When the purchase agreement with HSL was finally consummated in 2015 there wasn’t a full service restaurant located in the Community Center building. The La Vista had been closed by Hilton.
Shortly after the purchase, the Town Manager, Greg Caton, invested around $40,000 in capital improvements and the restaurant was re-opened. When I asked Caton where he received the authority to arbitrarily open the restaurant, his response was (paraphrased) that it was always assumed that we would do this.
Why is the town competing with private businesses?
Why would a government open a business that was in direct competition with the private sector? Why was this needed when the Garden Café (which was subsequently closed) and the beverage carts were meeting the needs of the golfers?
The results were continued losses
Since the opening of the Overlook Restaurant losses have exceeded $608,000. Do you think local eateries like Harvest or Torino’s could remain open with this record? The Oro Valley Citizens have subsidized this for too long.
When on Council, I asked to discuss the potential of closing the Overlook Restaurant. Then Council member Snider advised me that she had been told by the Attorney that we could not do this.
When I approached the Attorney in the break room and asked him about this he responded (paraphrased) that the Troon contract mandated that they provide food and beverage for the golfers and to close the Overlook Restaurant would limit their availability to do so. I responded that a beverage cart is all that is needed to provide food and beverage, to which he had no reply.
So why is the Overlook Restaurant still open?
Now enter a new Council and new Town Manager. This newly elected majority ran on a fiscally responsible platform. So why is the Overlook Restaurant still open?
In an email to Mary Jacobs, Town Manager, I wrote: “The day we purchased the property there was no restaurant, as Hilton had closed the facility. After looking at the financials since we purchased the property, closing the restaurant was/is the fiscally responsible thing to do. Even Hiremath was talking about closing the facility.
If there are any restrictions prohibiting the Town from closing the Overlook Restaurant, please forward to me the appropriate paragraphs from either the Troon contract, or the Purchase agreement.”
Town staff won't answer the question
The response I received from the Clerk’s Office, as per Jacobs’ instructions, was a list of 7 different PDF’s, containing over 650 pages of information. The Town, instead of just answering my question, snowed me with pages of stuff. I expressed my complete dissatisfaction in a subsequent email to Jacobs: “Your office works for the People. Forward me the answer. Either:
- There is no mandate for the Town to provide for a full service restaurant, and therefore is within their right to close the Overlook, or
- The ________document states that there is a mandate for the Town to provide for the Overlook. Here is a copy of the statement.”
Now comes the coverup
Here is Jacobs’ response: “While I appreciate that you want a definitive answer to your question, respectfully, the Town has timely responded to your public records request. Unfortunately, what you now request involves more than public records; it involves legal research and analysis, something that the Town’s attorneys cannot do for you or anyone else outside the Town without creating a legal conflict of interest."
What is Jacobs hiding behind legalize? Is she hiding the fact that there is no mandate to retain the Overlook Restaurant? I am certain if there was a legal stipulation to maintain the Overlook Restaurant, she would answer my question.
This complete chain has been forwarded to all 7 members of the Town Council.
Let’s see what happens.
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LOVE has confirmed with a council member that there is no contractual reason why the Overlook Restaurant was opened. Nor is there a contractual reason for it to remain open. Zinkin's assertions are correct in this regard.
In addition, the town does not intend to subsidize food operations after the course manager is selected, effective in October. This is from the town's latest addendum to the request for proposal. "With regard to food and beverage, the intent is that the Contractor is to include food and beverage service, however the Town will not subsidize that service. If the Contractor is not interested in providing food and beverage service that must be included in their RFP response."
