Since the controversial vote by the Oro Valley Town Council to purchase the El Conquistador County Club, the Town’s Mayor Satish Hiremath, has engaged in what can only be characterized as a propaganda war on his fellow Council members.
Council member Mike Zinkin responds (in red) to and open letter from Hiremath entitled, Facts Regarding The Purchase Of The El Conquistador Country Club.
FACTS REGARDING THE PURCHASE OF THE EL CONQUISTADOR COUNTRY CLUB
There have been many statements made regarding the purchase of the El Conquistador Country Club and its amenities. Some statements made to the public have been intentional misstatements made by individuals. This letter is to let everyone know the true facts.
● We had three Executive Sessions “regarding the purchase, sale or lease of real property”. All now know these were specific to the purchase of the El Conquistador Country Club on La Canada Drive for possible use as a Community/Recreation center.
● ALL OF COUNCIL WERE PRESENT FOR ALL THREE EXECUTIVE SESSIONS.
● At the first Executive Session, limits for negotiating the framework of a proposal to bring back to the Council for discussion and possible action were given to the Town Manager and me by the whole Council.
NOT TURE. I cannot express what was said in Exec. Session, but I can say that this is not correct. I can say is that NO direction was given to the Mayor. Any direction that was given, was given to the Staff.
● There were 3 sellers along the timeline for the property between June 18th and December 17th. The first seller we were in discussion with occurred between the timeframe of June 18th and the middle of July.
● Staff started doing their due diligence as of June 19th. Again, it was the Staff doing the work, not the Mayor.
● The seller requested that we withhold their name on the off chance that the deal of buying the Hilton resort fell through. Obviously, if their deal with MetLife for purchase of the Resort fell through, our conversation for potential acquisition of the El Conquistador Country Club would end. The deal eventually fell through. With this deal falling through, all direction given at the first Exec. Session was no longer a factor.
● Staff had done an enormous amount of due diligence until the middle of July when the first buyer pulled out. Since the first buyer fell out, I have been told by our legal staff that all direction given at the first Exec Session was null and void. You cannot carry over direction given for buyer one to any subsequent buyer. You start at square one.
● There was no activity or discussion about purchase of the El Conquistador Country Club during the time between mid July and the first week of October.
● Around the first of October, The Town Manager and I had heard rumors of another buyer possibly wanting to purchase the Hilton Resort property. I suspect that these rumors happened during the summer due to the fact the Mayor stated on a radio show that around June he started working on something. Also at a candidate forum, held in the summer, the Mayor announced for the first time that his goal was to bring a community center to OV.
● Still following the direction of the entire Council, (Again, you cannot follow the direction given at the first Exec. Session since that buyer fell through. There was NO authority to enter discussions with Met-Life) we entered a conversation with MetLife (this is the second seller) to see if they would sell us the El Conquistador Country Club and all of its amenities. They said that the property was appraised at over $3,000,000 and that they would sell it to us for $2,500,000. This figure was a bit more than what was authorized by the Council (there was NO authorization) for the Town Manager and me to negotiate.
● Very shortly after the conversation with MetLife, HSL entered the picture as the proposed buyer for the Hilton Resort at the beginning of the second week in October.
● The Town Manager and I started a conversation with HSL to see if they would be willing to potentially allow the Town of Oro Valley to purchase the El Conquistador Country Club and all of its amenities. This was around October 8th. Since the next Exec Session was on Oct 15, there was NO authorization to enter these talks.
● A dollar figure that was under one-half of the financial cap that the Council set (there was NO dollar cap, the only time any dollar figures were mentioned were in the first Exec. Session, which was now no longer valid) was offered by the Town Manager and me to HSL as the starting point of a discussion for a possible proposition for me to bring back to the Council to discuss, as was directed by everyone on the Council. (Once again, the Mayor was NEVER given any direction. The only thing the Mayor received was a campaign contribution).
● The specifics of that conversation were relayed to the entire Council during the October 15th Executive Session. ALL OF COUNCIL WERE PRESENT AT THIS MEETING.
● Based upon direction by the entire Council, staff (not the Mayor) was told to resume their due diligence at an expedited rate. No expedited rate was ever mentioned.
● HSL made it very clear from the beginning that they did not want their name released to the public, as was the request of the first seller, until they knew that they would buy the Hilton property.
● The initial bargaining price from the Town to HSL (which we now know to be $1,000,000), was again under one-half of what the Council set as the top limit (again, there was NO money limits discussed at any Exec. Session other than the first one – which is no longer valid since the buyer fell through) and was well below the selling price offered by MetLife to the Town. This price was to include the 31,000 sq ft. building, the 36 holes of golf, 15 tennis courts and 2 pools at the El Conquistador Country Club.
● After further conversations with HSL, the amenities for the possible purchase price were expanded to include all of the above PLUS the tennis and golf pro-shop building, the 9 holes of golf and the 16 tennis courts at the Hilton Resort property on Oracle Road. This was for the same price with no increase. This spanned over 300+ acres in the heart of our Town.
● It was requested by HSL (the Mayor said it was required , not requested..so we HAD to vote on this on 12/17, before all the information was made available to the Council.) that if the Town of Oro Valley was seriously interested in acquiring the property discussed, that it be voted upon by December 17th as they were going to finalize their deal with MetLife to buy the Hilton Resort on December 18th.
HSL also wanted the Town to decide its interest in acquiring the property by December 18th because there were two additional buyers in line for purchase of the same property. The Mayor stressed that we HAD to have an “up or down “vote on 12/17. We never knew about 2 buyers, we were told the possibility of one buyer. The names of the buyers were never given.
● I told them that it would be possible to make a decision by December 18th because the Town had voted to reactivate the cancelled December 17th meeting for the sole purpose discussion and possible action by the Council on any items related for the purchase of the El Conquistador Country Club in addition to any other pertinent discussion and action items related to this purchase. How can the Council be expected to make a decision without all the information available. The Appraisal (a 160+ page document) was given to us hours before the meeting, we never saw the Troon contract until 12/23. There had been no mold inspection. Not enough information to make a reasonable decision.
● At the December 3rd Executive session just before the council meeting, a final conversation amongst all of Council was had.
● At the December 3rd council meeting regular agenda, it was discussed and revealed to the public that the Town offered $1,000,000 to HSL for 330+ acres which included 45 holes of golf, 31 tennis courts, both buildings, and two pools. A public hearing was had at this meeting to seek public input regarding the potential acquisition of this property. Interestingly enough, Mr. Caton, the Town Manager, briefed the Town employees on the afternoon on 12/3 BEFORE the Council was briefed. The employees knew more that we did.
● At the December 17th meeting, another public hearing was held and Council voted 4-3 in favor of the acquisition. Council members Brendan Burns, Bill Garner, and Mike Zinkin were against the acquisition. This is the one statement that is 100% correct.
● The acquisition date when the Town would own it, if it passed, was always March 1st. If it was always 3/1, why did we have to decide on 12/17?
● As to the details of the acquisition, it was always planned that the community would be educated about the deal to acquire the amenities through press releases, fact sheets and open forums. There was no “strategy” to educate the public until the referendum started. Why do you do the education AFTER the decision is made? Why not educate the public and the Council at, or before, the Council meeting?
● Everyone on the council had plenty of time to review the data and was kept abreast of the situation through the three Executive Sessions and Council reports. Not true. The Council heard about this “handshake agreement” on 12/17, the same time the public did, BUT after the staff did.
● NO BACK ROOM DEAL WAS MADE UNILATERALLY BY ANYONE! The Town Manager and I were instructed by the entire Council to bring back a proposal with parameters to see if the Town had an opportunity to purchase the property to use as a Community/Recreation center. Again, the Mayor was NEVER given any instructions. The Mayor made a “handshake” agreement. The Community Center spin came after it was established that the golf course was a money hole.
● A decision to acquire or not acquire the property was required on December 17th because there were two other buyers in line ready to discuss the acquisition of the same property with HSL if the Town was not interested in acquiring the property.
● THIS DECISION WAS MADE BY A COUNCIL VOTE….NOT UNILATERALLY. THE PROPERTY WOULD HAVE NOT BEEN THERE ON DECEMBER 18TH IF THE TOWN CHOSE NOT TO ACQUIRE IT ON DECEMBER 17TH.
● There is NO contract to date with Troon. Contract negotiations are taking place. However, we are ONLY talking to Troon. No RFP has been issued to allow other golf management companies an opportunity to bid for the Town’s contract. Why are we giving Troon a sole source contract?
● There is NO contract to date with HSL. Contract negotiations are taking place currently for the agreed upon price. Councilmen Burns, Garner and Zinkin have requested to see this, and all other contracts pertaining to the El Con BEFORE they are consummated.
● The Town had planned to acquire the property by March 1st but due to the litigation currently under way, the acquisition date for the Town will most likely be April 1st.
● This has NOTHING with the Town wanting to own a golf course. This has to do everything with the Town being presented with an incredible opportunity to buy this property to use as a Community/Recreation center for its residents. It also has to do with who is going to control over 330+ acres in the Town of Oro Valley. An opportunity to purchase a “turn key” community center that will cost over $8 million in improvements and a golf course that will cost over $15 million before it might break even in 5 years. The Ritz golf course and Stone Canyon golf course sold for under $100.00. What HSL did was dump the losing end of their purchase. The approximately $15,000 that HSL contributed to the Mayor, and Council members Hornat, Snider, and Waters was the best $15,000 he ever spent.
● The property does NOT always have to remain a golf course. It has remained a golf course for over 30 years because all of the previous owners of the hotel always wanted a golf course associated with the hotel.
● It is a fallacy that in order for the Hilton to keep the designation of the term “resort” in their name that the Hilton HAS to keep the golf course. There are properties across Arizona and the country that have the word “resort” in their name and they do not have a golf course attached to their property. Page 16 of the Troon contract states “Troon agrees to operate the golf courses in part for the benefit of the Resort and in a manner which allows the Resort to retain its status as a franchised resort with Hilton Hotels and Resorts” The Mayor has NO idea what is in the contract.
● There are entitlements on the property on certain portions of the golf course which currently allow for single family homes to be built. True, however there is no way this these entitlements can be exercised.
● One of the two buyers in line waiting for the Town to decide was a developer. There is now currently another developer who added their name to the “waiting list”. This is known only to the Mayor. Why would a businessman like Lopez sell this to the Town for less money than he can sell it otherwise. The name of these buyers have never been divulged.
I would like to close by saying that I understand why the public would feel as if they had very little time to decide properly on whether to acquire the El Conquistador Country Club and all of its amenities (along with the amenities at the Hilton Resort) to use as a Community/Recreation Center for our Town. The fact of the matter is that due to the other two potential buyers, a vote by the Council was necessary on December 17th on whether to acquire or not acquire the property. What I do not understand however is why some on Council state that they were not made aware of any conversation regarding the proposal to purchase the property until December 3rd when the public was made aware. As you can see by the above timeline, this is simply not true. Any other comments or statements made by other Council members countering this timeline are simply not true. The Town Manager and I are the only two individuals that are uniquely qualified to state the above timeline in addition to the content of the negotiations. Now you know the TRUTH.
Why, in a representative government are only the Mayor and the Town Manager “uniquely” qualified? The Mayor and the Town Manager are uniquely qualified because they worked outside their authority. Why wasn’t the Council as qualified? There were over 150 emails and over 40 individuals that spoke at the Council meeting on 12/17, the VAST majority of which communicated against the purchase. If the Council is elected to represent the People, how can the vote to purchase justified in a representative form of government?
Respectfully,
Dr. Satish I. Hiremath-Mayor