Residents and workers urge the commission to keep Desert Lakes Golf Course public, demand transparency on personnel settlement

Several residents and city employees used the public-comment period on May 12 to press the Alamogordo City Commission on the future of Desert Lakes Golf Course and for more transparency about a reported settlement involving the former city manager.

Tamara Hansen, president of ASME Local 3818, told commissioners the issue is "not just about golf" but about jobs and public accountability. "Privatization and dynamic pricing risk moving that public asset further away from the people who paid for it," Hansen said, urging the commission to keep maintenance in city hands so that trained city employees retain jobs and benefits.

Thaddius Gilmore, assistant superintendent at the golf course, also urged transparency and asked the commission to release records tied to the former city manager's exit and any communications with private operators. "If the city paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to remove [the former city manager], the public deserves to know full transparency," Gilmore said.

Other commenters, including current course employees, described investments in irrigation and specialized equipment paid with public funds and warned outsourcing could produce higher fees for users, lost private-golf-cart privileges and immediate job losses for seven employees. Several callers said they would pursue recalls of elected officials if they saw backroom deals.

The commission did not take immediate action on the golf-course issue during the meeting. Commissioners acknowledged the public requests for records and signaled an intent to provide records through formal public-records processes rather than discuss details during the meeting.