City Lease Deal at Golf Course Draws Scrutiny

A union officer criticized city officials Thursday for pushing a plan to extend the lease on a golf course rather than seeking competitive bids.

Julie Butcher, general manager of the union representing Recreation and Parks Department workers, said other courses run by the city itself turn a larger profit than the operator of the Van Nuys Golf Course.

“This is outrageous,” she said of the proposed extension. “This is money that should be kept in the city to pay for other recreation programs.”

Jerry Lee, deputy executive director of Los Angeles World Airports Department, said the lease would be extended for four years in exchange for a new $40,000 irrigation system to be installed by the current operator, Van Nuys Golf Course Partners.

The extended lease would also increase the percentage of restaurant revenue paid to the city from 6% to 7%, the percentage of revenue from liquor sales from 7% to 9%. The total lease revenue to the city would be about $475,000 annually, Lee said.

Doubts about the extension led the Los Angeles City Council earlier this week to delay action on the proposal. Council members Laura Chick and Joel Wachs also cited lack of advance notice in delaying the lease action.

“This is part of an ongoing problem,” Wachs said about lack of proper notice.

Added Councilman Nate Holden, “Sometimes there is a reason they don’t let us know--because they want it to go through.”

Lee called the notice problem an oversight.

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City records indicate the current lease was extended seven years ago, also without competitive bidding.

“I want to know what’s so magic about this that we are not going out for a bid,” Holden asked airport officials at a hearing on Wednesday.

City officials said the irrigation system would be installed on the 52-acre golf course, which is at the south end of the Van Nuys Airport runway and is maintained as a clear zone for aircraft.

Chris Jones, the golf course manager, said Thursday there would be no green fee increases to pay for the irrigation system. Instead, the company hopes to recover its costs through savings of up to 40% on the water bill once the course is converted to reclaimed water.

“We think it’s a wonderful deal for the city,” Jones said Thursday.

But council members voiced suspicions, drawing parallels to a controversial proposed lease extension for the Greek Theater that would be granted without competitive bidding in exchange for the longtime operator making improvements.

Wachs has argued that the city could get the improvements and a better deal if bids were sought.

In taking the golf course lease off the fast track, Chick and Wachs said they want to scrutinize the deal.

“It might turn out that I think this is a very good idea, but I will not approve things that involve property in my district without knowing more,” Chick told Lee during the council hearing.