Hi just wanted to give you a quick heads up and let you know a few of the pictures aren’t loading properly.
I’m not sure why but I think its a linking issue.
I’ve tried it in two different browsers and both show the same outcome.
A Perspective on the Willow Park Golf Course Situation
- By : Guest Voice
- Category : Local Control
- Tags: ebrpd
Local Control
1
Guest Post by Steve Falzone, President, Willow Park Golf Club
As President for the Willow Park Golf Club, I am concerned about the timeline provided by East Bay Regional Parks District (EBRPD) for the golf course lease Request for Proposals (RFP) at Willow Park.
Why?
Our golf club, Willow Park Golf Club, has been a part of Willow Park since it opened back in 1966. Our goal in the current process is, and has always been, to ensure that Castro Valley does not lose this gem we call Willow Park. EBRPD has promised for two years to release an RFP (request for proposal) for Willow Park Golf Course which would have allowed for a less frantic transition then we are facing today.
EBRPD’s current timeline does not account for important events, and it does not apportion enough time for the events that must occur before the lease expires on November 30, 2014.
According to EBRPD’s timeline distributed at the January 16, 2014 Board meeting, the RFP process was planned to proceed as follows:
- January 2014: finalize inspections/evaluations, audit, RFP
- February thru May 2014: RFP, tour, evaluate proposals
- June 2014: present recommended proposal to Board Operations
- July 2014: recommendation to Board of Directors
- August thru November 2014: transition into new term
When EBRPD’s timeline was announced in mid-January, the November 30, 2014 transition date was easily obtainable.
But EBRPD missed their planned scheduled RFP release date of January or February 2014, when the RFP was released over six months late on July 23, 2014.
This January timeline can no longer be timely implemented, and we are left with a compromised and compressed timeframe in which to conduct the RFP.
Here is the breakdown as we see it.
- September 12, 2014 is the deadline to submit proposals (RFP page 2).
- EBRPD staff will begin discussions and/or interviews with “Proposers” approximately 10 days later (RFP page 2), September 22, 2014
- The RFP contains no end date for the interview process, which, depending on the number of proposals that are submitted, could take a bit of time.
- The collapsed timeframe means EBRPD would only have approximately 70 calendar days (September 22 to November 30) before the current lease expires.
What has to be done in those 70 calendar days (47 working days)?
EBRPD must conclude the interview process, evaluate information provided during the interview process, make a recommendation to EBRPD’s Operations Committee and finally make recommendation to the full EBRPD Board. According to EBRPD’s website, the Operations Committee meetings are October 23 and November 25. Its full Board Meetings are November 4, November 18, December 2, and December 16.
With all that must be accomplished combined with infrequent meetings (not to mention the holidays), the earliest the Board could approve the lease would be at their November 4, 2014 meeting.
Did anyone catch that?
We are talking about a lease, so part of the 70 days needs to be set aside for EBRPD and the proposed lessee to turn the proposed bid into what is likely to be a fairly complex document, the Willow Park Golf Course Lease. It is likely that both parties will have their lawyers (if not negotiating) reviewing, revising and finalizing this and all related documents.
The timeline just got a lot tighter.
As if that wasn’t enough, there is this little tidbit, “Leases may commence as soon as 30 days after approval by EBRPD (RFP Page 2).” Thus, that 70 days is now only 40 days. And EBRPD states in the RFP that “the time required to complete the selection process […] is estimated to be two (2) to three (3) months after the receipt of proposals, with operations expected to commence on or about December 1, 2014.” (RFP Page 19)
In a recent newspaper interview, EBRPD General Manager Bob Doyle said, “If needed, the district will find a temporary operator. If there’s any lapse, it will be tiny. It is certainly our goal to keep it open.”
As you can see by the timeline above, a temporary operator is going to be needed if Willow Park Golf Course is to stay open through this transition. Sadly, until a new lessee is found, the six golf clubs at Willow Park are in limbo. They cannot adequately prepare for the coming year and may not survive because of this delay.
Find the latest information at willowparkgolfclub.org.
Steve Falzone has been a life long resident of the East Bay: he grew up in Oakland, has lived in Hayward, and has lived in Castro Valley for the past 14 years. He and his wife took up golf as a couples activity back in 2000 and he has been hooked ever since. He has been President of the Willow Park Golf Club since 2012. He can be contacted at stevefalzone@hotmail.com.
