There are some players and observers at Eagle Valley Golf Course who are convinced that the "non-profit corporation" and its board of directors were set up to take the fall and the political fallout for the failed policies and mistakes of the former mayor and board of supervisors.
When the then-mayor and supervisors became aware of the approaching calamity, the mayor went tripping off to the East Coast and returned with the miracle plan for a non-profit corporation and organization that was to save the day and the golf course. It had about as much chance for success as the proverbial snowball.
That group of supervisors seemed to be able to find the money to build the mayor's hay barn at Mills Park but couldn't find the resources to fix what needed fixing at Eagle Valley. What needed fixing was, in part, caused by a shoddy, under-designed water system and drainage systems that were the direct responsibility of the mayor and supervisors.
There are those of us who believe there are some present and former members of the city administration who set out to deliberately drive players away from the municipal course on to private, more costly courses coming online. The first to leave were tournaments whose organizers would not schedule play on the shabby course that Eagle Valley had become.
Some questions that need answers from the politicians are:
1. How can the supervisors consider spending $3.5 million on a bike path and let the golf course go to pot?
2. Why were some sources of revenue previously used to fund the golf course diverted to construct the "hay barn" monstrosity in Mills Park?
3. Are the recent fee increases at Eagle Valley just another in a series of actions that drive players away from the course and lend support to those who would like to see the courses closed?
All citizens of Carson City should be asking local candidates for public office in the upcoming elections to state and explain their position on Eagle Valley Golf Course and its future.
In fairness, it should be said that the staff and volunteers at EVGC have done a remarkable job with few resources to bring the course back. With the exception of the ongoing water problems on the West Course and some minor drainage problems, the courses are in good shape.
LONNIE G. PHELPS
Carson City
