Alamogordo staff outline plan to bring Desert Lakes Golf Course operations in‑house amid contract transition

City of Alamogordo parks staff on Tuesday laid out a proposal to bring management of Desert Lakes Golf Course in‑house for a five‑ to ten‑year period to speed repairs and expand programming while the current contract with G and L Golf comes to an end.

The plan, presented by city parks staff member Bindi, calls for city staff to operate the pro shop and maintenance, lease the restaurant to a private operator with a proposed 90/10 revenue split in favor of the city, and invest in major capital work including pond relining required under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES), irrigation replacement and a long‑term greens conversion. “What we’re trying to do is make the golf course be somewhat self sustainable so that the subsidy that goes into it goes actually into repairing and making improvements to the golf course,” Bindi said.

The proposal was prompted in part by a multiyear decline in course condition and by the arrival of a new irrigation system funded largely with assistance from former state senator Ron Griggs and other state officials. The city said the whole facility is about 150 acres — a 64‑acre front nine and an 86‑acre back nine — with a total of 11 ponds and an irrigation system more than 30 years old. Staff also said the ponds hold roughly “8 to 10 million” gallons of reclaimed water (estimate in presentation).

Why it matters: bringing operations in‑house would shift where the municipal subsidy is applied, the city said, moving money now paid to a private contractor toward on‑course work and community programming. City staff said in‑house management would also make…