City seeks partner to take over Pine View golf course

Business has lost $268,000 over 2 years

The city is proposing to get out of the golf business and hand its struggling Pine View Municipal Golf Course to a private partner.

Pine View has found it difficult to balance its budget, reporting financial losses of $135,000 in 2012 and $133,000 the year before, according to a report going to the community and protective services committee next week.

As a result, the city is now considering working with the National Capital Commission, which owns the land on Blair Road and leases it to the city for $1 a year, to put out a request for proposals that would, by 2013, test the market to see if anyone was interested in operating the course.

Pine View has struggled in recent years on several fronts. An auditor general’s report from 2011 found evidence of questionable transactions by its general manager and called for more oversight from the management board and the city’s finance department.

Discussions about finding a private partner have been happening for years. A successful candidate from the private sector would allow the NCC and the city to work out a new management structure, the report says. Of course, any decision about moving ahead with the RFP and finding a partner would need council’s support.

“The operation of a golf course is generally not a core service provided by municipalities, and this practice is not widespread,” according to the staff report. “In an area where there are several private sector golf courses in operation and a competitive market for golf, Pine View has found it difficult to remain affordable and maintain a balanced budget.”

The municipality inherited the course from the former municipalities of Gloucester and Ottawa. The deal between the city and the NCC expires in 2024 and there is no early termination clause for the city, according to the staff report. Only the NCC can kill the deal early.