Carson City approves licensing agreement for continued operations at Eagle Valley Golf Course

A licensing agreement was approved between Carson City and Duncan Golf Management for Duncan to continue managing the city-owned Eagle Valley Golf Course, an agreement that will continue through 2027.

Carson City’s municipal course is just over 370 acres, and is located off of Arrowhead Drive. The land was acquired through a variety of ways, including a land grant from the John D. Winters Family Trust, federal land grants and purchasing portions.

The area was created specifically to be a repository for reclaimed water, an integral part of Carson City’s water system, according to Parks and Recreation’s Jennifer Budge.

From 1997 to 2017 the Carson City Municipal Golf Corporation managed the property as a private non-profit.

Duncan Golf was selected to take over the operation in 2017 after the Municipal Golf Corporation did not submit a renewal.

A presentation was held Thursday at the Carson City Board of Supervisors meeting regarding the performance evaluation of Duncan Golf by city staff.

“It’s important to remember what the condition of this course was when we entered into this partnership,” said Budge. “The course was not in great condition. The cart fleet was completely inoperable. The operator was struggling financially.”

Between 2017 and 2019, city staff was inundated with calls from collection agencies, said Budge, due to the financial problems of the previous operator. In addition, there were numerous small claims court matters that had to be resolved.

“There was a lot of baggage after the last operator that Duncan Golf had to walk into,” said Budge, “and I think we’ve come a long way since then with this private public partnership.”

Between 2018 and 2021, total rounds played increased significantly, from 39,108 rounds in 2018 to 66,737 in 2021, and revenue has increased from $1.47 million to $2.02 million in that same period, according to the presentation.

The terms of the agreement being discussed were:

Duncan Golf would be awarded full operations, maintenance and management through Dec. 31, 2027 with a 5-year renewal option. There’s a $90,000 annual investment in equipment, which Duncan has exceeded in the years since they took over. In addition, there would be joint annual capital improvements between Duncan and the city.

There was public comment sent in by the public on this item, and City Manager Nancy Paulson answered questions regarding that public comment.

One question asked whether the agreement was in compliance with Nevada State Laws, which Paulson said it was.

Another question asked whether the city collected real property taxes, and Paulson stated they did not, and they also did not collect personal property taxes at the golf course. They are not sales tax exempt.

City department maintain specific budget line items for the course, and Paulson stated no, but the sewer fund would be in charge of any issues needing repair. Budge added that the city does have obligations for certain maintenance, such as HVAC systems of city-owned buildings on the property, which comes from the facilities budget.

Paulson also stated that Duncan pays for potable water and associated sewer rates, as well as an affluent meter.

Paulson stated that the new irrigation system project is on the city’s five year capital improvement plan and would be phased in with a new controller with capital investment by both the city and Duncan. However, carts and bunkers are currently the priority.

Mayor Lori Bagwell referenced a photo from the packet that was taken during the Eagle Valley Golf Course 2021 Inspection under general cleanup, in which trash and boxes are thrown in a side yard area, and wooden pallets are stacked in a corner of a cemented area. (Page 24 of the packet)

“I’d really like your commitment that you’re not going to let this continue, it just cannot,” said Bagwell.

“100 percent,” said Scott Wakowski of Duncan Golf Management. “We are under no delusions that the golf course is where we want it to be. I think anyone that is in business, the city hiring of employees has been very difficult this year, and we are no exception to that. We’re here today to say ‘hey let’s put more money into the property and improve Eagle Valley.’”

“What the public needs to understand, first and foremost, that this is a disposal site for effluent water,” said Supervisor Stacey Giomi. “It is critical for our city’s wastewater plan to have this site to dispose of effluent. Regardless of whether Duncan is operating this golf course or it sits as a field of grass.”

Giomi also reiterated that the building and the land is owned by the city, not Duncan Management, which some community members were confused by.

Giomi stated also that he would like to see this item come back at least once a year, to make sure that Duncan —and the city — are being held accountable.

Supervisor Stan Jones stated a lot of the complaints he has been getting regarding the course are issues that have been there for several years.

Budge stated there have been recent staffing changes at the golf course, which will be a positive improvement, but that they also were lacking investment for the capital improvements needed to take on some of the problems.

Supervisor Maurice White stated that he was against the city owning a municipal golf course.

“I don’t golf, so I don’t have a dog in this fight, but I will say, recognizing that the city does need to have a place to dispose of the effluent, I believe that this community has outgrown the justification for a municipal golf course,” said White. “It’s time that we divest from this particular model that we’re using for this property and stop competing with local entrepreneurs who are struggling.”

“I find it difficult to understand what we would do with that parcel and what plan we would have for the entry of our community and how we would maintain the effluent system without us developing a plan, so ending the contract today without a plan, would be irresponsible,” said Bagwell. “I can’t just tell staff, ‘tomorrow we’re not going to have this’ and develop something else.”

“The city never wants to compete against thriving businesses in our community,” added Bagwell. “I think that this golf course has been here a very long time, it is an integral component of our waste water treatment, and it has been utilized that way, and I just don’t see us unwinding the activity with the flip of a switch. If it was that easy we would have already done that.”

Bagwell also said that it would cost more money to the community if they did not have an operations manager, because the city would have to hire additional staff to perform maintenance on the grounds if it were no longer a golf course.

Giomi also added that the other two golf courses in Carson City were designed specifically to be able to sell golf-course adjacent homes, and that the city’s golf course predates either one of the other golf course businesses.

“Our city has always had a municipal course, and it's an asset that the community owns, and it was here first,” said Giomi. “Those that came after chose to enter the market, but their primary purpose was to sell homes. I don’t know that it’s direct competition.”

A licensing agreement was approved between Carson City and Duncan Golf, which will last through 2027. The board voted 4-1 with Supervisor White voting no.