By a decision of 4-3 during Oct. 22’s meeting, Yelm City Council voted against the City of Yelm from buying the Tahoma Valley Golf Course, 15425 Mosman Ave., from the South Sound YMCA through a sales agreement.
Mayor Joe DePinto told the Nisqually Valley News this week that the South Sound YMCA still holds the contract to purchase Tahoma Valley Golf Course and could ultimately still buy it.
“I think it’s fair to say they were disappointed in the vote by council, but it doesn’t impact their ability to move forward with their own plans,” DePinto wrote to the Nisqually Valley News on Tuesday, Oct. 29.
Councilors Joseph Richardson, Joshua Crossman, Stephanie Kangiser and Trevor Palmer each voted no to a city purchase of the golf course property in Yelm. Councilors Tracey Wood, Brian Hess and Terry Kaminski each voted yes.
DePinto said Yelm City Council held executive sessions on Sept. 24 and Oct. 8 to discuss the acquisition of the real estate but stated no final action is taken during executive sessions. If the council had passed the item at last week’s meeting, DePinto said, once a current feasibility study was finished, city staff would’ve “immediately” looked at the course’s wells to ensure they’re producing the amount of water believed to be there.
Yelm City Administrator Todd Stancil said that South Sound YMCA is currently under contract to purchase Tahoma Valley Golf Course in Yelm but wished to assign the contract agreement to the City of Yelm. This would’ve allowed the city to purchase the property at a contract price of $2.6 million.
“The key benefit to the City of Yelm is the water rights and the well associated with the property,” Stancil said. “The additional water rights will allow the city to meet demands for the foreseeable future and potentially reduce future costs.”
Kaminski said that, even if the city bought the golf course, she wouldn’t want it to change “one iota.” She noted that this specific assignment would remove the YMCA from the equation and allow for the city to gather information from the feasibility study and about the course’s well.
“I’ve lived in Yelm for 25 years, and 20 of those years I lived on that very golf course. I don’t want it to change at all,” she said. “We learned today from Cody and public services that if the city were to drill a new well, it would cost $6 million. If that well is viable, right there it would be kind of not smart to not consider that $2.6 [million] for a future well. We are looking forward into the future, and this feasibility study is over Nov. 17. This gives us an opportunity to do more due diligence, more talking in executive sessions and allow you to come back and then we make a decision.”
Councilor Joseph Richardson said sometimes, as a councilor, you have to slow down a little bit and listen to the people within your community prior to having an opportunity to make a decision.
“I think what’s happening tonight is more than just whether or not we’re looking forward to the future of economics, viability. What I think is happening tonight is residents of Yelm are attending this to let you know how much there’s a culture deeper than government,” Richardson said. “Sometimes when we make choices, and I will say the City of Yelm has made some decent choices recently, and we get our scrutiny, we get criticized. It’s OK — you have to have thick skin.”
Hess asked, if the city were to purchase the golf course, whether it would get property’s equipment, as well as the water rights and buildings? DePinto said yes.
Wood said his concern is that the Tahoma Valley 18-hole golf course is being considered for “something else.” He added that from his understanding, if the city purchased that property, the YMCA was going to step away.
“I can see everyone’s concern about the YMCA, and I can assure you that’s absolutely not anything I’m interested in as one council member, and I believe I’m not alone in this on the council here,” Wood said.
Kaminski added that if the city purchased the golf course, the city could have designated the property as a “permanent open space,” which could never be changed or rezoned.
Palmer also said he was opposed to making any changes to the 18-hole Tahoma Valley Golf Course.
“If we were to purchase this, I’d want it to remain a golf course forever. I wouldn’t want it to change,” he said. “I grew up at that golf course, and I want it maintained to be right there for the community for future generations.”
Crossman stated he doesn’t believe governments “do a very good job of running businesses.” He said a government’s job is to manage the city.
“My concern is if we take over this golf course, a management company that the city decides to hire could run it into the ground with no repercussions, and the city could say, ‘We tried, it failed, and now we’re going to turn it somewhere else,’” he said.
Crossman added that private entities have a better chance of succeeding by purchasing the golf course because they would want to make it a profitable business.
