The Jersey Village City Council conducted a workshop session on January 7 to discuss the project and ideas for how could be done without a Bond Issue on the May Ballot. Concerns were discussed during the regular Council meeting that the majority of the voters might vote against the city spending millions on the golf course. That would then be public knowledge and could prevent City Council from doing any major project involving the golf course. The Golf Course Workshop as a means to allow the Council Members to have a “semi-public” meeting to discuss other ways that the golf course facilities could be financed and the type of building upgrades that could be done without a vote by the residents. The idea of not doing a golf course project was not even considered as an option, rather it was how much can be done and how can we pay for it without the voters having any say on the issue.
An article regarding this workshop was included in the February Issue of the Impact Newspaper. The Golf Couse Upgrade Project has been a project that City Council has been working on for many years with a study that was authorized by City Council back in 2017. In 2018, that study produced a project cost estimate of $682,500. City Council voted to give PGAL a contract to do a facility design. Then in 2019, the construction bids on that design were $5.2 million to as much as $7 million and the project was put on hold. During all of these years, City Council was working on the “Village Center” Project and was planning to build a new City Hall within that area at the cost of up to $10 million. The plan for financing that project did not include allowing the residents to vote on any of that project. That project plan was for the developer to buy the land that the city had purchased for $8.2 million years earlier to settle a lawsuit with the landowners. When the developer was unable to pay for the land, City Council was planning to sign a contract for $10 – 12 million to begin building the City Hall in that area without any of the other proposed buildings having been started. City Council refused to have a vote on moving City Hall and planned to pay for it out of “Special Purpose” Funds; therefore, not requiring a vote by the taxpayers. A Petition with over 900 registered voters to force a vote was rejected by City Council.
After the “Village Center” Project failed with the developer not even being willing to put up $10,000 and it was admitted that no financing was available for the project, City Council then restarted their pet project of pumping more money into the golf course. In 2021, City Council begins discussing a bond issue to raise $7.5 to $10.5 million to build a Golf Course Clubhouse – Convention Center. Because City Council still had dreams of building “Village Center” with the new City Hall, they knew they would need additional funds beyond their “Special Purpose” Funds to do both projects. However, the likelihood of “Village Center” going forward went from possibility to not likely. More of the residents became aware of the possibility that City Council had not been transparent with them and that perhaps those at City Hall may be pushing agendas that were more personal than what was good for the majority of the residents.
Almost overnight (Jan 6th – 7th), a new set of plans was developed for the golf course project that includes re-building the existing building and constructing another separate building for tournaments and larger events. The combined center would span around 6,000 to 8,000 square feet including a restaurant. The City Manager expects to get designs from architects by mid-February and he said it is unlike that City Council will consider a Bond Issue or a vote by the voters.
The message is clear – City Council does not want the residents to have any say in what they do no matter how much it will cost the taxpayers. Remember, the vast majority of the money they spend comes from residential property taxes.