Selling off a section of the Jamberoo Bowling Club's land for a seniors living project could be the only way to secure the club's future, according to outgoing club president Warren Steel.
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Last financial year the club cleared its debts through the sale of an Allowrie Street property for $475,000. However Cr Steel, who is also Kiama's Deputy Mayor, said the club would lose around $100,000 this financial year, a clearly unsustainable position.
Cr Steel said ongoing discussions between the Jamberoo Bowling Club and Jamberoo Golf Club to merge into a type of country club had failed to produce an outcome, and there was interest from a developer in building a seniors development of potentially 50 units on a one-hectare site of the bowling club's land.
The site includes part of the club building, one of two bowling greens and a section of the golf club's fourth hole that the golf club leases from the bowling club.
"I personally believe the only way the bowling club can be saved is to sell the land," Cr Steel said.
"If a developer built a large retirement establishment it would give the club money, but also bring in people and with the increased patronage make the bowling club viable again.
"It would be a good deal to save the club and a good deal to save the town."
Cr Steel said the majority of the bowling club's 500 social members and 30 bowling members preferred the idea of a merger with the golf cub, which itself has a membership of around 600.
However, action needed to be taken now to secure the bowling club's future.
He said people needed to understand that if an administrator was appointed any assets the club had would be sold to pay administrator fees first and whatever was left over was then distributed to clubs outside Jamberoo.
"The money won't remain in the Jamberoo community," he said.
Jamberoo Golf Club president Lance Fredericks said he had heard rumours of the potential development.
"It would put us in a spot if they developed there," Mr Fredericks said.
"It would take out one of our greens and a practice green, although we do have a development application for a new green if we have to leave it."
Mr Fredericks said like most golf clubs the Jamberoo club had suffered through a downturn.
"We have had [merger] talks with the bowling club and never come together," Mr Fredericks said.
"We felt that neither side was sufficiently financially strong enough to take it on basically ... we are both in need of bums on seats."
