What happened to ADA compliance?
We have owned this property since May 2015 and it is still not ADA compliant. Why isn’t the Town Manager funding an elevator for the Community Center? Does anyone care about our citizens who are disabled and currently have to enter the building through the loading dock? What happened to the funding for ADA and Code Compliance and Life Safety Issues that was shown during the Power Point presentation in December 2014?
ADA and Code Compliance Life Safety IssuesGreg Caton (Town Manager in 2014) promised that between FY 2014/15 and FY 2018/19 that the Town would spend $1,143,000 to remedy these issues. Fiscal year 2018/19 ends on June 30th and to-date the Town has spent ZERO on ADA compliance.
FY 2014/15 $381,000
FY 2015/16 $445,000
FY 2016/17 $69,000
FY 2017/18 $142,000
FY 2018/19 $106,000
TOTAL $1,143,000
What happened to paying back the $1.2 million dollar loan?
In 2015 the Town Council borrowed $1.2M from the General Fund to start the Community Center Fund with a promise to pay back $120,000 per year for 10 years. There has been no transfer of the promised annual $120,000 from the CCF to the General Fund.
Gains and Losses
Troon lost $85,220 in April 2019, bringing their losses to date to $1,267,303.
The Overlook lost $2,232 in April bringing its total losses so far this fiscal year to $89,679. Since the Overlook opened in 2015 it has lost $556,141. Of interest is that four years into this endeavor they are still losing more than what they've budgeted to lose. Budgeted losses YTD were $58,712. Actual losses YTD are $89,679. (Difference of $30,967).
The Town part of the investment (fitness, recreation, swimming) made a little over $125,000 as of April 2019. There is nothing wrong with the Community Center part of the investment; it is golf that continues to be a financial drain on the Town. So far this fiscal year your sales tax revenues dedicated to the Community Center and Golf amount to $2,033,576 (as of April 2019).
I recently submitted a Freedom of Information request asking for the number of employees assigned to maintain the golf courses, including supervisors and mechanics, and the total water usage for 36 holes (either in gallons or acre feet). The Town responded that they did not have the requested documents because these items are not broken down individually. I’m not sure if this is stonewalling or irresponsible management. How can the Town not know how much water is utilized or how many employees are utilized for golf maintenance? I am trying again with a revised submittal.
I am currently working on a plan for an 18-hole, strictly municipal model for golf. Town Manager, Mary Jacobs, seems to be leaning towards the 36-hole model if the adjacent HOA’s supplement the Town via increased HOA dues. The recently passed budget still includes the Overlook and the 36-hole model. One wonders what it will take to get the Town Manager to understand that the current model for golf is not working.
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Mike Zinkin has a Bachelor’s degree in history and government from the University of Arizona and a Master’s degree in Social and Philosophical Foundations of Education from California State University, Northridge. He was a commissioned ensign in the United States Navy Reserve. He was an Air Traffic Controller for 30 years. He and his wife moved to Oro Valley in 1998. Mike served on the Oro Valley Development Review Board from 2005-2009 and the Board of Adjustment from 2011-2012. He served on the Town Council from 2012-2016 during which time he was named a Fellow for the National League of Cities University, he was a member of the National League of Cities Steering Committee for Community and Economic Development, and a member of the Arizona League of Cities Budget and Economic Development Committee.
