REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL
FROM: BRIAN BARR, Director
General Services Department
AARON A. AGUIRRE, Director
PARCS Department
BY: CLIFFORD TRAUGH, Assistant Director
General Services Department
SUBJECT
Title
Approve the First Amendment to the Lease Agreement between the City of Fresno Parks, After School, Recreation, and Community Services (PARCS) Department and Ebit Golf, Inc., to clarify the collection of certain fees, clarify processes and assignment of maintenance responsibilities related to the operation of the Riverside Municipal Golf Course, and authorize the Director of PARCs to execute the this First Amendment on behalf of the City
Body
RECOMMENDATION
Approve the First Amendment to the Lease Agreement between the City of Fresno Parks, After School, Recreation, and Community Services (PARCS) Department and Ebit Golf, Inc., to clarify the collection of certain fees, clarify processes and assignment of maintenance responsibilities related to the operation of the Riverside Municipal Golf Course and authorize the Director of PARCs to execute the First Amendment on behalf of the City.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Over the past 30 years, Ebit Golf has managed and operated the Riverside Municipal Golf Course in accordance with the terms and conditions of its current lease agreement. Under the proposed amendment, Ebit Golf will continue to provide golf operations while collecting required Arts, Park, Entertainment, and Sports (APES) fees, clarify the capital improvement process, and adhere to the amended tree pruning procedures. This Amendment was deemed necessary to clarify the responsibilities between the City of Fresno and Ebit Golf.
BACKGROUND
On August 30, 1985, the City entered into a Lease Management Agreement (Agreement) with Ebit Golf to operate Riverside Municipal Golf Course (Riverside). The Agreement was the result of an extensive Request for Proposal process conducted by the City for operations of municipal golf courses. On August 17, 1999, September 17, 2009, and subsequently on February 28, 2019, the City Council approved to enter into and extend the Agreement with Ebit Golf to continue operations. As these agreements have changed over time, the need to clarify aspects of the agreement has become necessary.
This First Amendment (Amendment) will address the collection of APES fees, clarify the process for capital improvements to the golf course and property, and define the responsibilities of tree pruning.
In the new Amendment Ebit Golf shall collect APES fee in the amount of $1.00 on all tickets sold for attendance to all event types and on each round of golf, subject to increase by the City pursuant to the annual updates to the Master Fee Schedule, and remit collected fees to the City on a quarterly basis for the remainder of the term and any renewals of the Agreement. The APES fee will be in addition to the approved green fee schedule. Collection of the APES fee will be effective 30 days following the adoption of this amendment by Council, to allow Ebit Golf time to re-program their point-of-sale systems.
In addition, this Amendment clarifies process and responsibility of programming the 5-year capital improvement plan between the City and Ebit Golf. The City, in its sole discretion, shall have the option to approve and fund the improvements.
Lastly, the Amendment clarifies performance requirements for the pruning of trees onsite by Ebit Golf. Ebit Golf will remove suckers, water sprouts and other undesirable growth on trees. Ebit Golf will also prune branches wherever they pose a problem to pedestrians, carts, or vehicles and comply with City ordinances governing tree trimming work and traffic control regulations.
The Amendment to the lease has been reviewed and approved by the City Attorney’s Office as to form.
ENVIRONMENTAL FINDING
Pursuant to California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines Section 15378, the First Amendment to the Lease Agreement for the lease of property does not qualify as a “project” for the purpose of CEQA.
LOCAL PREFERENCE
Local preference is not applicable because this is an amendment to an existing lease agreement.
FISCAL IMPACT
Approval of this Agreement has no impact to the General Fund as Riverside Golf Course operates an enterprise, utilizing 100% of the revenue generated at the facility to cover all operating and capital needs.
Attachments:
First Amendment
Lease Agreement