Even with the easing of the drought, golf course operators are finding it difficult to maintain course due to high water prices, and the Kern County Board of Supervisors will consider easing an agreement with a vendor to keep one golf course operational.
Sorenson Bros. Inc, which operates the county-owned North Kern Golf Course, has asked to reduce its promised $50,000 per year maintenance commitment to the 64-year-old course to about $10,000, to raise green fees and to shorten a year-long exit agreement to just six months.
North Kern Golf Course, located at 17412 Quality Road in Bakersfield, is 6,754-yard course that has been in play since 1953.
The company said it expects to pay $100,000 to water the course, and is looking for relief if that expense should significantly rise during the operating agreement. The county’s General Services Division has approved a revision to the lease, but the Board of Supervisors is expected to vote on the matter at its Tuesday afternoon meeting.
According to an amendment to an original agreement, the operating company can trigger an exit from the contract if irrigating the course exceeds $100,000 per year. Previously the company was required to give 365-day notice.
The county would also have final say on golf fees but that fees could rise on July 1 of each year, but the base of the fee increases would be formed from a consumer pricing index from the U.S. Department of Labor, but it would also ensure that there would be no decreases in fees through the term of the agreement.
Earlier this month, Rio Bravo Country Club moved to close the course based on the high cost of water and maintenance.
You can read the agreement here: http://www.co.kern.ca.us/clerk/minutes/bosagenda/2357625/2357646/2357654/2357715/2357869/Amendment%20No.%203%20to%20Golf%20Course2357869.pdf
