Source: The Desert Sun (Palm Springs, Calif.)
The La Quinta City Council on Monday cleared the way for the scheduled January opening of its new $100 million golf resort by resolving the last pending issue: where to store the golf carts.
During a special meeting, the council unanimously approved the purchase of two portable aluminum structures for $111,860 to store 90 golf carts to be used at the new SilverRock Resort.
And time was of the essence.
"I don't like to rush things, but on this one, we need to have it done," Mayor Don Adolph said after the vote. "January 17 is coming so fast."
City officials have been under pressure over whether they can open the city-owned resort as scheduled on Jan. 17 - the day legendary golfer Arnold Palmer has already made himself available for the resort's opening ceremony.
The city came up with the idea of purchasing these structures, which many private golf course operators would normally lease, after attempts to seek a lease agreement took weeks and seemed deadlocked.
Assistant City Manager Mark Weiss said, however, that a lease agreement would have eventually cost the city the same amount o because the city would have negotiated in such a way that the structures would belong to the city in the future.
La Quinta's idea of creating a city-owned golf course started in 1996 as part of the city's economic development plan. Since then, the city has earmarked nearly $100 million, including $45 million to purchase the 525-acre land at Avenue 52 and Jefferson Street in 2002. Constructing on the first golf course and related facilities early last year.
SilverRock Resort eventually will have two 18-hole public golf courses, hotels and retail stores.
The project is intended to generate revenue for the city from hotel and sales taxes to pay for city services and programs in the future.
For several years La Quinta has been one of the fastest growing cities in the valley and the state, and the city has funded a lot of services through fees related to new home construction.
But as open space for development gets used up in the city, La Quinta will need additional revenue sources to pay for streets, fire, police and other city services to serve city residents.
By developing the property, La Quinta becomes the fifth desert city to develop its own course in the $1 billion desert tourism industry. An estimated 3.5 million people come to the Coachella Valley each year for golf, conventions or other desert amenities.
"Everything's moving on just beautifully," Johnny Pott, senior vice president of Landmark Golf Management, said after Monday's special council meeting. The Indian Wells-based company manages the SilverRock project.
City officials say having Arnold Palmer at the opening ceremony is very important partly because his company designed the SilverRock Resort's 7,550-yard golf course and Palmer himself owns a house near the new resort.
"I hope he will play the first round, hopefully with me," Adolph said.