This came in from a loyal reader:
https://www.scribd.com/document/457654574/Golf-Course-Documents
Brutus,
I see this as another Great Wolf Lodge deal where we pay this developer to open up the Butterfield Gold Course. He wants the city to pay him $2 Million a year plus extras to do it. Read the link to see the proposal. Made me sick to even think the city would even consider it.
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We deserve better
Brutus
elpasospeak 
We need another golf course. Everyone knows that. People leave El Paso every day because of our lack of golf courses. Our kids graduate school and leave El Paso to pursue their dream of living in an area that has enough golf courses. Golf courses are essential for our quality of life.
Anyone who doesn’t agree is a naysayer and all-around bad person who hates El Paso and is also a racist xenophobe and exhibits homophobic tendencies. They probably also hate their own mother.
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El Paso has always been known for it’s golf courses where most wear cowboy hats and cowboy boots and sport tattoos and drive low riders.
I’d hate for that to go away.
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From the proposal, it appears he wants a land swap deal and plans to make it work by building a housing development that has the golf course as an amenity. I see three potential issues with this. First, the proposal basically says you’ve been losing $2 million a year to operate the course so you pay me $2 million a year to keep it open (ie, continue losing money but cut me in). Second, this involves upscale housing near an airport. When folks live close to where jets are taking off and landing they whine and complain when their windows rattle until jets are forced to do modified takeoffs to abate the noise. We have open space next to airport to prevent that now. We also have winds that could interfere with ability to do noise abatement friendly takeoffs. Finally, he wants DOD-owned land. We’ve already found that the folks at Biggs were doing bad waste disposal practices with nuclear materials in the 50s. What other surprises may be present on DOD land? I lived on Army posts for the first 23 years of my life and while the military became good environmental stewards in the late 80s-on after a few embarrassing disposal situations were identified (like Anniston, AL) they weren’t as cautious with disposal of toxic chemicals in the 40s, 50s, 60s and 70s, so land that has been held a long time can have surprises. And unlike PSB, normally they hold that land for strategic reasons so it likely isn’t as easy as working a deal with PSB. In short, this proposal saves taxpayers no money. It simply starts a housing development in space that has been left open by design because of proximity to the airport and continues operation of a golf course that has failed to support itself. Golf is a dying sport as widespread hobby. Closing the course is a fiscally responsible decision.
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A golf course turned to sand. . . . would great for 4 wheelers, off road vehicles, dirt bikes and an outdoor shooting range.
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If you want a shooting range, join the Army.
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Golf is a dying sport. Literally with boomers. Young people have neither the time or money for it. The city should cut its losses and turn it into a park, but not privative the land.
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We need to take care of the developers. They need our help.
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I thought this was a joke, then I went to City Council agenda and there it is – a horror story!
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