“We’re from the government. We’re here to help.”
Sends kind of a tingling down the spine, doesn’t it?
Particularly when by “government” you mean Nye County or the Town of Pahrump.
In one we have officials who vote against food banks, and who build training facilities by skirting every building permit and inspection requirement known to man — while forcing everybody else to do the opposite. In the other, we have top elected officials fleeing meetings and resigning over imagined coup d’etats, or calling newspaper editors liars and then going to corporate headquarters when their feelings get hurt.
When this is your government, there certainly are some cringe-worthy moments. Luckily, or a better word might be “hopefully,” this isn’t the sum of all parts.
Because right now there’s no better time, and there’s no better place than Willow Creek golf course, for a real display of vision and guts from our government leaders.
This week during court testimony in a civil trial here involving the owners of Willow Creek and the community’s main water and sewer provider, Utilities Inc., a few tidbits worth re-examination emerged.
Willow Creek, by the way, is that once lush green beacon drawing golfers and visitors from all over that today is nothing more than a desertified blight right in the middle of the community. It’s a disgrace is what it is.
It’s current owner, Caldera P&G, or Ashland Capital LLC, or better, let’s just name the wheeler dealer behind the curtain, Jim Scott, apparently ignored an injunction requiring that the ponds on the disgraced former golf course be maintained as part of an earlier agreement among Utilities Inc. and the various former holding companies owning, or leasing or squatting on the golf course.
Scott and Ashland Capital, along with the course’s former owner Jorei Enterprises were smacked with more than $600,000 in fines for ignoring the order to maintain the ponds since at least 2009. Scott is personally responsible for $100,000 of that total.
We bet your bottom, palm-greasing, wheeler-dealer developer dollar that no one will ever see a dime of that money.
As a matter of fact, Willow Creek seems to be entangled in a legal, economic, political twilight zone from which escape anytime soon is highly unlikely.
Even Senior Judge Bob Rose, who ruled in Utilities Inc.’s favor said this about Scott’s business involvement with Willow Creek: “It almost seems you have a shell game going on with the various companies and LLCs.”
About the violations and lack of due diligence cleaning up the ponds, Rose had this to say: “The violations continue to this day and present a dangerous and continuing violation to the residents on the golf course and the citizens of this state.”
Wow.
Now, the question is this: County, town leaders, a freaking judge just told you that the big, fat, ugly dead-grass filled golf course in the middle of your community is an ongoing health hazard — not to mention it should be charged with murder for killing the home values in the area. What are you going to do about it?
Now, we understand it’s election season, and we’re not sure how many dollars are flowing from certain wheeler dealer developers to certain others (we’ll have to check!), but we can’t think of a better reason for this county to foreclose, condemn, take over, grab, steal, claim eminent domain, raise the taxes on or whatever it needs to do to secure title to the former Willow Creek — it’s a health hazard for crying out loud, the judge said so!
Sure. This is America. And forcibly removing assets from business interests just smacks of some kind of socialist plot. But when you do business in our community, you should understand that there are standards that must be met, and if they aren’t met, then there are consequences, especially if by not meeting those standards there’s a high potential for making our neighbors ill.
There’s an excellent chance that Mr. Scott will avoid paying his hefty fines by declaring some sort of insolvency — it’s a tried and true tactic, God Bless America. Willow Creek will likely be up for auction — again — soon. We say the county should seriously consider purchasing it if it comes to that (though taking it over would send a much better message to other folks who might want to come in here and perform similar misdeeds).
Times are tough in this county, financially. A $2.66 million budget deficit looms over next year, and that’s not good. Allowing this vast stretch of putrid wasteland to exist in the middle of town any longer will for sure not help this community’s future business prospects. Buying it, developing it smartly, perhaps forming ingenious public-private partnerships with honest business interests, seeking government grants and using this land to its fullest economic potential, no matter the short term costs, would be better than doing nothing — Jim Scott’s obviously not going to do it for us.
Vision and guts.
Willow Creek should be ground zero for a real effort to move this community forward; the longer it persists in the condition it is in, the further away we all move from any scintilla of real prosperity, or from any real ownership of our collective destiny. Any option than the status quo would at least be more healthy. We defy our leaders to challenge themselves and find a way to reform this blighted land, turning it back to its former glory.
Pahrump and Nye County deserve nothing less. And we deserve it now.
EDITORIAL BOARD: Willow Creek should be taken over and given to public
Posted on06 April 2012.
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One major problem with this, it would require a level of expertise that I don’t think either the county or town has. They can barely find the floor when they drop something!
Oh, yay, more expenses for the county! Brilliant!
What needs to be done, other than insulting the town board, is to flatten the golf course (or whats left of it) and sell the land.
No one wants to take over that disaster.
Although the PVT is thinking outside the box and addressing a serious blight in our community, to suggest we have government leadership and capabilities to run anything is stretching the chain beyond the breaking point. The issues dealing with utilities and developers were laid on the public’s doorstep to suffer through, precisely because of government incompetence and lack of forward thinking. Due diligence are a two word term that is beyond their comprehension.As you note the county is in the read $2.6 million, yet four of the five commissioners are pushing towards buying a friggin utility company, for crying out loud! Suggesting the county or town buy this boondoggle would be crazy. We still await the other shoe to drop on the Harley World fiasco.
I appreciate the bravado PVT, but sadly the means and leadership are not within our government to pull it off. Now if it is true that the golf course turned cess pool is a danger to the public, maybe felony endangerment charges should be pursued against Scott. Threatening to toss the guy in prison might be just the ticket for extracting cooperation and getting the fines paid.
Amen; I agree with Dwight. Love the out of the box thinking, love the sheer gutsiness, love the American “we can do this” approach. I agree that we lack the expertise to do it. As to the others who are (as always) spewing ridiculour catch phrases such as “nanny staters,” my suggestion would be, “stop and think for one minute how the Republican-controlled Congress is working for you.” You control one entire branch of government. To quote Dr. Phil, “how’s that working for you?”
What we need are high priced out-of-state consultants to come here and tell us what to do.
Lord knows our politicians couldn’t find their butt with both hands and a flashlight.
Let’s. County is running a deficit which may mean layoffs and yet the PVT would want Nye County to buy the golf course. And then what? Rehab the golf course? Demolish the course and rehab the property and hope the County will get some money back from it’s investment.
If the land is in as bad of shape that the PVT says it is, then it will cost hundreds of thousands or more to rehab the golf course to either sell it or make it into a functioning golf course.
The problems with liberals is that they don’t think things through. While something may sound good and make you feel good, they don’t think of the consequences of their actions. This is a classic case of liberalism gone amok.
“Liberalism run amok?” You’re politicizing something which is a blight in our town, a health hazard, a point of shame whenever anyone drives past is, a mess that drives down property values, and whose remediation could change all these problems. I think the “liberalism” here is unique and refreshing. Such a shame that every time someone comes up with an idea in Pahrump there are negative, destructive folks who assume it will be a disaster to even try. the moaning and complaining will eventually drive creative and educated people with informed ideas entirely out of Pahrump, leaving those who do nothing to complain to sit in the town, pay no taxes, and be miserable. Won’t that be fun? You’ll surely have the golf course to yourself then.
So, where will Nye County get the money to buy tth ecourse? What will Nye County cut in their budget to buy the course? Will curt money intended for the lederly or handicapped? Will Nye County cut money from the public safety budgets?
The PVT is a liberal newspaper and this is how iberals work: They try to solve a problem but do not come up with a plan to pay for it. This is what liberals do and this is why we have such a huge Federal deficit.
How about the town buys it and makes it a municipal golf course? Oh wait, I used that dreaded word municipal. You know, as in city.
Love it. Great idea. It is a myth that everyone is against incorporation. I am not. Yes, I know my taxes would go up. No, I don’t have a lot extra to give. At the same time, we are in a downward spiraling doom loop and if we don’t reverse this trend and begin investing in our community, it will reach the point of no return.
I moved here precisely because we are not incorporated. I would not want my well and septic to be hooked up and regulated to and by the “city”. We pay taxes left and right as it is and now you want more taxes? This is definelty not thinking outside the box.
By the way, Willow Creeks “former glory” was a beautiful grove of about 25 huge trees that connected it to what use to be the Pahrump Ranch. As you can see, both have been annihilated…all for the beneifit of mankind. How do I know, I know because I use to play there as a child.
This is what happens when people think they are being creative – think they are thinking outside the box. They go and destroy the beauty of what was already naturally there and which can no longer be replaced.
A myth? haha what people do you hang out with? Everyone I know as well as their friends are FIERCELY against incorporation.
Everyone knows what comes with the heavy albatross of “City-hood” High taxes, more laws, more fees, more government employees getting high salaries to think up ways to restrict and take away rights, and caps/meters on wells. Its been stated in every single development plan so far for these cities.
The last thing this town needs to do is take over that course. I and many others grow tired of the government stomping and and stealing private property. We need to start thinking about ways to cut government, not grow it or feed it with high taxes for people in town. Let someone come in and BUY the property, let that person foot the bill. Less taxes and Less government needs to be the motto of this town and until the 5 liberals that live here learn that, we will always have these little discussions on here.
Are you kidding me? A “health” problem? Isn’t that what the nanny staters always trot out when they want to control lives? Like smoking laws? Seatbelt laws? Obamacare?
Really? You want the government to STEAL private property and turn it over to “the people”? Kind of like Lenin? Castro?
Steal private property? Really? I take it then that you are against what the Governor of Michigan is doing? I suggest you check out Benton Harbor Michigan. Again and again all I hear from Republicans is how that want smaller government. Yet Gov. Snider is putting in place Emergency Financial Managers in towns like Benton Harbor, and completely ignoring the will of the people who voted in duly elected officials. Why is he doing this you might ask? Because in the city of Benton Harbor there is a very nice public park that is right on the waterfront. This park was deeded to the people with the express requirement that it remain a park in perpetuity. But the wealthy want their GOP puppets to take this property so they can build condos on it and make a whole bunch of money. THIS is stealing. Not quite the same thing that the PVT has suggested. So is it ok when the rich want to take away public property and keep it for themselves, but not ok when the government wants to take private property and give it to the public?
Yeah when left wing types run out of valid arguments, they trot in the “health” fear mongering. Its why we have a health care bill now that no one wants.
Its not a health hazard unless you plan on walking around in the ponds AND remediation for such a problem would cost the town millions if they took it over.
No thanks.
I agree that they need to bulldoze it and instead return the Pahrump Ranch back to its original form and at the same time turn it into a museum, serving as a tourist attraction. Where the museum is right now on Basin Road, it’s not centrally located, nor authentic. The general store, the wheat silo and corral, along with the baracks, the school house, should all be brought back and opened up for different businesses to hold their shops in. This is a piece of Americana – Pahrump Americana that deserves to be brought back.