Unless somebody else wants it, city could take over Westhaven Club property

The Westhaven Country Club, a small private park on West Broadway, is among the properties listed on the Aug. 28 Jasper County Delinquent Tax Sale.

The park’s future was a topic of discussion Monday during the Webb City Council meeting.

Apparently, nobody wants to step forward to take responsibility for it, said City Administrator Carl Francis.

According to Ed Sumpter, a former Golf Road area resident, the club was originally set up to be owned by all homeowners in the Westhaven community. The subdivision was begun in 1959, while the golf course was still open. And the Westhaven Country Club was begun in 1961. The adjacent apartment complex was not a part of Westhaven.

“It was a great community park,” Sumpter says. He remembers in the summer how the kids would go there every day to swim and play basketball on the tennis court.

On the Fourth of July, Sumpter says former mayor Bob Baker would buy the watermelon for a community picnic, and fireworks would be shot off from the tennis court.

Now, he says the tennis court may still be in good condition, but the swimming pool probably needs to be filled in.

Whoever wins the bid at the tax sale will have to pay the back taxes and fee, totaling $1,114.67.

During the city council discussion, there was the suggestion that the city could take over the 1.18 acres and maintain it as a neighborhood park.

“I think that would be the best bet,” says Sumpter.