Thursday, April 20, 2000 | 11:53 a.m.
Amid an unusual air of caution, the Las Vegas City Council on Wednesday allowed golf course developer Billy Walters to sublease four billboards at his Desert Pines Golf Course.
The seemingly simple matter was instead given extra attention by City Attorney Brad Jerbic, perhaps because of Walters' recent legal troubles.
Police attempted to seize Desert Pines from Walters last year because they allege the $20 million course was funded in part by illegally obtained gambling funds. The golf course has since been dropped from police forfeiture attempts, and two criminal indictments against Walters have been dismissed in court.
An active money-laundering case against Walters, alleges he and three others routed money to and from illegal bookmakers across the country through Sierra Sports Inc., a company owned by Walters.
Even if that case isn't at all related to Desert Pines, the city seemed more than careful to cover its bases Wednesday.
The golf course, opened in 1997, sits on city land at East Bonanza and North Pecos roads. Southwest Golf, a limited partnership that developed the course, has a 50-year lease with the city for the land.
That lease is the reason Walters and his attorneys were forced to ask the council for permission to sublease four billboards on the golf course to Outdoor Advertising.
The current sublease Southwest Golf has for the billboards does not produce any revenue for the city and also allows the billboard company to erect signs anywhere on the course.
The new agreement, approved unanimously by the council, lets the city immediately begin receiving 1.25 percent of revenue from the billboards -- estimated at $3,000 to $5,000 annually.
Southwest's agreement with Outdoor Advertising is estimated to be valued at $2.3 million over the 47-year term.
The agreement with the city approved Wednesday also limits the number of billboards allowed at the site to the existing four. If Outdoor Advertising wants to erect more signs, it would require another amendment to the sublease, and more money for the city.
When it came time to vote, Jerbic wanted assurances that both Southwest Golf and Outdoor Advertising understood the city's zoning requirements regulating use permits for such signs.
But Walters' attorney, John Moran Jr., balked at stipulating that in writing.
"We fully intend to be in compliance with all city codes," Moran said. "We will continue to adhere to them in the future. The agreements speak for themselves."
Mayor Oscar Goodman intervened between Jerbic and Moran saying he just didn't want the city subjected to any lawsuit as a result of misunderstandings between Outdoor and Southwest.
"All Mr. Walters wants is the ability to sell what is his," Goodman said. "Am I right?"
"That's it," Walters said from his seat in the audience.
Erin Neff covers Las Vegas government for the Sun. She can be reached at (702) 259-4062 or 229-6436, or by e-mail at [email protected]
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