Santa Clara County Grand Jury
• 2008-2009
2008-2009 Santa Clara County Civil Grand Jury Report Los Lagos Golf Course – San Jose’s Financial
⚠️ Translation Notice: This content has been automatically translated. The original English text is the official version. Translation may contain errors.
⚠️ Este contenido ha sido traducido automáticamente. El texto original en inglés es la versión oficial. La traducción puede contener errores.
Findings and Recommendations 6 findings
F1
The City decided to construct another municipal golf course at a time when six other golf courses were under construction and the surrounding communities already had municipal or public access courses. The expected total annual rounds of golf to be played have fallen short of the expectations contained in the original feasibility studies.
Related Recommendations (1)
R1
Prior to making critical decisions the City Manager must furnish the City Council with current feasibility studies. The information should include a City staff review of all assumptions made in the study for accuracy and conformance to existing City policy and procedures (e.g., living and prevailing wage rates, labor hours, cost-of-borrowing, etc).
F2
The cost of labor for operations and maintenance of the golf course was found to have been underestimated by the feasibility studies by about 33,000 labor hours resulting in $570,000 annually. The City Manager has failed to provide an explanation whether this was the fault of the original study, failure of verification by City staff, or lack of operational oversight.
Related Recommendations (1)
R2
The City Manager should investigate the reasons behind the increased labor costs of the project, which has had a significant impact on the structural deficit. The City Manager should change and apply policy to reflect any lessons learned.
F3
At the time the construction bids were opened, an unanticipated 31% increase in construction cost was revealed.
Related Recommendations (1)
R3
The City Manager should ensure that all departments develop and rigorously follow policies that require: • Project studies to be updated to reflect the impact of “scope creep” on cost • Additional approval cycle if cost increases exceed a predetermined percentage of the total 9
F4
At the time a decision was reached to approve the master plan, the feasibility study was one year old and had not been updated.
Related Recommendations (1)
R4
Prior to making critical decisions the City Manager must furnish the City Council with current feasibility studies. The information should include a City staff review of all assumptions made in the study for accuracy and conformance to existing City policy and procedures (e.g., living and prevailing wage rates, labor hours, cost-of-borrowing, etc).
F5
Although there were significant increases of amenities and construction costs, the City Council and City Manager failed to readdress whether or not the golf course would be financially self-sustaining.
Related Recommendations (1)
R5
The City Manager should ensure that all departments develop and rigorously follow policies that require: • Project studies to be updated to reflect the impact of “scope creep” on cost • Additional approval cycle if cost increases exceed a predetermined percentage of the total
F6
The City Council and City Manager have failed to identify any viable solutions to mitigate the ongoing golf course deficit.
Related Recommendations (1)
R6
The City Manager should provide information to the public as to proposed alternatives or solutions to the golf course deficits at Los Lagos and Rancho del Pueblo.
Conclusions 9
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CL1 Page 9The City decided to construct another municipal golf course at a time when six other golf courses were under construction and the surrounding communities already had municipal or public access courses. The expected total annual rounds of golf to be played have fallen short of the expectations contained in the original feasibility studies.
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CL2 Page 9The cost of labor for operations and maintenance of the golf course was found to have been underestimated by the feasibility studies by about 33,000 labor hours resulting in $570,000 annually. The City Manager has failed to provide an explanation whether this was the fault of the original study, failure of verification by City staff, or lack of operational oversight.
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CL3 Page 9At the time the construction bids were opened, an unanticipated 31% increase in construction cost was revealed.
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CL4 Page 10At the time a decision was reached to approve the master plan, the feasibility study was one year old and had not been updated.
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CL5 Page 10Although there were significant increases of amenities and construction costs, the City Council and City Manager failed to readdress whether or not the golf course would be financially self-sustaining.
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CL6 Page 10The City Council and City Manager have failed to identify any viable solutions to mitigate the ongoing golf course deficit.
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CL7 Page 9Project studies to be updated to reflect the impact of “scope creep” on cost
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CL8 Page 9Additional approval cycle if cost increases exceed a predetermined percentage of the total 9 Finding 4 At the time a decision was reached to approve the master plan, the feasibility study was one year old and had not been updated.
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CL9 Page 9Additional approval cycle if cost increases exceed a predetermined percentage of the total Finding 6 The City Council and City Manager have failed to identify any viable solutions to mitigate the ongoing golf course deficit.
No Responses Found 1
Government entities assigned to respond to this report. No response documents have been linked in our database.
San Jose
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