Oro Valley approves pay-as-you-go plan for golf course improvements

The Oro Valley Town Council voted late Wednesday to approve a pay-as-you-go plan to fund improvements to the town’s two 18-hole golf courses and the community center, with the first round of construction starting next year.

The plan, which was approved 4-3, stipulates that Oro Valley will complete irrigation improvements and repairs to the Conquistador course by 2021, and the Cañada course by 2022. Improvements to the clubhouse and restaurant are scheduled for 2023.

“Since the golf courses were purchased by the prior administration, this issue has been a divisive issue for our community,” Mayor Joseph Winfield said during the meeting. “Our commitment to reduce the millions of dollars the town spends on golf has been challenging but needed ... With this motion, we address the irrigation needs of both courses to be completed by 2022 without borrowing funds or bonding.”

As part of the plan, the money for the projects will come from the community center fund balance, as well as left over money from prior or current projects. The community center fund includes the revenues from a half-cent sales tax as well as golf and other activities.

The town agreed to maintain at least $100,000 in the community center fund as part of the plan. The town will also manage the Overlook restaurant at the community center in a way that is “consistent with the needs of a municipal golf course.”

Town manager Mary Jacobs said the rough estimate for the projects is $1.9 million each for the golf courses and $3.2 million for the community center.

She added that the town can complete $900,000 worth of construction by the end of next fiscal year, with a $1.1 million fund balance left in the community center fund.

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Figuring out how to pay for golf course improvements was the next step for the town after council members opted to keep the courses open, putting to bed a potential plan to close down some or all of the town’s three town-owned golf courses. The third course, nine-hole Pusch Ridge, is expected to be leased back to HSL Properties.

The situation has been a point of contention for many in Oro Valley, some of whom have formally launched a recall effort against Winfield and Vice Mayor Melanie Barrett.

Jennifer LeFevre, director of Oro Valley Thrives, a group that supported a different funding method for the golf courses, said the Thursday vote was “overwhelmingly disappointing.”

“It continues the ongoing instability that people feel in our town as residents, as homeowners, as people who want to create their life here,” she said. “Tomorrow is another day. We’ll figure out the best course of action. The community members will come together and figure out the most sensible way forward.”

During the meeting, Winfield pleaded to end the divisiveness about golf.

“Yes, hold us accountable for the projected revenues and expenses,” he said, adding that “working together I believe we can make 36 holes in golf a success story.”