Our Oro Valley neighbor John Musolf asks the same question we've been asking when it concerns spending $420,000 to reconfigure the El Conquistador golf course 4th fairway.
Here's John's letter to the July 23 Explorer.
What’s the emergency with road, golf hole?
Which came first: The Town of Oro Valley (1974) or the construction of the Hilton El Conquistador Golf Club and Course (1985)?
The town saw no problems when the private Country Club designed and built the Fourth fairway adjacent to La Canada Drive (1985). Unbelievable.
There has been no emergency about errant golf balls threatening Oro Valley residents from 1985 to 2008 (23 years). This emergency arose only when the town widened La Canada Drive. Give me a break.
The Country Club has the liability for any potential damage by errant golf balls, not the town.
However, the town is saying the public health, safety, and welfare of the citizens are in jeopardy. What a major threat. Besides, TOV can get a loan from the Highway Expansion and Extension Program ($420,000 tax dollars) to pay for a private matter.
So, who cares? I do.
John Musolf
Oro Valley
6 comments:
As a side note regarding this issue: I find it interesting that Oro Valley has no problem shelling out $420,000 for a private golf course to reconfigure its links, meanwhile the Town has refused to enter into any agreement with Tucson Electric Power regarding placing existing and additional power lines underground along Tangerine Road between La Canada and La Cholla.
An agreement with TEP would cost the Town around $200,000, and is NEEDED for the Town residents to have reliable power. TEP was willing to enter into such an agreement, but the Town refuses, saying its code must be upheld, and TEP must pay the full $400,000 amount. I agree that the code must be upheld, but if the Town is willing to pay $400,000 to a private golf course, it should certainly be willing to pay the same amount to ensure reliable power for a substantial share of its residents.
Hi Dan--- Welcome. You may not have the best analogy----but you make an interesting argument.
I'm not sure who can argue with your rationale.
Glad to have you share your thoughts with our readers.
Art
Thanks Art. The Town is right that it would be at least partially liable for any errant golf balls happening to hit passersby. This, of course, assuming that sovereign immunity doesn't apply here. So, the Town is acting prudently in mitigating this potential liability. The issue of whether the Town could have reduced its bill on this arrangement is definitely ripe for debate.
However, I criticize how the Town chooses to spend its funding. The power issue along Tangerine Road is undeniably pressing, and must be addressed. My main point is that if the Town is willing to "make it happen" for the golf course, the Town should do the same for its own residents faced with a precarious power situation.
Dan---- I'm not looking to have a private dialog with you, but I do want to acknowledge your two points.
One---I agree it was a prudent thing to do to alleviate the potential problems as it concerned the golf course. However, one can easily debate the fact that the dollar amount was inherently unfair.
Oro Valley --$420K El Conquistador Country Club---zero.
Perhaps this council will be more inclined to work out a compromise with TEP that will serve everybody's best interests. That might be the prudent thing to do.
Hope you'll see fit to add more astute observations on future issues.
Dan,
Excellent points, and it's making me wonder...if the Town can shell out $400,000 to cover the potential liability of someone being hit by a golf ball, will they also be responsible for my E.R. bill when the power goes out causing me to have an asthma attack or to pass out because I can't breathe without air-conditioning? Will the town be liable for that because they didn't exercise the foresight to prevent this liability? When the power is out for 3 straight days and I must therefore find an air-conditioned hotel for the duration, will they pay my hotel bill? Why should I be stuck with that liability when the town knew or should have known that this could happen and they did nothing to prevent it.
Power outages will affect thousands of people. Will thousands of people be hit by stray golf balls?
As for them refusing to enter into an agreement with TEP because the town code must be upheld, all we need to do is to find a developer to request the underground power lines as being necessary for his project and then watch how fast the town code will be overlooked!
Maybe when the new mall opens and it places a strain on the system, then Vestar can demand underground lines by claiming that the loss of power is affecting mall businesses, then watch how fast those underground lines will be installed.
I'm growing more cynical by the day.
It's is TEP's responsibility to provide adequate power, not the Town of Oro Valley.
The price we pay for power is dependent on the cost of delivery......overhead or underground.
The Town sticks to it's codes and it irritates you. The Town provides variances to it's codes and it irritates you.
What does that tell us???
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