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Council debates accepting Paradise Golf Course donation; members ask for deed language and closed‑session review
Summary
Council members discussed a proposal from the owner to donate Paradise Golf Course to the city with a reversionary deed (property reverts to owners if not used as a golf course). Members debated whether to accept the gift, lease instead, or obtain an appraisal and requested legal review in closed session.
Council members on July 1 spent substantial time discussing a proposal to accept Paradise Golf Course as a gift from the current owner, with a deed condition that the property revert to the owner if it ceases to be used as a golf course.
Speaker 3 described the owner’s new offer: “They have now agreed to give us the golf course,” and proposed a transfer mechanism similar to a county model using a deed with a reversionary interest. Under the suggested approach staff or council would accept the land with a single condition that it revert to the original owners if the city uses it for other purposes. Speaker 7 (planner/legal advisor) said the county has used a deed with reversionary interest and that it can be done quickly without a lengthy contract.
Council members debated the tradeoffs. Supporters said accepting a deed would avoid spending taxpayer dollars to buy the land and would allow the city to operate the course or use it for community events. Skeptics raised long-term liability and costs of maintaining the course and the club house and recommended clarifying any exclusion language, the costs of improvements, and payment mechanisms for immediate needs. One council member proposed using electrical enterprise funds to cover clubhouse repairs, to be repaid over three to five years from other revenue sources; another suggested obtaining an appraisal and carefully defining maintenance obligations through March 1 of the transfer year.
Several members asked for a closed session to review contract terms, personnel or other sensitive negotiation details. The council did not take a final vote on the transfer at the July 1 meeting and deferred formal action pending a closed-session legal review and clearer deed language.
Provenance: Council discussion of the golf-course transfer is captured in the transcript beginning when the item was raised on the agenda (SEG 894) through the subsequent discussion of deed mechanisms and requests for closed-session review (SEG 894–SEG 1353).
