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Recreation & Parks presents Prop J to lease golf courses; committee continues item after extended debate over staffing, wages and Sharp Park
Summary
Recreation & Park staff presented a Proposition J plan to allow leasing of municipal golf courses to eliminate a $1.4 million general-fund subsidy and address capital and wage concerns; supervisors debated which courses would be leased, wage protections for park workers, and how staff might be redeployed; the committee continued Item 11 to June 25 for further analysis and community input on Sharp Park.
The Recreation and Park Department asked the Budget & Finance Committee to advance a Proposition J measure that would authorize leasing or long-term agreements for city golf courses with the stated goals of eliminating a roughly $1.4 million annual general-fund subsidy, addressing long-term capital needs, preserving livable wages and benefits, and keeping golf affordable.
General management said the department had hired the National Golf Foundation (NGF) to analyze options and that an RFP and subsequent lease terms would return to the Board for review and public input. Department staff said some courses (Harding, Lincoln) were likely to be near-term beneficiaries of the proposal while others (Sharp Park and McLaren) would be left for further community discussion. The NGF-based market and wage modeling used a typical groundskeeper wage of about $42,000 (wages without benefits), with fringe benefits modeled separately; the controller noted fringe assumptions in the analysis.
Controller and Recreation staff described staffing comparisons between the civil-service model (55 full-time equivalents assigned to golf maintenance per the department) and a hypothetical contracted model (estimated 69 positions). The Controller's Office estimated potential contracting savings at about $918,000 under a base comparison and up to $1.986 million if the department increased its internal staffing assumptions.
Supervisors pressed for protections in any RFP and lease documents (including wage floors, prevailing-wage or other minimum standards, and assurances regarding lay-offs and redeployment). Committee members also asked for clearer analysis of how garden/custodial staff are distributed citywide, how many gardeners would be redeployed to neighborhood parks, and what the longer-term implications would be for non-golf park maintenance.
The committee continued Item 11 to June 25 to allow Recreation & Park and the Controller's Office to provide additional data and to continue community conversations, particularly about Sharp Park. The department also agreed to return with clearer staffing redeployment plans and cost comparisons before final Board action.
