Council OKs Funds to Fix Scholl Course

Glendale has agreed to spend $111,504 to repair tees, greens and a driving range at the city’s Scholl Canyon Golf and Tennis Complex, where the golf course has been sinking and shifting since it was completed in 1981.

Built atop a landfill, many of the once-gentle slopes of the course have shifted as much as 15 feet, becoming hills, dales and fissures. The shifting also has caused broken water mains and release of foul-smelling methane gas that has burned brown patches in the grass and killed numerous trees.

The Glendale City Council on Tuesday awarded a contract to Artistic Landscape of South Gate to undertake major repairs to the nine-hole course at 3800 E. Glenoaks Blvd. The project is expected to be completed within 90 days, said Henry Agonia, director of parks and recreation.

There will be fewer improvements than those proposed last summer, when the city advertised the project for bids, Agonia said. The city had proposed spending about $125,000 for repairs, but no contractor bid for the job because they believed the project would be far costlier than the funds allocated.

Agonia said the contract negotiated between the city and Artistic Landscape provides for improvements to the driving range and the first tee, renovation of the second green and eighth tee and green, work between the fifth green and sixth tee and miscellaneous repairs.

Jeff Silverstein, owner of California Golf Centers Inc., operator of Scholl and seven other courses in the state, said problems at Scholl are typical of courses built on landfills. He said the shifting may continue for another 10 to 15 years.

In other council action this week, the city was ordered to speed up its program to resurface all 385 miles of streets and alleys in the city. About $1.8 million a year will be spent to complete the project in 10 years.

The council also renewed its contract with Pacific Busing Inc. of Glendale to operate Glendale Beeline shuttle service in the downtown area. The council asked that expanded weekend service to satellite parking lots be provided during the upcoming holiday shopping period.