Norwalk : New Operator, Renovations Planned for Golf Course

The city plans to turn over operation of Norwalk Golf Course to an Anaheim company by July as part of an agreement requiring the firm to renovate the site.

California Golf Centers Inc. will manage the course under a five-year lease in exchange for $150,000 in improvements, including a remodeled clubhouse and restrooms, additional fences and refurbished lights and tee areas. The lease could be extended for up to three, five-year terms.

“We don’t have the funds to go in and make improvements that are needed,” said Gary DiCorpo, the city’s volunteer services manager and supervisor of golf course operations. Better facilities would draw more golfers, which would help the city increase revenue, he said.

The City Council recently directed its staff to work out final details of the agreement, which is expected to gain council approval in June. The firm could begin operating the course by July.

Council members said they decided on the Anaheim company, one of four firms that sought to run the Shoemaker Avenue course, because it agreed to do extensive renovations. In addition, the company will pay the city $84,000 rent a year, nearly $36,000 more than the nearest competitor offered.

The company has pledged not to raise golf fees--ranging from $1.50 for children to $3.50--but will charge an additional 50 cents for night golf.

Under city management, the course generated just $3,000 in profits last year. About 83,500 rounds were recorded at the nine-hole course in 1991, the latest year for which figures are available. California Golf Centers Inc. expects that to increase to 159,500 by 1997.

The company also proposes a driving range on land owned by the Norwalk-La Mirada Unified School District just north of the golf course.