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Council shifts Roadrunner Park construction to fund $5.8 million Sierra Vista Golf Center energy project
Summary
City staff proposed delaying Roadrunner Park construction for a year and reallocating funds and a large solar rebate to a roughly $5.8 million energy savings and well-replacement project at the Sierra Vista Golf Center amid sharply higher utility costs for the course.
City staff told the City Council they plan to delay Roadrunner Park construction for one year and reallocate capital improvement funds to an energy-savings project at the Sierra Vista Golf Center (SVGC) after discovering much higher-than-expected utility costs at the golf facility.
Victoria (budget staff) told the council that electricity costs tied to the golf course wells have been “skyrocketing,” running roughly $13,000 to $16,000 a month and that the front-9 well is old and likely needs replacement. Victoria said a past estimate from Castle and Cooke placed a new well around $700,000, but she noted that estimate is roughly two years old and will need updated costing.
Because design work for Roadrunner Park will take at least another year, staff proposed swapping Roadrunner Park’s construction funding into an energy-savings project at the golf course. The proposal relies in part on a larger-than-expected rebate from the prior Schneider Electric solar covered-parking project: staff said the rebate came in at about $1,300,000, higher than an earlier $750,000 estimate. Victoria described a preliminary, very rough total estimate for the combined energy project — including a replacement well, a potential solar installation, and water-use optimization — of about $5,800,000.
Victoria said staff plan to remove a previously budgeted Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) grant match (described in the presentation as $1,500,000) and other Roadrunner Park construction line items to free funds. She explained staff would allocate $100,000 of the $1,300,000 rebate to additional design for Roadrunner Park and apply the remaining rebate and available carryover to the golf-course energy project.
Paradigm, the golf-course management company, has assumed operational costs for course operations under its contract; staff said the rising electrical and supplemental water costs — the city has paid about $40,000 a year to supplement water from Pueblo Del Sol Water Company for the old well — have strained that arrangement. Victoria said staff want to help Paradigm reduce ongoing energy and water costs so the management contract can be sustainable.
Councilmember Rodriguez asked about the $700,000 well estimate; Victoria repeated that the Castle and Cooke figure is two years old and staff will do their own due diligence. A council member expressed sympathy for Paradigm’s situation as summer temperatures rise and noted electricity costs have increased since April.
Staff characterized the $5.8 million figure as a working, very rough estimate developed quickly for council discussion; they said further study and competitive procurement of design/construction teams will follow if council approves reallocation.
