During a recent inspection, the clubhouse and maintenance building of the Glendale, Ariz. property were found to have roof and electrical problems that caused a building official to deem them “imminently unsafe to occupy.” The city manager has been advocating the sale of the course, one of two that Glendale owns, because it has been costing hundreds of thousands of dollars to operate each year.
The city of Glendale, Ariz. is shutting down Glen Lakes Golf Course, at least temporarily, the Arizona Republic reported.
During a recent inspection, the city found that that the course’s clubhouse—which includes the pro shop and restaurant—and maintenance building are imminently unsafe to occupy, the Republic reported, according to a letter that city management sent on November 6th to the Glendale City Council.
The golf course, clubhouse and maintenance building were then scheduled to be closed at 6 p.m. on November 7th, the Republic reported.
The most concerning safety issues are the roof and electrical problems at both buildings, City Manager Kevin Phelps wrote in the letter. These problems were identified during the city’s last inspection on August 30th, but they have worsened since, according to Assistant City Manager Tom Duensing, the Republic reported.
“The continued exposure to water, coupled with significant rain events, caused the building official to now declare the buildings ‘imminently unsafe’ to occupy,” Duensing said.
Glen Lakes is one of two courses that the city owns, and the sudden closure comes after months of council debate on whether to shutter it for good. It is costing the city hundreds of thousands of dollars a year to operate, the Republic reported, and the council is considering selling the land to a developer to build a new neighborhood.
The decision to close the course came just two weeks after Phelps told the council that he thought the city should shut it down for good (https://clubandresortbusiness.com/city-manager-recommends-sale-of-glen-lakes-gc/). Phelps’ recommendation to sell came with a sense of urgency, but the majority of the council seemed to want to take more time to make a decision. After not coming to a consensus on that proposal, the council agreed that the issue should be revisited after the city staff could provide more information, the Republic reported.
With the city’s decision to shut down the course, though, the council will now be forced to talk about it much sooner than planned, the Republic reported. Phelps told the council in the November 6th letter that he would add the item to a council workshop planned for November 13th.
Phelps also said he has directed staff to come up with a plan to temporarily reopen the course, the Republic reported. He said it would cost the city about $150,000 to set up a temporary clubhouse in a trailer and $5,000 a month for a generator to run the course’s irrigation system. Those costs would need to be approved by the council, the Republic reported.
Jane Bachmann, a co-leader of Save Glen Lakes, a resident group trying to stop the council from shutting down the course for good, told the Republic that she doesn’t support the temporary closure. Bachmann said she went on the inspection of the course with city staff last week and while she saw the maintenance concerns, it wasn’t clear to her what had changed since the last inspection or why the course had to be closed immediately.
