An Open Letter To Missouri City And Quail Valley:
The leadership of Missouri City made the decision during the Aug. 20 city council meeting to try to acquire our property, the Quail Valley Country Club, and convert it to a municipal golf course. Should we refuse to sell, city officials stated they will attempt to take our property by eminent domain, despite the certainty of a long and expensive legal battle.
City officials are rationalizing their campaign to take the country club with your tax dollars based upon a recent study conducted by National Golf Foundation, Inc. (NGF), a subsidiary of the National Golf Foundation.
We read the report and respectfully disagree with the city’s understanding of the report’s findings. In addition, we believe the NGF report underestimated the costs to operate the property and to make the renovations the NGF recommended.
According to the report, “the immediate permanent resident population around the subject Quail Valley Country Club will not be sufficient to sustain 36-holes+ of municipal golf …” To support the 54-hole golf club, golfers will need to come from the surrounding region. Unfortunately, “The 10-mile radius around Quail Valley has an estimated 48 percent fewer households available to support each golf course in the market. This finding is generally considered to represent an over-supply situation.”
To better understand how oversaturated the market is, it is important to know that the NGF defines a “golfer” as an individual 12 years or older who has played golf at least once during the survey year. We agree with many in the golf industry that this definition leads to over-estimated interpretations of market demand and the potential to make poor decisions about the practicality of many golf clubs.
In order for a municipal Quail Valley golf course to have a chance of at least breaking even, the NGF strongly recommended specific renovations be made on an accelerated schedule, at an estimated cost of $10 million. This $10 million is in addition to the money the city will need to acquire the property and fund the resulting legal battle.
We reviewed the list of renovations recommended by the NGF and compared its cost estimates to actual costs incurred by other golf course operators in Texas for similar renovations. We found that the actual costs are about 50 percent higher in total than the NGF’s estimates. This means, after all the costs — acquisition, legal fees, renovations, subsidies, etc. — are totaled, the actual cost to Missouri City taxpayers to create a municipal golf course in Quail Valley will be well in excess of $20 million.
Should city officials decide not to spend the money to make the recommended improvements, the NGF report makes it clear that Missouri City will face significant ongoing subsidy and repair costs to carry the property. And, if the improvements are made, the report states that “even if the facility can be re-opened under an improved scenario, the city’s economic interest in the facility will continue to be at risk.”
Why would Missouri City taxpayers endorse this kind of risky expense, and why would Quail Valley residents give away control over their community’s future, when the residents of Quail Valley can solve the problems of their community amenity for just an additional $27.50 per month per lot in homeowner’s association fees?
This increase creates sufficient funds to re-open closed golf courses and generates significant income for on-going, long-term renovations to the amenity and the neighborhood. This is a far more responsible approach, and Missouri City would benefit from the neighborhood’s elevated home values and its improved contribution to the city’s tax base.
The challenges facing the Quail Valley community can easily and inexpensively be solved within the community. There is no need for the city to embark on an extraordinarily expensive and inappropriate use of tax dollars to try to take the golf course through eminent domain. Your tax dollars should be used to improve streets, sidewalks, address the Cartwright Boulevard and Texas Parkway corridors, and, most importantly, provide for police and fire services.
As the owners of the Quail Valley Country Club, it is and has always been our goal to operate a thriving country club and do the hard work necessary to make both the community and the club successful.
We are still at the table and interested in working out an equitable solution for everyone to put the community back on a growth track. Will you join us?
It is our intention to provide you with the information necessary to make an informed decision about the conversion of a private golf course to a municipal course. If you want to review the report in its entirety, visit the Quail Valley Country Club Web site, www.quailvalleycc.com/community.
As a resident of Missouri City, you have the right to tell your city council and mayor your opinion about their plans to buy the Quail Valley Country Club. If you don’t want your tax dollars spent to purchase a luxury golf course, let your voice be heard. Contact your mayor and your city council representatives – make them work for you.
For more information about Quail Valley Country Club, please visit us online at www.QuailValleyCC.com.
Very truly yours,
Quail Valley County Club, LP
The leadership of Missouri City made the decision during the Aug. 20 city council meeting to try to acquire our property, the Quail Valley Country Club, and convert it to a municipal golf course. Should we refuse to sell, city officials stated they will attempt to take our property by eminent domain, despite the certainty of a long and expensive legal battle.
City officials are rationalizing their campaign to take the country club with your tax dollars based upon a recent study conducted by National Golf Foundation, Inc. (NGF), a subsidiary of the National Golf Foundation.
We read the report and respectfully disagree with the city’s understanding of the report’s findings. In addition, we believe the NGF report underestimated the costs to operate the property and to make the renovations the NGF recommended.
