The on-again, off-again, off-again purchase of the Blue Skies Country Club by Hi-Desert Water District is off again. In a questionable closed emergency meeting called with just one hour public notice, the board took a pass on the property. Managing Editor Tami Roleff has details…
After a special emergency closed session meeting last night, called with just an hour’s notice, the Hi-Desert Water District announced that the District is not going to pursue purchasing the Blue Skies Country Club at a foreclosure auction set for today. The golf course has been in foreclosure for years, held by a Korean bank that seemed in no hurry to sell the property. The sale is set to start with an opening bid of $466,421.67. The District’s plans for buying the golf course have been on-again, off-again for more than a year. The water district had budgeted $775,000 in its 2011-2012 budget to buy the golf course for the water rights that were included with the land; the golf course pays $15 per acre-foot for its water, while the water district pays $485 per acre foot for water. However, the golf course’s water is supposed to stay on the golf course and can’t be sold. In addition, water district directors discovered the property had unpaid property taxes of about $100,000, and a small parcel of land adjoining the golf course was not included in earlier sales of the property.
HI-DESERT WATER DISTRICT TAKES A PASS ON BLUE SKIES COUNTRY CLUB PROPERTY
