Electrical delays push The Lights at Indio Golf Course clubhouse opening to January

Electrical infrastructure problems will delay the opening of The Lights at Indio Golf Course’s new clubhouse to January 2026, pushing the project well past its original spring 2025 completion date and missing out on several months of high season business.

The Indio City Council unanimously approved a change order not to exceed $830,000 during Wednesday’s meeting for additional offsite electrical work required by Imperial Irrigation District (IID) at Avenue 42 and Jackson Street.

City staff says the project has experienced unforeseen scope and schedule impacts due to IID coordination and field conditions. In certain locations, IID conduit locations differed from approved design plans, requiring last-minute rerouting and on-site adjustments that produced additional costs and schedule exposure.

The delays also affect nearby businesses awaiting power connections, including Chick-fil-A and Dutch Bros coffee shops at the same intersection.

Mayor Glenn Miller expressed concern about the impact on the golf course’s operations and finances during the council meeting.

“They were planning on that clubhouse being open. We’re in prime season, so if it goes past January, we’re already missing a couple of months,” Miller said. “Plus, they’ve got people that are hired, [they’re probably] looking at people to fill those positions, and we’re going to have to tell them we’re not able to hire them.” So there’s a little bit more to this than just moving off.””

Councilmember Oscar Ortiz questioned why changes were identified so late in the construction process.

Guillermo Barraza, IID’s superintendent of distribution system planning, said that when the district first received the AutoCAD drawings from the developer, “We used the best of our knowledge to locate those [electrical] vaults.”

According to IID, the problem came up when the developer revised their plans about what they wanted to build around the vaults.

Ortiz pressed for better communication in future projects to identify extra costs earlier in the process, noting that businesses commit significant funds before learning about unexpected charges.

“Some of these changes are happening in the middle of construction, and so our businesses aren’t expecting this extra charge to come up.” Ortiz said. “I think it’s detrimental to business for the city when these changes come in so late in the phase of construction.”

Antonio Ortega, IID’s government affairs and communications officer, committed to closer coordination moving forward.

“One of the first action items after today is putting together an all hands meeting, not just with our team, but with your teams, to make sure that not just this project, but the other projects that you have in the pipeline, that we have a well-coordinated oiled machine and that we’re all functioning on all cylinders,” Ortega said.

Miller noted the broader implications for economic development in Indio.

“It is discouraging sometimes. [The developers] are $10 million into this project and they’ve got nowhere to turn and all of a sudden they get a bill, ‘Either pay this or we’re not going to turn your power on,’” he said. “It just doesn’t sit well with the city of Indio when we’re looking at trying to bring other businesses in.”

Originally, the contractor expected to complete the work in spring or summer 2025, but now estimates power may not be available until January 2026.

The clubhouse began construction in August 2024 and and when it opens it will feature 4,500 square feet of amenities including a full commercial kitchen, dining area, bar and lounge, pro shop, meeting and event spaces, and an outdoor patio with views of the golf course.

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