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Tuesday, November 20, 2007

UNM Shelves North Golf Course Plans ... for Now

By Martin Salazar/
Journal Staff Writer
      SANTA FE — University of New Mexico President David Schmidly informed the state Board of Finance this morning that the university is putting its plans for the North Golf Course on hold — for now.
    Schmidly was appearing before the finance board to get its approval on issuing up to $143 million in revenue bonds for building and renovation projects across the campus. The university has said that debt service for nearly $29 million in projects would be covered by commercial real estate development of the UNM North Golf Course.
    But today, the university reversed course.
    "Let me make this perfectly clear, as this has become a very high-profile issue," Schmidly told the board. "The projects we have presented to you today are not — I repeat — are not predicated on the development of the North Golf Course."
    Upon further prodding by Lt. Gov. Diane Denish, president of the finance board, Schmidly said he had been meeting with Sara Koplik, president of the North Campus Neighborhood Association to establish a community advisory group that would help determine the golf course's footprint. He said he expected the university to announce the committee Wednesday.
    "I'm confident we can reach some agreement on the footprint of the golf course," Schmidly said, explaining that once that is done, the university can look at how much of the 80-acre golf course is left over for other uses. He said UNM can't move forward until that footprint has been determined.
    Denish quizzed Schmidly on whether something binding would be put into place to protect the part of the golf course that everyone agrees should be preserved.
    "We hope to come up with something legally binding," Schmidly responded.
    The committee hasn't been given a deadline, he said.
    Denish, who lives near the golf course, has been one of many vocal critics of the university's plan to develop a retirement community on the golf course. UNM has been in discussions with a development team made up of CRSA and JP Morgan on a proposal to build the retirement community on part of the course.
    Hundreds turned out at a town hall meeting earlier this month to urge the university to preserve the course.
    In the end, the finance board reluctantly approved the issuance of the revenue bonds, but not before raising some questions about the long-term financial health of the institution.
    Schmidly called the concerns unwarranted.
       "I think it's very unfair to leave the impression that what we did was walk in there today like a bunch of riverboat gamblers rolling dice, because that's not the case," Schmidly told the Journal.