SDMGA: Twenty-one questions about the City's Five Year Golf Plan
SDMGA has put forward twenty-one (or so) questions about the City's Five Year Golf Plan that when answered will give everyone a better understanding of its inner workings. It is hoped that with the answers, compromise and reason will prevail leading to a workable resolution.
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1. Under what circumstances, if any, can money from the Golf Enterprise Fund be removed and spent for general fund purposes?
2. Are there any plans in current city budget to remove money from the Enterprise Fund for expenses other than for golf enterprise matters?
3. Does any written statement exist which shows in one place the revenues projected under the city plan for each of the 5 years of the plan and the operating expenses projected for that year?
4.
By what means does the city track and project revenues?5.
What measures does the City plan to assure transparency of tee time allocations?a.
Will it post tee sheets daily on internet?b. How will it audit tee time allocations to assure compliance with the 70-30 ratio?
6. What percentage of tee times will be given as starter times?
7.
What net percentage of tee times will be available to the daily resident golfer under the phone lottery system?8.
How will the lottery system separate resident tee times from non-resident tee times?9. What percentage of all tee times will be reserved for the advanced reservation system proposed by the City?
a. Of these, how many will go to non-residents?
b. Of these, how many will go to residents?
c. If either of the resident category or the non-resident category does not use the
allotted times will it go to the other category or to the daily public golfer?
10. Who will administer the advanced reservation system? What costs are projected for the system?
11. What measures have been planned to prevent abuse, favoritism, and/or corruption of the advanced reservation system? Are we going back to the future? (The current phone lottery system was put in place twelve years ago to respond to a continual public outcry concerning the trustworthiness of the system and the individuals running it.)
12. What is the purpose of proposing the elimination of the senior rate?
a. Revenue raising? How much revenue does it raise?
b. Pricing seniors off the courses?
c. Other? Please specify.
13. What is the purpose of proposing weekend rates on Friday?
a. Revenue raising? How much revenue does it raise?
b. Pricing seniors off the courses and/or limiting their play?
c. Other? Please specify.
14. Why are increases in non-resident rates back-loaded, but increases in resident rates front-loaded? Wouldn’t the reverse be more appropriate?
15. The hotels are charging market rates for tee times ($169 w/cart week-days on the north and $225 w/cart weekdays on South) and are making huge profits that could go to the City. Why doesn’t the City charge the hotels full market rates and bar them from reselling tee times for profit?
16. Is the City getting adequate compensation for hosting the Buick Invitational?
17. Is the City getting adequate compensation for hosting the U.S. Open? The City is getting only $500,000, but the Friends of Torrey Pines are taking $3,500,000 in corporate tent sales Is this a fair arrangement?
18. When will the City release a detailed and audited statement of operating expenses at the golf courses? Why is Balboa more expensive to maintain than Torrey North?
19. Why is the City spending so much more to maintain golf courses than Coronado whose per round cost is under $25 per round?
20.
When will the City correct its benchmarking study which has numerous mistakes such as stating that Harding Park municipal course charges $125 when the actual rates are $35 resident and $21 senior?21. Has the City considered moving some of the club tee times at Torrey to the afternoon rather than ending them?