Two council members push for attorney general to look into Watertown golf deal

May 2—WATERTOWN — Mayoral candidate Sarah V. Compo Pierce says the state attorney general's office has received multiple complaints about the deal for the city to purchase the Watertown Golf Club.

Councilwoman Compo Pierce, who's running for mayor in the November election, said on Tuesday that at least five constituents have contacted the AG's office about connections between Councilman Cliff G. Olney III and the two developers involved in the deal.

They requested that the AG's office look into the deal after it was finalized on Jan. 27 to purchase the golf club's nine holes in Thompson Park for $3.4 million from developer Michael E. Lundy, she said.

"I think a third party should look into it because of the questions and concerns that they have made," she said.

However, a spokeswoman with the AG's office said the Watertown "regional office hasn't received any complaints on this issue."

In response, Councilwoman Compo Pierce said she doesn't have any details about which office was notified.

"These are people who have mentioned to me that they've 'called the AG's office' or 'made a complaint,'" she said.

Her comments come a day after a tumultuous debate about the newly acquired golf course that occurred during Monday night's City Council meeting before the council approved spending more than $54,000 for electrical repairs to the golf course's clubhouse.

During the nearly hourlong debate, Councilman Cliff G. Olney made a series of revelations about his role in the deal while he was being questioned by interim city attorney Todd H. Bullard.

Councilwoman Compo Pierce said the exchange between the councilman and Mr. Bullard "was concerning" and raised some red flags about his involvement.

During the discussion, Councilman Olney mentioned several times that he partly supported the acquisition to avoid a potential lawsuit by Mr. Lundy and Ives Hill Country Club owner P.J. Simao, who also was involved in the deal.

"To me, that would sound like some sort of extortion, would it not?" Councilwoman Compo Pierce said during Monday night's meeting.

She believes that Councilman Olney should have recused himself from the vote on the purchase because of that.

He also admitted that he talked to the two developers about the deal before he was elected two years ago, then he continued to discuss the deal with the two developers after he was elected and before the deal was finalized in January.

None of those discussions were ever disclosed during the process to acquire the former Watertown Golf Club, Councilwoman Compo Pierce said.

The threat of the litigation influenced his decision to support the deal, so it was "unethical," she claims.

In light of the councilman's comments on Monday night, Councilwoman Compo Pierce believes that the AG's office should be involved to "clear up the situation."

Mayor Jeffrey M. Smith agrees that the councilman's comments raised "a lot of concerns" about why he didn't disclose those discussions with the developers.

"They were his comments," he said. "No one made them for him. No one made him say it."

But Councilman Olney denied that he has done anything wrong, accusing the councilwoman and her supporters of "doing anything that they can" to get her elected.

"I'd want an investigation," he said, adding it would prove he did nothing wrong.

As for Mr. Simao, they became friends back in 2017 when the two men had issues over how the city gave preferential treatment to the former owners of the golf club. While they evolved into political allies, Councilman Olney said that Mr. Simao has no control over him regarding city issues.

He ignored Mr. Simao's advice so often that Mr. Simao has joked that he'd "fire" him for not listening to him, the councilman said.

He also claimed that he never met Mr. Lundy until late in the negotiations for the golf course. The developer didn't have any influence over him about his decision about purchasing it.

He always considers what's best for the city, the councilman said. While the bad blood continues over the purchase, the Watertown Daily Times has confirmed that a complaint has been made with the city's ethics board about Councilman Olney's involvement with finding an apartment for a homeless woman and her daughter this winter.

He's being accused of helping the woman find a home in exchange for her to attend council meetings to talk about being homeless. Councilman Olney has been an advocate for the homeless during meetings.

Ethics board member Stephen A. Jennings said he received a complaint about the councilman about the situation, so he turned over the information to the city's attorneys to look into it.

In a Facebook posting that she made, the woman, Tammy Higby, said she's receiving free rent for an apartment owned by landlord Bill Bonner, but only if she attends council meetings to talk about "community needs" for the homeless. Councilman Olney, she said, and a few others helped arranged for the housing.

"They don't have a platform. They just want to get me on something," he said.

Council members Lisa A. Ruggiero and Patrick J. Hickey, who supported the golf club purchase, said they didn't know anything about the arrangement with the woman.

Councilwoman Ruggiero, who's running against Councilwoman Compo Pierce for mayor, said Councilwoman Compo Pierce is using dirty politics to attack her when the focus should be on making the golf course a success.

And Councilman Hickey said that the legality of the purchase of the golf course was already decided when state Supreme Court Judge James P. McClusky dismissed a lawsuit to stop it and allowed the sale to go through.

At the time, the judge concluded that the decision would ultimately be decided at the ballot box, Councilman Hickey said.