The 26 employees who keep the Pico Rivera Municipal Golf Course up and running may find themselves out of a job next week due to a $100,000 dispute with the city, the course’s manager said.
Scott Williams owns the La Cañada Flintridge-based GolfLinks Consulting, with which Pico Rivera has contracted for the past six years to manage the city-owned course. Williams said the company is reaching the end of its financial rope because the city has not paid roughly $100,000 it’s due since December — a claim the city disputes.
Michael Solorza, the city’s director of administrative services, said Pico Rivera is “up to date on all of our obligations.” He agreed there is $100,000 “in question,” but the city doesn’t owe anything. Rather, city officials refused to pay the whole bill because it included a number of “questionable” costs.
“Some of their costs were double and triple what was normal,” Solorza said. “From a finance standpoint, that sets off my auditor flags.”
Solorza said the company requested $277,000 to reimburse its operating expenses for December, and after a staff review of the expenses, the city agreed to pay only $177,000.
According to Williams, it usually costs about $120,000 to run the golf course per month. But December was different, he said, because the company had to take out loans and enlist a payroll company to make up for late payments from the city.
“We can only operate and manage the golf course (if) the city allows us to,” Williams said. “If they don’t finance it and take care of it on their end, we’re stuck with a lack of funds to operate efficiently.”
Solorza denies the city was ever late on payments. He said the only true allegation is that GolfLinks requested $100,000, which the city did not agree to pay.
“The city is current and has always been current,” he said. “We have always paid in a timely manner.”
Regardless of who is right, the standoff will have a significant impact on the course’s future.
Williams said the city’s refusal to pay the $100,000 has left so little room in the budget that any late payment could shutter the course. He said he submitted a request for February’s expenses on Thursday, and if the city doesn’t reimburse the company by Tuesday, the course will have to lay off staff.
If the city pays by that deadline, “we will be able to make payroll,” he said. “Otherwise, we’re forced to lay off employees due to the fact that we have no funding.”
Solorza said Williams has no reason to worry.
“We will reimburse them according to the predetermined timeline that we’ve always gone by,” he said.
But even if the golf course remains open, it will be under new management soon enough. The city gave GolfLinks a 90-day termination notice in February, as the scuffle continued. Solorza said the city is in the midst of a search for new management, which he expects will assume control of the golf course in mid-May.
“There’s a reason why we’re transitioning, and we’re going to try and find an operator that’s a better fit for our city and our golf course,” Solorza said.
It’s one point the two parties can agree on.
“We’re in total agreement of ending the contract,” Williams said. “For the past year and a half, they’ve tried to negotiate with us to change the contract, in order for us to take on all the liability of the golf course, and it just was no longer financially a situation that GolfLinks was able take on. We agree that this is the best solution.”
He added that, financial dispute aside, there’s no bad blood.
“When we stepped in there, in 2012, it was one of the worst golf course conditions and club houses that I’ve ever seen, and (the city council and GolfLinks) as a team have been able to bring that golf course to what it is now, which is quite nice,” Williams said, referring to a $200,000 remodel in 2014.
“It’s all been because of the City Council and their support, and their financial support to make all that work,” Williams said. “It’s been fun.”
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