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BRIDGET HALL GRUMETThe Beacon Woods Golf Club and some board members face a suit in a dispute over club finances.
BAYONET POINT - Gladys Meservey and three other golfers want back in.
After being expelled from the Beacon Woods Golf Club last month for their part in an ill-fated petition drive, the four sued this week, asking a judge to let them back into the private club.
"We were forced into it," said Mrs. Meservey, 64, who tried to play a round four days after she was expelled, only to be chased away by a sheriff's deputy. "We tried every other avenue, but no one would talk to us."
The lawsuit names the Beacon Woods Golf Club and the members of the board who expelled Mrs. Meservey from the club Aug. 18, as well as Frank Massarelli, Clint Thaxton and Tom Caputi.
Golf club president Phillip McKinnon declined to comment Thursday on the lawsuit. The club's attorney, Ellen Hirsch de Haan, did not return a call for comment.
The controversy grew out of a dispute over the golf club's shaky finances. The club faced a $127,900 budget shortfall earlier this year. It raised fees and created a new class of daily public memberships this summer to cover the shortfall. But some residents circulated a petition asking the golf club board to re-examine a proposal to cut expenses instead.
Several residents who signed the petition later complained the proposed cuts had been misrepresented. While the petition mentioned possible personnel cuts, it didn't specifically say the golf pro's job could be eliminated.
The golf club board cited those complaints when it expelled Mrs. Meservey, Massarelli, Thaxton and Caputi, all members of the committee that presented the petition to the board.
Board member Bill Meservey, Gladys' husband, is also named as a plaintiff in the lawsuit. He said the board's decision deprived him of the ability to play golf with his wife at Beacon Woods.
- Bridget Hall Grumet can be reached in west Pasco at 869-6244 or toll-free at 1-800-333-7505, ext. 6244. Her e-mail address is bhall@sptimes.com