Committee advances five‑year lease to First Tee affiliate to run Golden Gate Park golf course amid tax‑exempt questions

The Budget and Finance Committee on a voice motion advanced a resolution authorizing the Recreation and Park Department to lease the Golden Gate Park 9‑hole golf course to the Golden Gate Park Golf Foundation for five years, with a two‑year extension possible if the foundation makes $150,000 in capital improvements.

Rec & Parks property director Nick Kinsey said the department launched an RFP in 2011 after rounds at the course fell as much as 30 percent over five years and sought an operator that would revive play while serving youth and seniors. Under the proposed lease the city would receive a $225,000 annual base rent. Kinsey described a tiered greens‑fee revenue split under which the city would receive 100 percent of greens‑fee revenues between $350,000 and $500,000 and 50 percent of fees above $500,000.

"The First Tee will be hiring Emily Edens...to manage the course," Kinsey said, and the organization plans to use a portable classroom on site for programming; the department said it has received the required CEQA and general‑plan referrals for the classroom placement.

First Tee executive director Judith Powell told the committee the nonprofit serves thousands of children citywide: "We service close to 7,000 kids in the schools, 1,200 in our after‑school programs, and we see another 600 in our in‑school programs," she said, describing the organization’s capacity to expand youth programming at Golden Gate Park.

Multiple young participants and volunteers spoke in favor. Fourteen‑year‑old Rohan Griffin described personal gains from the program and told supervisors, "In the end, you are the one making all of your choices, and you are defined as a person by the choices you make." Several older residents and educators also endorsed the proposal for its educational benefits.

One long‑time course user, Roger Jeanson, urged caution and raised a legal question about nonprofit tax rules, saying, "I believe First Tee puts at risk its exempt status" by operating a public golf course and deriving substantial unrelated business income. In response, Scott Sollars, vice president of the First Tee board, said the proposers had consulted attorneys and established a separate nonprofit — the Golden Gate Park Golf Foundation — as the lessee, with a seven‑member board limited to no more than three First Tee affiliates to distance operations and protect tax‑exempt status.

Budget analyst Mr. Rose told the committee the department may incur a net loss in the first two years but projected a $114,327 net gain across the five‑year term and recommended amending the resolution to include annual rent increases tied to CPI if the extension is exercised; Rec & Parks said it had distributed a revised resolution and contract reflecting those changes.

The committee moved the analyst’s suggested amendments and forwarded the amended item to the full Board of Supervisors "without opposition." The full board will consider the revised lease and any final contractual language, including the CPI rent‑adjustment language, at a future meeting.