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Lago Vista staff: irrigation work to start soon; greens improving and rounds rising
Summary
City staff reported that irrigation replacement work is scheduled to start in late February to mid‑March with a hole‑by‑hole construction strategy to limit closures; staff also described improving greens and strong year‑to‑date increases in rounds and revenue.
City golf staff reported that work on a long‑planned irrigation replacement is scheduled to move toward construction after a pre‑construction meeting in mid‑February, and that the project should be staged hole‑by‑hole to minimize course closures.
Greg, the golf course staff member who spoke for operations, said the contractor plans a pre‑construction meeting on Feb. 11 and that installation is likely to begin between late February and mid‑March. Greg said the project will proceed “home by home,” so at most one or two holes would be closed at a time while the contractor completes irrigation on each hole. He said the contractor has provided new radio frequencies for the control system and that the crew intends to use a combination of the existing irrigation lines (with bypasses) and temporary water tanks during construction to keep the course irrigated.
Paul Prince, the City Council liaison, noted that one of the ponds that will serve as the course’s long‑term source — identified in the meeting as Pond 2 — is expected to take about four to six months to reach the point where it can supply water after construction begins. That timeline means some system elements are interdependent: irrigation trenching and pump/pipeline work will proceed while the pond and pump station work continues.
Greg also reported measurable improvements in course condition and business performance. He said greens are “90% better” than they were and detailed year‑to‑date increases in rounds and revenue he attributed to staffing changes and better maintenance: the committee packet cited roughly a 53% increase in rounds and revenue year‑to‑date, October–November increases of around 60%, and a December improvement that finished up about 8%. Greg said the course saw about 18,000 rounds annually before recent growth and that early 2024 numbers showed higher play; he described a current pace that could bring rounds into a mid‑to‑high 20,000s to low‑30,000 range if the trend continues.
Greg said he will evaluate fee adjustments as operations stabilize, but that any formal change to fees would be a council action; he said staff would bring recommendations and rationale to council for approval.
Committee members asked operational questions about line cleaning and the risk that debris in old pipes could contaminate new components; Greg said staff and the contractor have discussed mitigation steps but did not elaborate further during the meeting.
The committee requested that staff provide updates as construction scheduling is clarified and as the pond/pump station work proceeds, and members agreed to stay engaged as the project moves into construction.
