MARK WAITE / PVT From left, Nye County Manager Rick Osborne, Nye County Chief Civil Deputy District Attorney Ron Kent, Willow Creek owner Aram Maissiam and Antonio Caiati, of AMI Management, discuss the golf course. Advertisement

A zoning change and conditional use permit for a hotel, casino and remodeled clubhouse at Willow Creek golf course was rescinded by Nye County Commissioners Thursday without prejudice.

Antonio Caiati, of AMI Management, owners of the course, asked if the motion could be made that way, allowing them to resubmit the application without a one-year waiting period. Commissioner Peter Liakopoulos agreed to the request in making an amended motion.

Commission Chairman Joni Eastley lambasted Caiati for not informing the board about a foreclosure notice at an Oct. 21 county commission meeting. At that meeting, commissioners gave AMI until Dec. 31 to file an amended deed restriction keeping Willow Creek as a golf course another 30 years, until 2043.

"This information would've certainly been of material nature as the board made its deliberations," Eastley said.

"Government has an obligation to conduct its affairs consistent with principles of good faith and fair dealing," Eastley said. "Conversely, when members of the public come before this commission -- comes before this board -- that public owes to this board the very same oligation of good faith and fair dealing."

"I think they had an absolute duty to advise this board of the pending Nov. 12 foreclosure sale, and they failed to do that," she said.

Caiati said he received a notice of the foreclosure sale by certified mail on Oct. 22, the day after the county commission meeting. Caiati said he promptly sent a letter to Nye County Planning Director Jack Lohman.

Caiati said Jorie Enterprises, the company financially backing AMI, stepped back into the picture last week and offered to move the debt into properties clear of debt so they no longer have to deal with a first trust deed holder. If that fails, the company can file Chapter 11 bankruptcy to reorganize its debts, stopping the foreclosure sale Nov. 12.

"At the same time we'll make sure our water gets pumped, utililties, lakes stay to the right level, it doesn't overflow, EPA standards are kept up with pH and so forth, Lake View gets their water and all UICN (Utilitlies Inc. of Central Nevada) contract agreements remain intact," Caiati said.

Caiati said his company has a contract with Utilities Inc. to accept 650,000 gallons per day of treated effluent to disburse on Willow Creek golf course, store it or send it to Lake View Golf Course. Caiati said he could sell the water to Lake View for $1.86 per 1,000 gallons but sells it for 25 cents. Utilities Inc. has plans to increase capacity at its sewage plant to 1.5 million gallons per day in five or six years.

Caiati said AMI Management offered to buy Lake View initially as a backup for the recycled water and for any excess golfers.

Caiati raised a "doom and gloom" scenario.

If the property doesn't sell on the courthouse steps Nov. 12, the bank will keep the property and no one will be on site to pump the water.

"The company who's going to hold the property is in Irvine (Calif.) and they're a bank. I don't think they have the facilities and structure in place to do the maintenance on that pipeline and those properties," he said.

Property owner Aram Maissian said for four years he owned the property and in the last year he put his life savings into it.

"I am in this position today where I'm looking at shutting down the golf course but making sure the water rights stay intact for the property," Maissian said.

Eastley charged AMI should have known about the first filing of the notice of trustee sale in Orange County, Calif., Oct. 13.

Caiati said with penalties the debt on the property is $9.7 million, but the golf course was appraised at $40 million with the water rights.

Eastley said she was concerned the board granted the zoning in February, but Caiati said the company went delinquent on the primary loan payment of $70,000 per month in March. Caiati said they went into escrow in March and expected to close in 30 days.

Caiati pleaded again to keep the commercial zoning, allowing more time to arrange financing.

"If I don't have that chance then on Nov. 12, they're going to sell it off, and the way the real estate market is, nobody's going to sell it off," he said. "You've seen what banks do with foreclosure properties, I don't know what they're going to do with 170 acres of land."

Eastley criticized Caiati for misleading residents on Lake View Executive Golf Course about the purchase of that acreage.

Eastley called it "a pretty extraordinary request" by AMI to approve a zone change to commercial in the residential neighborhood in the first place.

"Preferred Equities Corporation, who originally developed this subdivision, really never contemplated through master planning or other means, nor allowed, commercial land use in this period for the 30 or more years that they continued to sell properties in that subdivision up to the day they ceased operations in Pahrump," she said.

Eastley said Nye County has been proactive in encouraging responsible economic development if it will increase services to the public.

The request to extend the golf course deed restriction until 2043 was an attempt to placate neighbor's objections and concerns the property would otherwise revert to condominiums and townhouses, Eastley said.

Eastley said she could understand from a business standpoint not wanting to cloud the title for another 30 years with the deed restriction if the company wants to sell the property.

"It is equally clear to me there is a distinct possibility that they may never get the funding for this project. It is my opinion by demonstration on the part of the applicant that they probably never really intended to honor the special conditions of granting that conditional use permit, zoning application and master plan amendment," Eastley said.

Caiati took offense to statements about his character. He said the hotel and casino project won't work without the golf course. Caiati predicted if someone else ultimately ends up wtih the property, it will be subdivided into townhouses and condominiums.

Borasky said he's received hundreds of e-mails, phone calls and letters about the project, which lies in his district.

"The main concern of constituents is to protect the golf course and leave it open on their behalf. Because the greenbelt backs up to their back yard, they pay $50,000 more per lot to live there," Borasky said.

Dan Simmons, who has property on the golf course, suggested commissioners buy the property at a fire sale for a municipal golf course. He conceded the county probably wouldn't have money in the budget for that.

Simmons put in a plug for AMI Management's request not to reverse the zoning change.

"I think it is going to be very difficult for this golf course to make it without a hotel and a small casinio. I don't think we're talking about the Mirage here. We're talking about a small, destination resort," Simmons said.