City Council to discuss hiking golf course rates, approve resolution, hold CDBG hearing

Rodarmel asked that his proposal be on the agenda for Tuesday’s meeting. He is requesting a resolution that would establish a policy that the city’s general fund would not be used to advance funds to make up shortfalls in the golf course enterprise fund exceeding $100,000.

He is asking councilmembers to set a maximum amount of general fund monies ($100,000 per year) that could be used in the event that the golf course operations has a shortfall, this would include long-term debt, capital improvements, repair costs, or any other expense incurred or projected in any fiscal year.

Golf Course Rate Hikes   Council Agenda

If there is a projected shortfall in a fiscal year over the $100,000 cap then the city manager would have to seek council approval before any additional general fund dollars could be used on the golf course.

“I want a cap to help pay for it (golf course),” said Rodarmel. He also suggested that the city include a rate increase and an additional amount attached to an increase to create an asset replacement fund.

Councilmembers will also hear from golf course manager Rich Rhoads who will present councilmembers with a rate increase on all levels of play. The new rates would include an approximate 10-12 percent increase.

Figures he will present to council indicate that all of Lemoore’s current rates are in some cases significantly lower that most courses, including Visalia’s Valley Oaks Golf Course, a city-owned facility.

For example, Visalia’s 18-hole weekday rate is $28 per found while Lemoore’s is $23. Rhoads is recommending an increase to $25 per round. The weekend rate for Visalia is $35. Lemoore’s is $29, prompting a proposed increase to $32.

Despite the proposed increases, Lemoore’s rates will still be less than Visalia.

Rhoads is also recommending rate adjustments in the monthly prices, increasing a monthly individual rate to $140 from the current $125. The family rate per month will increase from $170 to $190. The single monthly is still well below Valley Oaks rate of $165.

In other agenda items, the city will conduct a public hearing to determine possible projects as it considers applying for the latest Community Development Block Grant (CDBG). A year ago, due to a city snafu, Lemoore lost out on a bid to obtain a CDBG grant to help rehabilitate the Senior Citizen Center, which at the time was in dire need of funding.

The total amount of funding available in CDBG funds this year is $28,540,278 and applicants are allowed to submit one grant application totaling not more than $2,000,000.

Last year, the City applied for a Public Facility Improvement Grant in the amount of

$963,200 for the rehabilitation of the Lemoore Senior Center and a grant in the amount of $382,700 for a restaurant incubator.

In previous years the city has been the recipient of CDBG funding which helped rehabilitate the Antlers Hotel, Generations Day Care, Westside Water Tank, Lemoore Teen and Senior Centers, Curb-Cuts, a Microenterprise Façade Improvement Program and Public Improvements in Support of New Housing for Cinnamon Villas, as well as Planning and Technical Assistance Grants for a Senior Housing Needs and Reuse/Feasibility Study of the Antler Hotel, a Citywide Housing Study, a Medical Needs Assessment Study, and a Commercial Reuse Study.