PITTSBURG — City Council members directed staff to explore options to sell off half of the Delta View Golf Course to a developer, despite a public poll in which the voters chose three other options over the economic development option.
Despite significant public testimony in favor of either a golf course or a multi-sports recreation facility, City Council members unanimously approved selling 75 to 100 acres of the 175-acre course to a developer.
The Delta View Golf Course closed in February following years of mismanagement and significant deferred maintenance by Delta View Golf Course LLC. Additionally, the management company settled a several personal injury suits for slips and falls, $100,000 in an ADA lawsuit settlement and still owes $70,000 in outstanding water bills and $11,000 in other bills.
Councilman Sal Evola recalled when the City Council ended subsidies to the golf course in 2007. The city of Antioch continues to subsidize its golf course, which needs $300,000 to $400,000 a year, Evola said.
The years of deferred maintenance and repairs that would be needed to bring the property into ADA compliance would amount to nearly $1.1 million, City Manager Joe Sbranti said.
“That would just bring it up to a standard where the operator has a chance to get to a break-even level,” Sbranti added.
It appears that Camp Stoneman’s 71-year history as a golf course is coming to a close. Right as the golf course closure was announced, the city was inundated with questions and suggestions and decided to poll the public to come up with ideas.
A public poll on EngagePittsburg.com asked 311 respondents to place 10 points into four different options for the golf course. Residents chose between Golf Course and Events, with maybe a banquet facility; Economic Development and Employment Opportunities, such as a business park or hotel; Diverse Recreational Opportunities, such as a baseball diamond or gymnasium; or Other Public Uses, which includes a nine-hole course, trails or an exercise course.
The golf course and events venue option received 1,748 points, which was over 56 percent of the points allotted.
The multi-sports facility option received 748 points, or 24.1 percent of the vote. Over the past two decades, the city has lost numerous community centers, the staff report said.
Marshall Collins, head of the Dream Sports Academy, said that more than a thousand kids in his youth sports academy have nowhere to go in Pittsburg.
“These kids have nowhere to go. Recreation was taken away from them a long time ago… after school, what do you want these kids to do?” Collins asked at a City Council meeting on Monday night.
Staff analyzed the demographics of the responses and stated that residents over the age of 50 overwhelmingly supported keeping the 18-hole golf course. Respondents under the age of 50 overwhelmingly favored the multi-sports recreation facility.
City Council members all expressed support for replacing the numerous recreational opportunities that have disappeared from Pittsburg over the decades.
The direction given to staff was to explore the economic development option and the city has already received an inquiry from the developers that built the 53-mile Trans Bay cable from Pittsburg to San Francisco. SteelRiver Operations and TransBay Funding sent a letter to the city showing interest in building a 100-acre technology park that could attract data centers to the city, the letter read.
According to the developers, the city was uniquely situated with its power and fiber infrastructure in the Bay Area.
Mayor Pete Longmire echoed what appeared to be the sentiment from the City Council that night.
“I am not in support of, nor will I vote for putting additional money into the golf course as I see it today. We need to do things differently than what we have before. We should not be afraid to step out and rip the Band-Aid off and say something that may not be popular,” Longmire said. “Hopefully, some economic development will come to be and I do believe we need an event center, a community center and a facility that’s going to house sports.”