Quality of life in Oro Valley at stake
Last week, during the March third "Call to Audience" segment of the town council meeting, a number of Rancho Vistoso residents expressed their dismay regarding the manner in which the town is pursuing the purchase of the former Vistoso Golf Course property.Our report, "Vistoso Golf Course Purchase Has Gone "Sideways", quickly explains their concerns.
The level of angst among residents is high. What happens with this property has a direct and lasting effect on their quality of life in Oro Valley.
Many Rancho Vistoso residents had sent messages of concern to the town council prior to last week's meeting. The following is an excerpt from one of these letters. It is representative of their concerns.
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"Mayor and Council,
Today I call upon you to terminate Oro Valley Town Manager, Mary Jacobs, from her post. What do I base this action on? Read on.
Last November, you voted 7-0 on the Mayor's motion to direct the town manager to initiate a process to purchase the now abandoned Rancho Vistoso Golf Course from Romspen, LLC, based on Fair Market Value, (FMV). Should an offer based on a town-derived appraisal for the "open space" of the golf course not be accepted by Romspen, then the town would pursue condemnation and take control of the land for the benefit of the community. A well-trodden path.
Clearly, this motion (see panel at right) was a directive to the town manager to act. The motion carried a due date for completion of work by April 1, 2021.
Today is March 1, 2021, and the town manager has not even begun the process. No appraisal has been contracted for (as far as the public has been informed) and the April 1st deadline will not be met and the community will continue to suffer the consequence of the city manager's inability to act on the motion you set forth.
The failure to procure a fair market value appraisal means that no fact-based offer or negotiation can be achieved. The FMV appraisal is the foundation to any solution.
The community has not been kept in the communications loop. We are locked out of transparent communications by Executive Sessions and the town manager's inadequate "two minute" reports that proffer nothing of substance. The town manager's obvious disregard for the community's pent-up need for meaningful information is appalling.
The town must now immediately remove the city manager as she has willfully defied the town council's directive and therefore placed herself in a position of being dismissed "with cause.” Alternatively, you could give her until April 1, 2021 to complete the performance of her duty as outlined in the motion.
The community is now in jeopardy of losing the opportunity to acquire the property. We hear that The Conservation Fund would still be willing to step-up to assist in the solution. I can imagine that the lack of transparency in communications and inaction by the town manager to acquire an appraisal must send the wrong signals about our willingness to accept their generous offer to help create a conservation easement here.
So what has the town manager been doing if not what the council directed her to do? Clearly not making an offer to Romspen for their consideration; no FMV appraisal, no valid offer. Is the town manager making "invalid" offers to Romspen? Are there other "cloaked" offers circulating that is taking up precious time and resources that have not been disclosed publicly? Are there other suitors out there making offers that are so destructive to your unanimous vote for conservation, that she cannot share them with the community? We can only speculate.
The town manager is the impediment to a community and town council supported solution for open space conservation in perpetuity. Let's remove the town manager from her position for cause and bad faith. She is no servant-leader.
Let's move on quickly towards the light of transparent communications and good faith offers as you directed at the town council meeting of November 18, 2020."
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"Mayor and Council,
Today I call upon you to terminate Oro Valley Town Manager, Mary Jacobs, from her post. What do I base this action on? Read on.
Last November, you voted 7-0 on the Mayor's motion to direct the town manager to initiate a process to purchase the now abandoned Rancho Vistoso Golf Course from Romspen, LLC, based on Fair Market Value, (FMV). Should an offer based on a town-derived appraisal for the "open space" of the golf course not be accepted by Romspen, then the town would pursue condemnation and take control of the land for the benefit of the community. A well-trodden path.
Today is March 1, 2021, and the town manager has not even begun the process. No appraisal has been contracted for (as far as the public has been informed) and the April 1st deadline will not be met and the community will continue to suffer the consequence of the city manager's inability to act on the motion you set forth.
The failure to procure a fair market value appraisal means that no fact-based offer or negotiation can be achieved. The FMV appraisal is the foundation to any solution.
The community has not been kept in the communications loop. We are locked out of transparent communications by Executive Sessions and the town manager's inadequate "two minute" reports that proffer nothing of substance. The town manager's obvious disregard for the community's pent-up need for meaningful information is appalling.
The town must now immediately remove the city manager as she has willfully defied the town council's directive and therefore placed herself in a position of being dismissed "with cause.” Alternatively, you could give her until April 1, 2021 to complete the performance of her duty as outlined in the motion.
The community is now in jeopardy of losing the opportunity to acquire the property. We hear that The Conservation Fund would still be willing to step-up to assist in the solution. I can imagine that the lack of transparency in communications and inaction by the town manager to acquire an appraisal must send the wrong signals about our willingness to accept their generous offer to help create a conservation easement here.
So what has the town manager been doing if not what the council directed her to do? Clearly not making an offer to Romspen for their consideration; no FMV appraisal, no valid offer. Is the town manager making "invalid" offers to Romspen? Are there other "cloaked" offers circulating that is taking up precious time and resources that have not been disclosed publicly? Are there other suitors out there making offers that are so destructive to your unanimous vote for conservation, that she cannot share them with the community? We can only speculate.
The town manager is the impediment to a community and town council supported solution for open space conservation in perpetuity. Let's remove the town manager from her position for cause and bad faith. She is no servant-leader.
Let's move on quickly towards the light of transparent communications and good faith offers as you directed at the town council meeting of November 18, 2020."
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