Bits and Pieces

Status of Pusch Ridge Course Unclear
The Town of Oro Valley continues to operate 45 holes of golf. The Pusch Ridge course continues in operation. The town is in negotiation with the owner of the El Conqustador Hotel, HSL, to take it over. Mayor Winfield told us that he is"...not at liberty to say more than that."

HSL needs to course in order to remain a viable golf destination. However, they "hold the cards" because the original sale, negotiated in 2015 by Mayor Hiremath, substantially restricts the town in terms of simply closing any one of the three courses the town still runs.

The Overlook Restaurant continues to operate
"The Town released an RFP [Request For Proposal]  a few weeks ago for golf operations. The RFP requires the new operator to manage the Overlook with no subsidy from the town," according to Mayor Winfield. The agreement reached by council in November was that food and beverage operations at the Community Center would be scaled to that which is appropriate for a municipal golf operation. The operation would be moved downstairs. That is not in the RFP.

Feedback to date on Parks and Recreation Master Plan study shows kids needs a low priority
Input received by the town, to date, would say that Golf is the number 1 recreational need of the town. Right behind that is making improvements to the community center. Third is preserving the closed Vistoso Golf Course as open space.  Community Center Improvements on hold, pending completion of the Parks and Recreation Master Plan Study.

The results are based on an open "tell us what you want" feedback form on the town Parks and Recreation Master Plan study web site. The town has received about 600 responses. Most of these we believe are from the residents living in these golf communities as there have encouraged their residents to visit the site.

Mayor Winfield has pointed out that "This is not statistically valid information, but represents community input received to date. A statistically valid survey will be done as part of the assessment and may show different results."

Indeed, the results are so drastically different from the last survey done in 2014. This was before the the town purchased the golf courses. It was before the Vistoso Course ceased operation. Golf was at the bottom of the 30 or so needs at that time.

We know that these results are simply ludicrous. How could "Increased Programs and Services For Children" be low on the list?
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