[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3421 Introduced in House (IH)]

113th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3421

To remove use and disposal restrictions on property located in the City 
                  of Winslow, Navajo County, Arizona.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 30, 2013

   Mrs. Kirkpatrick (for herself, Mr. Gosar, Mr. Schweikert, and Mr. 
Franks of Arizona) introduced the following bill; which was referred to 
                   the Committee on Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To remove use and disposal restrictions on property located in the City 
                  of Winslow, Navajo County, Arizona.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. REMOVAL OF USE AND DISPOSAL RESTRICTIONS ON WINSLOW 
              HOSPITALITY PARK.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds as follows:
            (1) According to the 2010 Census, the City of Winslow, 
        located in Navajo County, is a rural community of 9,655 
        residents.
            (2) The community is dependent on revenue from economic 
        development and tourism to fund vital city services.
            (3) Winslow Hospitality Park, a 123-acre property, has been 
        owned by the City of Winslow since February 12, 1953, when the 
        City gained title to the land from the Santa Fe Railroad.
            (4) The City received a Land and Water Conservation Grant 
        on May 16, 1979, for $299,915 to match City funds for the 
        purpose of developing the land into a golf course.
            (5) Over the next 23 years, the City spent $3,935,363 on 
        managing, maintaining, and operating the golf course.
            (6) Due to poor turf growth and lack of patronage, course 
        management became so costly and burdensome to the City that the 
        golf course ceased operations in 2003, while it remained open 
        for public use.
            (7) The City signed an intergovernmental agreement with 
        State of Arizona Outdoor Recreation Coordinating Commission 
        that was subsequently approved by the Department of the 
        Interior, through the National Park Service, as the 
        administrator of the grant that stated that the City ``shall be 
        responsible for the operation and maintenance after completion 
        of said project for a 25-year period of time as determined by 
        the AORCC or the Director of the Heritage Conservation and 
        Recreation Service as commensurate with the project fund 
        investment and federal requirements, if any. Any term of 
        maintenance and operation of less than 25 years described by 
        the participant must be approved by the AORCC and the Heritage 
        Conservation Service''.
            (8) In 2003, due to the failure of the golf course, the 
        City inquired with Arizona State Parks, the successor agency to 
        the Arizona Outdoor Recreation Coordinating Commission, 
        regarding how to terminate the 25-year agreement one year early 
        and the National Park Service informed the City for the first 
        time that the land must be used ``in perpetuity'' for public 
        recreation contrary to the original intergovernmental agreement 
        which the National Park Service had approved.
            (9) The National Park Service stated the only way to 
        release the lien on the land was to donate to the Federal 
        Government land of equal or greater value.
            (10) The City of Winslow owns title to the land known as 
        Winslow Hospitality Park and should not have to donate 
        additional land to the Federal Government to use land that it 
        already owns for non-public purposes, especially when the City 
        was never informed of the ``in perpetuity'' maintenance 
        requirement during its performance of the intergovernmental 
        agreement.
            (11) The estimated value of this land according to a 
        February 2, 2011, appraisal is $211,000.
            (12) Using this land for non-public purposes would 
        financially enable the City by encouraging development without 
        any cost to the Federal Government.
    (b) Removal of Restrictions.--Notwithstanding section 6(f)(3) of 
the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 (16 U.S.C. 460l-
8(f)(3)), the approximately 123 acres of land located in the City of 
Winslow, Navajo County, Arizona, and designated as the ``Winslow 
Hospitality Park'', may be disposed of or used for purposes other than 
public recreation.
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