golfers that will foot much of the bill, according to Aspell. That will likely mean raising membership and greens fees in a “strategic” way in the coming years.

Specifically, money made and saved up by the golf course would pay for $250,000 of the debt on this project every year for at least the next five years, Aspell explained. He also suggested spending some of the city’s recreation reserves to eliminate any tax rate increase associated with this project in the first year, and all but about $3 extra on the bill of the “average home” in the second year.

This latest proposal maintains the reported benefits of new construction — no need to close down the current clubhouse for renovation and a layout that solves structural issues with plumbing and the kitchen — while reducing costs by shrinking the plan. A 6,000 square foot building is a little over a third larger than what’s there now. Past designs would have more than doubled its size.

The plan includes an expanded bar and snack area, a large patio, two golf simulators and, notably, a room that can host cross-country skiers in the winter. In the summer, that space would be more seating for dining.

More information on this will be shared when city council weighs its capital projects on Thursday May 22 and when it examines special funds, including the golf fund, on June 2. Public testimony will be taken at each of those meetings. The council is expected to finalize the 2026 budget on June 5.

Catherine McLaughlin can be reached at cmclaughlin@c monitor.com. You can subscribe to her Concord newsletter The City Beat at concordmonitor.com.