The continued existence of the Prescott Lakes community golf course may soon come to a vote.
Representatives of golf club members and the course developer are working on another proposal for members to vote on, with the course's future hanging in the balance.
It comes down to residents either voting for an offer to keep the course active or voting it down and possibly watching it turn into open space.
Bill Brownlee, managing member of M3 Companies, announced the temporary closure of the golf club effective next week.
Brownlee said the closure begins March 1 and he anticipates it will last for 60 days or until property owners vote on the proposal for the Prescott Lakes Community Association and Arnold Palmer Golf Management to control and operate both clubs jointly on or before the end of April.
"If the vote fails, it will be closed permanently," he said. "The golf course does not make economic sense to continue to operate."
Brownlee said residents got a letter Wednesday explaining the outcome of a meeting this past week with the community's golf advisory committee.
Jeff Davis, who announced in late January that he is parting ways with M3 while still keeping an equal interest in the golf club, declined to comment.
Prescott Lakes Community Association board member Dave Hackathorn said Arnold Palmer Golf Management and the community association eventually will borrow about $2.6 million to go toward additional amenities and contract with the golf management company to manage it if voters support it.
"We've already talked to banks and stuff and we know that we are likely to be able to get the money that we need," he said. "I think what we're trying to work through is just that we have all the details and then be able to come back and present that to the homeowners."
According to Hackathorn, it will take weeks to put all the pieces together, present it to residents and get ballots out and count them.
In the meantime, developers are asking golf members to continue to make their monthly payments and that money would go to maintaining the course, according to Hackathorn, who said golf members will end up paying greater monthly fees, which would vary on the type of membership package they have.
Hackathorn said it also gets M3 out of the community.
"To me, that's the biggest value of the whole thing: If we can do this, then (M3 is) out of it both from the homeowners' association perspective and from the golf club," he said. "If we don't pass it, then they're going to continue to own the athletic club and they will continue to control the homeowners association."
Although the athletic club will continue to operate normally, Brownlee said the golf industry is really taking it on the chin right now.
"(The) Prescott Lakes golf club is really not unique with its situation; it's not a stand-alone problem - it's a problem that a lot of people in the industry have," he said. "We view it as a great opportunity for the athletic and golf clubs and the community at large."
The letter states that if people vote against the proposal, the club will cease operations and explore "repurposing" parts of the property, including residential and commercial development options.
"We are looking at various options right now, but the focus needs to be on Arnold Palmer and Prescott Lakes Community Association plan," Brownlee said. "We just don't want to do anything that would take away from their ability to be successful with that plan because that's what we see as being best for the community is for them to be successful."
Hackathorn made a similar comment.
"What we're looking for really is to find something that everybody can get behind and agree is the best solution."
Reader Comments
Posted: Sunday, February 28, 2010
Article comment by:
boozo clown
the posturing and the whining of the developer is obscene, at best... Could he have sold all those houses and all those subdivisions to other builders had he not had a golf course...???? the golf course drove the development... he did not fulfill his part... he should have built the clubhouse and the cart barn... people who joined the club without that were seduced or not very well informed or something.... to join without a Club house or a proper cart barn... just does not seem to be very bright.... Does the City of Prescott have any responsibility? should not let the developer off the hock regarding the open space. Has anyone figured out what his legal and (ethical) obligations are to the community?
Posted: Saturday, February 27, 2010
Article comment by:
Bridgette Crowley
what this means is the athletic club members have to pay more just so the golfers can join again its just not right!!!!
The people in Prescott Lakes are so tired of being bullied by M3 that they are posturing to take legal action. It is time M3 faces the legality in what they are doing to the residents who may have bought into a community with a golf course, however they were not aware that they were buying into a "golf course community". There is a difference.
90 percent of the residents are not golf members. They will not agree to support the golf course and building plans for the approximate 100 people in the neighborhood who are golf members. Not now, not ever! Not even in a thriving economy when golf courses are resurrected and back in supply and demand.
The town hall meetings, presented by M3/APGM to the residents, will be many, beginning March 15th with 3 presentations daily, continuing for several days. A well thought out plan to divide and conquer!
With several small meetings instead of one or two large town hall meetings, M3/APGM are able to control the comments from the outraged residents who will bring up many unanswered questions that still remain unanswered, along with some very valid reasons why we should vote down their latest proposal.
But the one factor I do not think M3/APGM has considered is that their persistence in attempting to get the residents to support their construction plans for a clubhouse, golf cart barn, pro shop and meeting rooms along with their failed golf course business (that they themselves admit is not financially feasable in this down economy) is undoubtedly going to bring them into a legal battle with the residents that I suspect they are not prepared for.
It will be interesting to see what happens. Be sure to check in to the Prescott Daily Courier for the latest in the Prescott Lakes drama unfolding.
Posted: Thursday, February 25, 2010
Article comment by:
Break out the Gila Bend jokes!
Not what they paid in 2005-2006. Maybe if they got in around 2002 they will. Otherwise they'll be upside down in Prescott Lakes unfortunately. And if the golf course starts growing unwatered weeds and turns brown and a dustbowl that will make the place look like some long abandoned development in Gila Bend or something. You'll be able to scoop up a former million dollar McMansion for 300 grand then. Woo Hoo!
M3 partner Bill Brownlee says the PL Golf Course doesn't make economic sense to operate then says it's a great opportunity. For who? If it's such a great deal, then why do he and Jeff Davis want out?
Posted: Thursday, February 25, 2010
Article comment by:
James Heidkamp
as a parttime resident of Prescott Lakes I find all of this manovering distressful. If, the present owners cannot continue, they should file for Bankruptcy and let the chips fall where they may. I'm not interested in bailing out anyone.
Posted: Thursday, February 25, 2010
Article comment by:
VOTE NO ON GOLF CLUB
MAMA MIA! More threats and scare tactics. I am a Prescott Lakes resident and I will vote down any proposal to increase my Athletic Club dues by $50.00 a month to pay for something I do not use, and very few golfers use also. Please....close down the golf club and sell the land for commercial use. Medical facilities would be great. There are area doctors looking for convenient and adequate office space. Look, I live on a small culdesac and there are 4 foreclosures on my block alone. The houses cannot sell. They are new and beautiful and sit on the market for months. Raising dues for a money wasting bottomless pit does not make any sense. Please think about the long term effects when voting.
Posted: Thursday, February 25, 2010
Article comment by:
Steve Moser
I agree with a couple of the other comments, make it a public course. There are not a whole lot of golf courses in this area to choose from. I'd love to play there.
Posted: Thursday, February 25, 2010
Article comment by:
The course IS open to the public
They opened the golf course to public play last fall, at rates comparable to Antelope and Stoneridge. I don't see any advertising of that, but it's open to you and I.
Posted: Thursday, February 25, 2010
Article comment by:
No 460+ Builder Votes --Just Homeowners
Yes. Let the Prescott Lakes Home Owners ---and ONLY the Prescott Lakes Home Owners-- vote. In the Prescott Lakes vote held in December, the Builders were given 460+ votes as well. And even with the 460+ Builder 'YES' votes ---the proposal still failed! This time they are holding a gun to the home owners' heads and saying either buy this golf course that is losing money or we will spoil it so bad that your property value will be ruined. And what is the role of Arnold Palmer Property Mangaement to be? Basically, they loan the Arnold Palmer name. If the golf course makes money in the future, they siphon off 50 percent of the profits, but if the course loses money, they take none of the loss. A sweet deal for a name, eh? Particularly when Arnold Palmer has about as much to do with this golf course as Abraham Lincoln.
Posted: Thursday, February 25, 2010
Article comment by:
Make it a public course!
How about making this a public course. Obviously by keeping it private to "members only" is not working. If they are interested in keeping it operational, they could also make the fees comparable (if not cheaper, to match the economy) with the nearby courses. If greed is still in the equation, let it go back to the antelope that were there along with the hundreds of Indian petroglyphs that were moved and trashed to build the course.
Posted: Thursday, February 25, 2010
Article comment by:
Sharyn Baker
Unless Prescott Lakes has their own well...which they may have....but doubt...then they are using City of Prescott reclaimed water to water the course. Why should they have that benefit? It seems to me they should open the course to non-member golfers much like Stoneridge and Prescott CC. When I drive through Prescott Lakes there are so few golfers playing, it is no wonder they are having issues. Being exclusive only works when you can afford it....seems to me they need some outside money.
Posted: Thursday, February 25, 2010
Article comment by:
DAVID MENDEZ
Does it not make sense to lower pricing and let the public enjoy this beautiful course. Stop the snobiness and let the general public help in maintaining the course.
Posted: Thursday, February 25, 2010
Article comment by:
This looks like a lose-lose situation
I don't live there, I live nearby and was around when PL was built. The golf course (and many of the houses) was built during the "boom years' of real estate, but after all the easy money had been siphoned off by Hassayampa CC. The golf club never came close to making it and despite that they closed it to the public (I used to play it) pretty early. Never could come up with the money for a clubhouse. Now they speak of making it "open space". That would be fine if the development were doublewides and low priced housing, but most of the homes I see there cost at least a million when they were bought. I looked at a small bare bones 2 BR single family place with a golf course view and they wanted about $700k (it's still empty). So many people are upside down in their homes now, and they are pricey homes. Remember that the golf course is no longer "open space". They tore out all of the natural vegetation and reshaped it as a golf course. So if it's abandoned and just goes to seed it will look exactly like an abandoned golf course, and I bet that the homeowners will not like what they see, and neither will anyone looking to buy a home there. They'll wish they never set foot in the place. Home values will decline and will not recover like other areas, because the neighborhood has literally gone to pot. They should man up and keep the course running. Maybe it will survive the recession eventually. It's a bad situation, but just abandoning the area's crown jewel now will just make it worse in my opinion.
Posted: Thursday, February 25, 2010
Article comment by:
J Scott
Wow, closure of the course means the area can be restored with native plants and use waaayyyyy less water while providing habitat for displaced and crowded wildlife. Good move but don't hold your breath!
Posted: Thursday, February 25, 2010
Article comment by:
Sucker Punched
Seems to me that I remember a lot of print and TV marketing about Prescott Lakes being a "golf course community." I guess that was only during the sales phase. Typical developer, take the money up front and run. I understand M3 has some project down towards Wickenberg. Wonder if they're selling that as a "golf course" deal, too? Hope the City of Prescott gets their water/effluent rights back if they are not used on a golf course any more.
Posted: Thursday, February 25, 2010
Article comment by:
Golfer ...
I never understood how some of these private golf courses managed to stay open...Especially Prescott Lakes where its not exactly an exclusive area to live. I can maybe see some wealthly people paying crazy membership and living cost in some place like Talking Rock or Hassayampa...But Prescott Lakes (AKA surround by mobile homes, sewage plants, and apartment buildings...)Seems like they should have went to a public or semi private from the beginning. Instead they tried that for about 6 months here at the end...too late
Posted: Thursday, February 25, 2010
Article comment by:
Hold Their Feet to the Fire
Prescott Lakes is a Planned Area Development with a 25 percent set aside for Open Space. The 25 percent requirement was met by including the golf course. They cannot "repurpose" that land just because they want to. Someone is using the fear tactic to get the votes they could not the last time around.
Posted: Thursday, February 25, 2010
Article comment by:
Louis Bellesi
I sure hope that the club is up to date on their payments to Prescott for any water charges made to water the course.
