Oro Valley's Golf Course losing even more than projected
Mayor Hiremath, Council Members Hornat, Snider and Waters and the Town Of Oro Valley do not tout the financial results of Oro Valley's new golf course. Though they would like you to think otherewise, the golf course is the centerpiece of why they face recall in November.
The financial results of the golf course are awful!
The July results for golf at the El Conquistador Country Club golf course are in. Total revenue from Golf was $98,781 That is $65,826 less than the budget. That is a 40% shortfall from the Troon based budget of $164,608.
Remember, every dollar of lost revenue increases the loss by $1. This is a loss of in addition to what the town projected the golf course would lose in July. That number was a loss of $259,252. Add this loss in, and we project that course lost well over $325,000 in just one month.
Why didn't the revenue even come close to plan? Actual rounds were only 71.82% of the projected rounds. Actual revenue per round were only 83.56% of projected revenue.
Troon, the contract manager of the golf course, projected in the budget for July 4,556 rounds of golf at $36.13 per round. The actual number of round played in July was 3,272 at $30.19 per round.
As of July, there are a total of 198 golf members.
Fortunately, Oro Valley's minority council members are keeping a close eye on the situation. This from council member Brendan Burns: "If we continue on the trajectory of achieving only 71.82% of the projected rounds and only 83.56% of projected revenue, the effect on our budget will be catastrophic"
Our feeling is that Oro Valley is in big trouble even if it reaches what now appear to be optimistic financial projections.
Others question Oro Valley's sustainability
This from council member Mike Zinkin: "At the League of Cities and Towns I reconnected with friends from throughout the State. The common question was: What is going on in Oro Valley? When I told them about the purchase of 45 holes of golf, a restaurant and a bunch of tennis course, they had one common question: 'How confident are you that Oro Valley can sustain themselves into the future?'"
Mike's conclusion: "With losses on the golf course alone, not including the the community enter and restaurant, along with the needed improvements, I am not very confident that Oro Valley can continue without robbing the Contingency Fund or asking for a bond."
Are you kidding? Hornat claims to be a"Proven Fiscal Conservative"
Council Member Joe Hornat lists "proven fiscal conservative" as a reason that you should vote for him in November. He provides no facts to support his assertion. We see no basis for it.
The fact is that, while he has been on council, Oro Valley spending has nearly doubled. He voted to double the utility tax. He voted to increase the sales tax one half percent. His actual actions make him a big spender.
Oro Valley resident Don Cox has created a web site to support the Majority-4. This one is funded by his Triple-E Pac. You can see it at http://www.keepovstrong.com. The site uses the same picture as the ""Stand For Civility" site that is funded by Council Members Hornat, Snider and Waters.
According to Cox: "Triple E PAC was formed in January 2015, for the purpose of informing folks about what turned out to be a botched referendum effort. Since then the purpose has changed and it is now being used to show support for the Mayor, and the three council persons. We are receiving support from a broad base of constituents and keepovstrong.com is one of the products of that support. You'll see more."
Bristow creates "Accountable Government Now"-A PAC seeking change
Oro Valley resident Don Bristow created a PAC called "Accountable Government Now" ("AGN"). According to their press release: "Accountable Government Now has a two-fold purpose. First, to assure Steve Didio, Ryan Hartung, Shirl Lamonna and Patrick (Pat) Straney get elected to serve us, the residents, on the Oro Valley Town Council. Second, to help these new candidates overcome the misinformation and half-truths being put out there by the group of 4; Mayor Hiremath and Councilmembers Hornat, Snider, and Waters. Our messages will be truthful and informative"
Learn more here.
Has The Community Center rebuild gone awry?
The town is refurbishing the El Conquistador Country Club house and restaurant to try to make it into a community center. It held design meetings for the public in the past several weeks seeking resident input. We received several reports on the meeting.
According to these reports:
- "The people attending the first meeting were former Country Club members who wanted the restaurant redone. It's as though they want to have a country club at our expense."
- At the second one, there a large numbers of the Oro Valley Youth Advisory Board requesting all sorts of fun stuff. Most of them will ever use it given that they are graduating and leaving town.
The resident warns: "If the residents don't like the final outcome/impact of the comm center they have no one to blame but themselves."
"Full steam ahead" on community center restaurant
Paul Kessler of Oro Valley's Development and Infrastructure Department, stated at the community center remolding meeting of August 17, that support for a restaurant was overwhelming. Therefore, planning for a full scale restaurant and bar is proceeding.
One resident wrote us: "I would like to know when and how it was determined support was overwhelming. I do know at the first remolding meeting there was overwhelming support. Overwhelming meaning approximately 30 current members, including Hornat and Waters and their wives."
The resident continued: "There has been no effective public outreach since the first meeting. It is full speed ahead with what the Council and staff want with little input for all Oro Valley citizens. The citizens are paying 1/2% sales tax to remodel and operate this facility. It isn't owned by the small percentage of residents/non-residents who are members."
We wonder: Why does Oro Valley want to compete with private enterprise?
Better option: Close the restaurant down; Use the space for community center.
Rape Aggression Defense class begins this weekend
Oro Valley, Arizona (August 19, 2015) - The Oro Valley Police Department (OVPD) is hosting a free self-defense class called Rape Aggression Defense (R.A.D). The training is for females ages 15 and older.
R.A.D. System is a program of realistic, self-defense tactics and techniques. It begins with awareness, prevention, risk reduction and avoidance, while progressing on to the basics of hands-on defense training.
The dates for the next course are August 22 and 29, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Oro Valley Church of the Nazarene East Campus, 440 W. Calle Concordia.
Attendees should wear comfortable workout attire, as this is a physical class. Please bring a lunch. To register, contact Sgt. Amy Graham at (520) 229-5081. (Oro Valley Police Department Press Release)
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