Council committee reviews lease to update Raintree golf fleet and add GPS systems

Director Schmidt and Director Carr presented Resolution 2024‑R76, authorizing the city to enter a lease for new golf carts and GPS range‑finding equipment for Raintree Golf & Event Center. Schmidt said the cart lease is for five years with an annual cost of $67,682.04 and the GPS/locator equipment would add about $40,320 per year; both costs were described as being paid from Raintree’s operating revenues rather than general tax dollars.

Dominic Mercadasi, Raintree general manager, described GPS features including cart tracking, pace‑of‑play messaging, gas‑level monitoring and potential geofencing for tournaments or course boundaries. Committee members asked whether the system could provide directional assistance for scramble starts, and Mercadasi said tournament software and geofencing could likely provide additional directional functions.

Councilmembers asked about electric carts and lifecycle considerations. Mercadasi said Raintree is currently configured for a gas fleet, that resale values for gas carts are presently higher than electric models because of battery issues, and that the lease includes options to purchase at the end of the term. City staff said they had briefly investigated grant funding for solar‑charged electric carts but that funding was not available at this time and that retrofitting cart storage would create added expense.

Committee members also asked about lease phasing: the GPS hardware would have a four‑year lease while carts would be five years; Mercadasi explained that equipment would be transferred to a future fleet or replaced under the contract. Because Raintree pays from operations, staff suggested there was no urgent need for second‑reading passage and that the item would follow the normal three‑reading schedule, though the committee requested time on the regular council agenda for discussion.