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TIM CURRAN
THE MID-COUNTY MEMO
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| Paul Slyman, left, Metro's Parks and Environmental Services Director and Jim Middaugh, communications director, field questions from the open house at Glendoveer Golf Course & Fitness Trail last month. |
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| Lydia Neill, right, Glendoveer property manager for Metro commits to making the “right” decisions for Glendoveer. |
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| An overflow crowd packed the Glendoveer Golf Course Pro Shop to talk to their Metro representatives about the future of their beloved golf course and fitness trail. Mid-county Memo photos/Tim Curran |
Even hotter were tempers of hundreds of Glendoveer defenders who showed up to stop what they perceived as the first step in a radical reshaping of the beloved 242-acre golf, tennis, recreation and restaurant complex, considered by many the crown jewel of east Portland's public facilities.
When they met again at an evening meeting in the golf course's pro shop last month, it was chilly inside and out.
Last August they were told in no uncertain terms to keep their hands off Glendoveer. Metro, who leases the facility to Glisan Street Recreation, had plans to eliminate nine holes, turn 18 holes into a tournament level course, and replace the tennis facility with a cart barn when GSR's lease expired at the end of the year.
Councilor Shirley Craddick, who will be east Portland's councilor after the May election cycle when new district boundaries take effect, was present with three other Metro representatives. Barbara Roberts, Metro's appointed lame-duck councilor for east Portland was at the August meeting, but not this one.
Craddick began the meeting reassuring the overflow crowd that Metro had reversed course and there are no radical changes, only improvements contemplated for Glendoveer. She said, “We learned very quickly that you want this place to be the way it is right now and I thank you for telling us how you feel about this place.”
The attendees seemed to believe Metro was not going to make fundamental changes. However, they remained skeptical over Metro's new claim to want to make only improvements.
Asked how much money Metro has put into the Glendoveer since they took it over 17 years ago, Paul Slyman, Metro's director of parks and environmental services admitted Metro's stewardship of Glendoveer has not been the best. “Metro's financial investment in this facility is not something we are necessarily proud of. We're going to do a better job. We didn't do the greatest job investing in this facility.”
He qualified his remark reminding the audience that Metro leases to Glisan Street Recreation, responsible for not only building and course maintenance, but $1.1 million dollars in capital improvements made 10 years ago at the beginning of the agreement.
Glisan Street Recreation owner Joe Hickey, who has run Glendoveer for 30 years, first for Multnomah County and now Metro, said his company will bid to continue. He said people love Glendoveer as much as he does and feel it is a big reason this part of Northeast Portland has not deteriorated quicker. “It's a very emotional issue for people out here because we, more than most, have seen our property values decline,” he said. “The lifestyle of East County has changed dramatically in ten years. It's a different world out here. And, we get treated like the red-headed step-child of Portland.”
Under the new arrangement, Slyman said Metro would seek a different type of business relationship, a contractual arrangement between a facility owner and operator. “Moving forward, we're changing the contractual relationship so Metro's more involved and the operator, whoever that might be, has some level of capital investment from Metro for these big items that I mentioned (leaking water tower, tennis facility roof, doors and building a cart barn). And for items that aren't quite as big as that would be something we negotiate in the contract,” Slyman said.
Lydia Neill, Glendoveer property manager said, “…we recognize that there are a lot of deferred maintenance issues here at Glendoveer. And I think Paul has made a commitment that we want to address as many of those as possible. And there are a number of different avenues we can try. Our commitment to you is we are going to try our very best to make the right decisions and to make improvements here.”
For the first time ever, Slyman said, a budget request of several hundreds of thousand dollars for major capital improvements in Glendoveer was made, but he would not say how much he asked for, putting council members in an awkward position if they cut his request. Slyman said he will continue to make annual budget requests to reinvest in the property: “We are trying to change our paradigm for how we fund Glendoveer.”
Metro is forming a citizens' review committee to help them craft the request for proposal and reviewing proposals. If you would like to volunteer call Neill at 503-797-1830 or email Lydia.neill@oregonmetro.gov.
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