Huckelberry Proposes Buying Canoa Hills Golf Course Facilities, Push Sales Tax

Just hours after pushing for a sales tax, Pima County administrator Chuck Huckelberry proposed using taxpayer funds to purchase the failed Canoa Hills golf course and facilities.

Huckelberry is seeking the sales tax based on the argument that the County lacks money to fix its failing roads.

According to a memo issued by Huckelberry only hours after the Board of Supervisors meeting on Tuesday, buildings on the property are in “significant disrepair.”

The property is currently owned by Supervisor Steve Christy campaign contributor Morgan North, of Borderland Construction.

At the end of 2017, Huckelberry had proposed taking neglected golf course off North’s hands, in the form of a donation and turning it into a park of sorts. Of the 130 acres in play, little more than half of those acres (77 acres) are in the Flood zone.

Now, Huckelberry is proposing to spend $520,000 from the General Fund on capital improvements. He wants to purchase the maintenance building for $295,000 and spend approximately $225,000 demolishing 3 restrooms. It is believed that demolition costs are high, due to the presence of asbestos, according to Huckelberry.

The condition of the maintenance building is unknown and whether it will require asbestos abatement was not addressed in the memo.

Supervisor Ally Miller stated in response to the memo, “This is yet another example of the non-essential spending by Pima County that could be used to fix the roads. What happened to “Just fix the roads”? This so called “donation” will cost the taxpayers more than a half million dollars from the general fund. At a minimum, this developer should be required to do all asbestos abatement prior to even considering taking this property into the county inventory. This is beyond obscene that Supervisor Christy would facilitate this purchase when he is promoting a sales tax to fix our roads.”

At a December 2017, Pima County Board of Supervisors’ meeting, a neighbor of the golf course, Lou Sampson, told the Board, “Many people in Green Valley think Supervisor Miller is to blame for everything when in reality she’s the only one that questions Chuck (Huckelberry) and where he’s spending the money. It’s important to politicians to keep people in Green Valley away from these meetings so they can’t see where the money is wasted and how it all happens. I would love to see something done with Canoa Hills golf course but getting in business with Huckelberry is an iffy deal. We never have money for roads because of “deals” like this. Why would anyone think that the County would do a good job of repairs and revival of this open space? It can’t be a park because they cost $30,000 a mile to maintain.”

Sampson stated that Huckelberry “blames everyone but himself for the condition of the roads.”

Sampson’s words were echoed during Tuesday’s meeting by resident Barney Brenner. Brenner told the supervisors during the Call to the Audience, “Pima County taxpayers have been getting ripped off by this Board for over 20 years.”

Brenner was critical of the sales tax and advised the Board that the voters have no confidence that the money will be spent on roads.
Huckelberry’s memo gives Brenner’s concerns even more credence.

“We have plenty of HURF (Highway User Revenue Fund) money to fix our roads if it was used properly,” resident Bonnie Haymore stated during the Call to the Audience. “When you want to find money for the financial disaster [like] Kino Stadium, where does it come from? It comes from mortgaging our Pima County buildings!”

Resident Geri Ottoboni asked the supervisors to look at Huckelberry. “Does he look fiscally responsible to you? Absolutely not!” Ottoboni pointed out that while roads continue to deteriorate, property taxes are on the rise.

Huckelberry’s face turned crimson when Ottoboni questioned his proposed a 2.5 percent salary adjustment for eligible employees. She noted that Huckelberry is the second highest paid administrator in the country while Pima County ranks as one of the nation’s poorest metropolitan areas. “Hmmm …,” said Ottoboni.