Golf course irrigation slips to Jan. 1, draft minutes say

Lago Vista's golf course irrigation rebuild is now due between Dec. 1, 2026, and Jan. 1, 2027, draft minutes of the city's Golf Course Advisory Committee say.¹ The City Council approved the $3,615,632.23 contract 7 to 0 on Jan. 15, 2026. The city's budget book lists its funding as the 2024 certificates of obligation, bonds that property taxes repay.^2,3,4 The draft says rounds were down 17% and revenue down 14% last quarter, which it ties to the irrigation work.¹ The council adopted a 2026-27 budget 4 to 3 on Sept. 17, 2026. It sends the golf fund a $170,000 General Fund subsidy.^4,5

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A two-host briefing. The voices are AI generated. Read the transcript.

An aerial view of a Texas Hill Country fairway, half green and finished, half torn open by a pipe trench with coils of black pipe and a yellow excavator. AI illustration, not the Lago Vista course. — AI illustration. Image credits.

The finish date and the play figures come from draft minutes the committee has not yet approved, so they may change.¹ The committee's Oct. 27 agenda lists approving those minutes, and the Watchdog will follow up after that meeting.⁶

What the committee is, and what it meets about

The Golf Course Advisory Committee is a panel the City Council reestablished in a November 2017 ordinance. The ordinance says it "shall act in an advisory capacity only" and has no power to "authorize any expenditures out of the City's budget."⁷ Its Oct. 27, 2026, meeting starts at 6:30 p.m. in City Council Chambers at 5803 Thunderbird. The agenda has three action items, which are approving the Sept. 22 minutes, discussing the committee's 2026-27 work plan, and setting future meeting dates. The cover page for the minutes item lists its financial impact as "N/A."⁶ The irrigation system matters beyond golf. City staff call it a "primary effluent dispersal mechanism," meaning the course is where the city sprays treated wastewater under a state reuse permit. Staff called the rebuild "the most critical project within the City’s Capital Improvement Program."³

How the finish date moved (January to May 2026)

An earlier Watchdog story, Lago Vista's golf course got $2.8 million in public subsidies, traced the course's money history and the irrigation contract.⁴ This story covers what is new, which is a later finish date and falling play.¹ On Jan. 15, 2026, the City Council voted 7 to 0 to award the irrigation replacement. Mayor Pro Tem Norma Owen moved, and Council Member Karen Van Ness seconded.² Diamond Golf International Inc. bid a lump sum of $3,615,632.23. Its bid form promised to substantially finish within 150 calendar days after the city's notice to proceed. It promised to finish all the work within 160 calendar days.³

On Feb. 3, 2026, the committee's final minutes say Golf Pro Greg Saul, the staff liaison, reported that the contract "has been signed." Work "should begin in March" and take about 150 days, "during August."^6,8 The committee's draft minutes for May 26, 2026, say work "has begun on the #2 hole." They say it "should be complete mid October to early November."⁹

The Sept. 22 draft minutes

The committee met Sept. 22, 2026, and the minutes record no public comments.¹ Council Member Jess Hall attended as council liaison, and Saul as staff liaison.^1,10 The minutes say Saul met with Les Hill, the irrigation designer, who "is not affiliated with Diamond Golf, the installer." The aim is to finish each hole before the crew moves to the next.¹ The city's budget book lists a $55,000 design contract with Les Hill.⁴ The minutes add the line "Word spreads fast if it looks like a war zone," without naming who said it. They say the front nine should be done in "3-4 weeks" and the entire course between Dec. 1, 2026, and Jan. 1, 2027.¹ That is one to two months after the finish in the May minutes. It is months after the August finish the committee heard in February.^8,9 The minutes say "Last Qtr was 17% down in rounds & 14% down in revenue, due to irrigation happening and no water." They give no round counts, dollar amounts, or comparison period for those percentages. Saul expects the first quarter of the new budget year to be "about the same." The second quarter "should hopefully be breaking even." The last two quarters should be "15-20% up." The minutes also list clubhouse repairs as a budget issue. They name "plumbing, a/c, ice machines," plus inventory. The course will need more mowing equipment "when irrigation is complete." Hall told the committee the council was calling a special meeting "this Friday @ 4pm" to look again at the budget. The minutes add a vote on raising the tax rate "due to decreased revenues from property value declines." The minutes say "Jack" moved to approve the June 23, 2026, minutes and "Gage" seconded. They say "Motion carried," with no vote count. Jack Desjardins and Gage Hunt are members of the committee. The minutes say the work plan was "put on hold until the next meeting."¹

The Friday meeting (Sept. 25)

The special meeting Hall mentioned took place Friday, Sept. 25, 2026, at 4 p.m. in City Council Chambers.¹⁰ Our earlier story, Lago Vista taxpayers pay $96 more after two budget cuts fail, covers it in full.¹¹ A revised plan in the meeting's packet, for a $0.42 tax rate, would have cut the General Fund's golf subsidy by $74,000.¹² That plan failed. A second plan to lower the rate then failed 2 to 5.¹¹ The golf subsidy therefore stayed at the $170,000 the council adopted on Sept. 17.⁴

What it could mean for taxpayers

The golf subsidy comes from the General Fund, which the budget book says is "supported by property, sales and other taxes." In 2026-27 the Debt Service fund budgets $545,000 in principal and $1,117,125 in interest on the 2024 certificates. They pay for the irrigation rebuild and other projects. The fund's budgeted revenue includes $4,387,819 in property taxes. The budget book lists these payments in the Debt Service fund, not in the golf fund. The budget book's 2024 certificate summary sets aside $4,095,000 for the golf irrigation project and shows $3,804,966.23 spent or committed. It warns that its figures "have not been independently reconciled or validated by the Finance Department." The golf fund itself is budgeted to spend $1,367,414 in 2026-27, up $89,436, with a $170,000 General Fund subsidy.⁴ Mayor Pro Tem Norma Owen, Jess Hall, Karen Van Ness, and Paul Prince voted for the budget on Sept. 17. Mayor Shane Saum, Adam Benefield, and Amanda Chavarria voted against it.^4,5 In February, Saul said the course should "come close to breaking even" in 2026-27. The September draft does not repeat that forecast. It expects a second quarter that "should hopefully be breaking even" and last two quarters "15-20% up." It gives no dollar forecast.^1,8

What we could not find

The contract's current cost. We found no change orders or amended total. The budget book still lists the contract at $3,615,632.23.⁴
A reason for the delay. The draft minutes give no cause for the later finish date. We have not seen the signed contract.¹
A baseline for "17%." The draft says "Last Qtr" but not which months, or what it is compared with.¹
A line that does not fit. The draft says "New Re-Opening should be in March 2028." That conflicts with the rest of its schedule, so we did not use it.¹
Approved minutes. The agenda's cover page asks the committee to approve "June 23, 2026" minutes, while the item itself names the Sept. 22 minutes.⁶

What you can do

Attend the committee on Oct. 27 at 6:30 p.m. in City Council Chambers, 5803 Thunderbird.⁶
To speak, submit the online citizen participation form on the city's website before the meeting begins.⁶

Podcast transcript

Read the transcript

Host 1. This is the Lago Vista Watchdog briefing. The two voices you are hearing are AI generated. Every fact in this episode is sourced in the full story on our website, and a person validates each story before it is published.

Host 2. Here is the bottom line. According to draft minutes of the city's Golf Course Advisory Committee, the golf course irrigation rebuild is now due between December 1, 2026, and January 1, 2027.

Host 1. The City Council approved the 3,615,632 dollar irrigation contract 7 to 0 on January 15, 2026. According to the city's budget book, it is paid for with the 2024 certificates of obligation, which are city bonds that property taxes repay.

Host 2. The draft says rounds were down 17 percent and revenue down 14 percent last quarter, and ties that to the irrigation work. Those play figures and the finish date come from draft minutes the committee has not yet approved, so they may change. The committee's October 27 agenda lists approving those minutes, and the Watchdog will follow up after that meeting.

Host 1. Separately, the council adopted a 2026-27 budget 4 to 3 on September 17, 2026. It sends the golf fund a 170,000 dollar subsidy from the General Fund.

Host 2. Some background. The Golf Course Advisory Committee is a panel the council reestablished in a 2017 ordinance. The ordinance says it acts in an advisory capacity only, and it cannot authorize spending from the city's budget.

Host 1. City staff call the irrigation system a primary effluent dispersal mechanism. In plain words, the course is where the city sprays treated wastewater, under a state reuse permit. Staff called the rebuild the most critical project in the city's Capital Improvement Program.

Host 2. Our earlier story on the course's finances reported the irrigation contract. This story covers what is new.

Host 1. Here is what happened, step by step. On January 15, 2026, the council voted 7 to 0 to award the project. Mayor Pro Tem Norma Owen moved, and Council Member Karen Van Ness seconded. The winning bid came from Diamond Golf International, for a lump sum of 3,615,632 dollars.

Host 2. According to the bid form, the company promised to substantially finish within 150 calendar days after the city's notice to proceed, and to finish all the work within 160 calendar days.

Host 1. On February 3, the committee's final minutes say the golf pro, Greg Saul, reported that the contract has been signed. Work should begin in March and take about 150 days, during August.

Host 2. The first slip came in May. The committee's draft minutes for May 26 say the work has begun on the number 2 hole, and should be complete mid October to early November.

Host 1. Then the September 22 draft minutes. They say Saul met with Les Hill, the irrigation designer, who is not affiliated with Diamond Golf, the installer. The aim is to finish each hole before the crew moves to the next. The city's budget book lists a 55,000 dollar design contract with Les Hill.

Host 2. The minutes say the front nine should be done in 3 to 4 weeks, and the entire course between December 1, 2026, and January 1, 2027. That is one to two months after the finish in the May minutes, and months after the August finish the committee heard in February.

Host 1. The minutes say last quarter was 17 percent down in rounds and 14 percent down in revenue, due to irrigation happening and no water. They give no round counts, dollar amounts, or comparison period for those percentages.

Host 2. Saul expects the first quarter of the new budget year to be about the same. The second quarter should hopefully be breaking even. The last two quarters should be 15 to 20 percent up.

Host 1. The minutes also list clubhouse repairs as a budget issue, naming plumbing, air conditioning, and ice machines. The course will need more mowing equipment when irrigation is complete.

Host 2. Council Member Jess Hall, the council liaison, told the committee that the council was calling a special meeting that Friday to look again at the budget. That meeting took place on Friday, September 25, 2026.

Host 1. A revised plan in that meeting's packet, for a 0.42 dollar tax rate, would have cut the General Fund's golf subsidy by 74,000 dollars. That plan failed, and a second plan to lower the rate then failed 2 to 5. The golf subsidy therefore stayed at 170,000 dollars. Our earlier story on that meeting is on our website.

Host 2. What could it mean for taxpayers? The golf subsidy comes from the General Fund, which the budget book says is supported by property, sales and other taxes. Separately, the Debt Service fund budgets 545,000 dollars in principal and 1,117,125 dollars in interest in 2026-27 on the 2024 certificates. They pay for the irrigation rebuild and other projects.

Host 1. The fund's budgeted revenue includes 4,387,819 dollars in property taxes. The budget book lists these payments in the Debt Service fund, not in the golf fund.

Host 2. In February, Saul said the course should come close to breaking even in 2026-27. The September draft does not repeat that forecast, and it gives no dollar forecast.

Host 1. What we could not find. We found no change orders or amended total, and the budget book still lists the contract at 3,615,632 dollars. The draft minutes give no cause for the later finish date. The draft also has a reopening line with a date that conflicts with the rest of its schedule, so we did not use it.

Host 2. What can you do? The committee meets October 27 at half past six in the evening in City Council Chambers, at 5803 Thunderbird. To speak, submit the online citizen participation form on the city's website before the meeting begins. The full story, with links to every record, is on our website. Thanks for listening.

Sources and documents

Every fact in this story comes from the records below. The small numbers in the story point to them. Links go to the exact moment in the meeting video or the page in the document.

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