On Thursday, June 22, Sun Valley Golf Course hosted its last rounds of golf. The nine-hole executive course in La Mesa has seen what other golf courses have experienced in the last few years \u2014 a decline in public interest for the sport.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe business in and of itself has slowed down and is not sustainable,\u201d said Mary Jane Gonzalez, who along with her husband Johnny have operated Sun Valley since 1997. \u201cWe\u2019ve pumped more money in here in the last couple years just to keep it going for the love of golf and for the love of this place because we\u2019ve been here so long. Our kids grew up here, the whole nine yards.\u201d<\/p>\n In addition to declining interest in golf, Gonzalez pointed to rising costs of doing business and rising water costs as other factors in closing Sun Valley.<\/p>\n \u201cThe upkeep for ball golf itself is tremendous, to keep a course the way golfers like to see it,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Sun Valley\u2019s five-year lease agreement with the city was supposed to expire in October, but the Gonzalez family had already decided to not renew another five years and requested to terminate the lease a year early and have been on a month-to-month agreement since March. Their plan was to stay open until October but business went down after it was announced the course would be closing and it was \u201csqueaking\u201d by on sometimes as little as $25 a day.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was tough to make the decision to be done, but it had to be done,\u201d Gonzalez said, adding that the only reason they stayed open past the agreement was to honor golfers who had already purchased multi-day passes and to host some tournaments that were already scheduled.<\/p>\n \u201cSome [golfers] have come by and expressed their grief about us closing, but it\u2019s still slow,\u201d Gonzalez said.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n City takes over<\/strong><\/p>\n On June 30, the city of La Mesa will take back responsibility of the 13-acre golf course and incorporate it back into MacArthur Park. Starting on that day, the course will be closed until an inspection and maintenance can be completed.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re going to transition,\u201d said Greg Humora, assistant city manager. \u201cWe\u2019re going to figure out, when the city comes on board, what the city is going to need to do \u2014 what the city\u2019s responsibilities are \u2014 because basically the keys get turned over to us.\u201d<\/p>\n Some of the immediate transition work has already been figured out. Tree and landscaping work will be done, maintenance on the irrigation system will be performed, and the ball and foot golf holes will be taken out because the city will not be upkeeping the tees and greens.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s the highest-cost maintenance aspect out here,\u201d Humora said, adding that the parks maintenance budget will not be affected because workers already maintain the other nine acres of MacArthur Park.<\/p>\n \u201cIt will cause stress a little with the schedules and routines, but we have mowers and crews already in place,\u201d he said. \u201cIt is something that we are prepared to take on.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u2018Central Park La Mesa\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n The city has been preparing for its takeover of the golf course since the Gonzalez family announced it wouldn\u2019t renew its lease. A City Council subcommittee, led by Vice Mayor Guy McWhirter and Councilmember Kristine Allesio, was formed to decide what to do with the added acres to MacArthur Park.<\/p>\n \u201cRight now, [the golf course] meets the needs of hundreds of people in La Mesa. We\u2019re asking, \u2018How can we meet the needs of thousands?\u2019 That is kind of the driving effort,\u201d McWhirter said. \u201cWhat can we do to make this a viable park where people will come and get involved?\u201d<\/p>\n A landscape architect has been hired to prepare a draft design of short-term uses for the added park space, which will include open space, a walking trail, new access points and some possible amenities, like a new disc golf course, a dog park and a community garden.<\/p>\n The city is also looking to partner with businesses to offset costs.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have people that are giving us presentations already saying, \u2018Hey here\u2019s what we can do to benefit the city and it could help us in what we\u2019re trying to do as well,\u2019\u201d McWhirter said.<\/p>\n Proposals already heard by the subcommittee include putting in a splash zone near the clubhouse; turning the clubhouse into a caf\u00e9 or restaurant; and creating a space for a wedding venue.<\/p>\n \u201cOnce the word got out [that the golf course was closing] \u2026 all of a sudden there was a huge interest from people and corporations approaching us and saying, \u2018What are you going to do? We could do some sort of development over there and everything,\u2019\u201d McWhirter said. \u201cBut we said from the very, very beginning that this is always going to be a park. There is no way this can turn into development or anything like that. It has to stay a park.\u201d<\/p>\n The city will soon announce the release of official request for proposals (RFPs), for partnerships with private businesses for ideas for the golf clubhouse, putting green and driving range areas of the course.<\/p>\n A presentation on the first phase design concept is scheduled for a public meeting in August.<\/p>\n As far as the long term future for the entire 22-acre MacArthur Park, an RFP for planning firms to perform an Opportunities and Constraints Study has been released and can be found by accessing the city\u2019s bid portal at cityoflamesa.com\/90\/Purchasing<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n The study is planned to look at the property and existing facilities to recommend ideas for its reuse, renovation and increased benefit to the community for park and recreation purposes. Public input will also be a part of the study.<\/p>\n The renovation and expansion of MacArthur Park is long overdue and once completed, the hope is that it will be utilized more than it is today.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is really an unknown gem,\u201d McWhirter said. \u201cThe location and the size could make this a Central Park La Mesa.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Goodbye\u00a0Sun](\"https:\/\/lamesacourier.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/web-MAIN-sun-valley.jpg\")
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