They promised to restore fiscal restraint and eliminate the cost of subsidizing golf, but during the October 2 meeting of the Oro Valley Town Council, those promises were broken. In a 6-1 vote, the Town Council agreed to continue subsidizing the operation of the El Conquistador and La Canada courses.
Vice-mayor Melanie Barrett, who cast the lone “no” vote, said she could not support the plan without the pay-as-you-go provision that had been initially included in the proposal. Barrett had preferred a plan to preserve 18 holes of golf and convert the remaining property to a linear park.
In 2014, Town leaders pushed the purchase the 36-hole golf courses for $1 million. Since then, the Town has raised taxes in order to cover the cost of the courses. To date, financial losses on golf have exceeded all Town forecasts.
Homeowners associations members, who had become known as the “green shirts” due to the fact that they routinely showed up in force wearing green shirts to the Council meetings, pushed for preserving 36 holes of golf and controlled Wednesday’s meeting for the most part. Yet their representatives could not guarantee that their members would ultimately vote to provide small subsidies to preserve the golf courses as proposed by Oro Valley Mayor Joseph Winfield.
Approved conditions for 36 hole golf option:
• Operate as a municipal public course with a membership model that welcomes outside play
• Have tax subsidy of no more than $750,000.00 dollars annually
• Membership rates are raised 10% by January 1, 2020 to reflect the membership revenue projected in the Troon 36 hole Pro-forma
• Make tee times available for all 36 holes as indicated by Troon to maximize outside play and increase revenue by $175,000.00 and include monthly measurable targets and penalties if not achieved
Not everyone was in favor of requiring the homeowners associations to participate in providing subsidies:
Related articles:
Oro Valley Golf Decision Saddles Residents With Failure
HSL Purchase Agreement Forces Oro Valley To Maintain Private Property
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