A $50,000 past-due water bill was keeping the Green Valley, Ariz., property from reopening, but a deal to pre-pay future bills could allow it to open next week.
The new operators of San Ignacio Golf Club in Green Valley, Ariz., have a $50,000 past-due water bill, but have struck a deal to pay for water in advance in hopes of getting the course open next week, the Green Valley (Ariz.) News & Sun reported.
Electricity also is expected to be restored at the course, which has been shut down to the public all summer, said golf pro Ronnie Black, one of the operators, the News & Sun reported.
“It’s still the goal,” Black said of an October 15 opening. “It’s (the course) a bit less mature than we had hoped.”
Black stopped short of calling himself an owner but said as of May 1, he and Dale Beddo are responsible for all the bills and get all the revenue from San Ignacio and the dormant Canoa Hills golf courses. Their company, Recreational Development Management, also operates Torres Blancas and Canoa Ranch courses. RDM signed a deal March 17 with Green Valley Golf Holdings to operate the courses with an option to buy them, the News & Sun reported.
Bob Heddon, president of the Green Valley Domestic Water Improvement District, said water was cut off at the course in June because of non-payment. He said a deal has been worked out for the course owners to repay a nearly $50,000 bill by year’s end and that going forward it will get water by pre-paying two weeks at a time, the News & Sun reported.
“The whole purpose behind all this is not to create any more debt,” Heddon said.
As of Monday, RDM had not made a payment to get the water back on, Heddon said, adding that failure to stick to the repayment play or to pre-pay for future water “will result in us shutting them off again.”
Black said that winter rye seed would be put down on San Ignacio starting earlier this week, and that parts of Torres Blancas and Canoa Ranch are already done. “In a month, it will be a bright emerald green,” he said.
He said electricity was to be restored to the course this week but declined to say why it had been turned off. “I don’t need to go there,” he said, adding that the restaurant was not affected, does not need to be renovated, and will reopen when the course does. The pro shop has remained open, the News & Sun reported.
“Money is always an issue, sure,” he said of getting the course opened. “Right now it looks better than it did a month ago. We’re attacking every problem as it comes the best we can.”
As for the larger issue of whether Green Valley can support several golf courses year-round, Black said. “We’ll find out. We are in a feeling-out process with the community to determine how much golf they need.”
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