Lago Vista golf committee asks previous designer to rebid irrigation after 'sticker shock,' approves annual report

Larry, a member of the Lago Vista Golf Advisory Committee, told the committee on July 22 that City Council initially authorized using an existing qualified vendor, Heinz (subcontracted by Friese and Nichols), to prepare irrigation engineering work but that the engineering charge prompted “a bit of sticker shock.” He said Council agreed to ask Les Hill — who prepared an earlier, larger design — to update his plans with new input parameters and submit a bid for the work.

The committee heard that the redesign work has begun in discussion form and that staff expect a redesigned engineering scope to start in roughly January and take about six months to complete, putting construction-ready plans roughly next summer. “We had a good discussion with Mr. Hill … he now has the new input parameters, and he's gonna look at what he would charge the city to do that work,” Larry said. The committee did not set a contract or dollar amount; members described the current stage as vendor selection and pricing evaluation.

The committee also received a staff operations update from Greg, who oversees golf operations. Greg reported year-to-date financials and usage figures showing gains: July revenue was about 21% higher than last July and rounds played were about 31% higher year over year; a recent weekend produced 414 rounds — the most in over five years on a Sunday. He reported combined golf operations and maintenance expenses around $930,000 and revenue around $701,000, leaving an operating shortfall of about $229,000 year to date. Greg said he expects rounds for the fiscal year to finish around 30,200 if current trends hold and said returning irrigation capacity would enable more agronomic work and further growth.

Staff updates included completion of netting for the driving range and tennis/pickleball courts, returning range operations to prior capacity; work on a mural; and contractor cleanup at Pond No. 2 after recent flooding. The committee also heard brief city staffing news from Paul, the council liaison: City Council approved hiring a permanent parks and recreation director who lives in Lago Vista; the city manager promoted Nicole (last name not specified in the record) to director of finance; and a candidate for permanent city secretary has been selected and is expected to start soon (the candidate asked that the offer be in place before public announcement).

The committee reviewed and approved the June 24 meeting minutes (motion by Gage; second by Jack; passed unanimously) and debated material to include in its annual report to City Council. Members debated inclusion of a longer historical revenue slide and decided to keep the report focused on the current work plan and comparative data. The committee voted to forward the annual report to the mayor for placement on the City Council agenda for Aug. 7 at 3 p.m.; the committee accepted the report by motion (second by Jack) and the motion passed with no opposition.

Committee members described two overarching goals in the work plan: (1) optimize the golf course’s financial position, and (2) reinforce the course’s value to residents and nonresidents. Subcommittees were established to pursue those objectives, and an appendix with USGA industry data will remain available to support the committee’s findings.

The committee set its next regular meeting for Aug. 26 but noted the chair would be out of town for much of late August; members left the choice of holding the Aug. 26 meeting to the group. The meeting was adjourned at 7:27 p.m.