COMMENT 332198P
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2012-10-16 08:38 PM |
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Was there no oversight of the Parks & Rec., no review of the rental contract, $1/ year which could then be turned around into a big moneymaker for the lessee/Elings? I don't play tennis but this sounds fishy.
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COMMENT 332206
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2012-10-16 08:56 PM |
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This is pretty shocking. I had no idea the city had turned the Las Positas Tennis Courts into an exclusive country club.
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COMMENT 332207
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2012-10-16 08:56 PM |
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Fuggedabout it...
Plenty of room out at Muni courts.
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COMMENT 332228P
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2012-10-16 10:57 PM |
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More facilities for the 1%.
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COMMENT 332235P
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2012-10-17 01:41 AM |
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Elings Park has always been about the money. Look at their "Epdog" program. Only a few years ago, it was $45 a year per dog for a tag (allowing off-leash use of Park). Now it is $110 (or thereabouts) ---for one dog, and not much less than that for a second dog. That sure weeds out a lot of riffraff (meant sardonically). Greedy and money-grubbing. I hope they are never allowed to go through with any of their development schemes. Seems some new proposal to ruin that land comes up every year. I am not at all surprised at this latest mercenary development. Off now to sign the petition.
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COMMENT 332250P
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2012-10-17 07:26 AM |
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Elings has a pattern of taking public monies (South park was purchased in part with over half million of taxpayer funds) and then turning the use into whatever elings wants, despite the recorded agreements or deeds. The epdog shakedown is a great example- though the extensive damage to the trails and chapparal has been done by bikes, ask elings how much they charge bike riders to ride--nothing. Yet the dogs are charged over $100/yr?!
Tennis people, nip this in the bud-
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COMMENT 332257
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2012-10-17 07:47 AM |
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They raised dog prices too. New or lapsed members may purchase a tag for $125 for the first dog. Additional tags are $115 for each.2011 EPDOG members may renew all tags for $100 each. All EPDOG tags expire on December 31. Please register or renew in person at the Elings Park adminstrative office.
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COMMENT 332283
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2012-10-17 08:14 AM |
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The lease agreement sounded fishy when it was done, and now it seems that the City created a situation where Elings can do whatever they want with the courts. Where are the Parks and Rec people and what are they doing about this situation. If nothing, then why are we still employing them? I support alternative management for this facility with some reasonable rates for the players.
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MESAJIM
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2012-10-17 10:15 AM |
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Tim: If you haven't already, I would suggest contacting Alice at The Mesa Paper. She will probably be happy to interview you & include this story in the upcoming November issue, if you hurry. That should get LOTS of signatures & attention to this. She's at 845-6870 or themesapaper@gmail.com. Tell her Mesa Jim sent you.
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RDH
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2012-10-17 11:36 AM |
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Another example that "privatization" is not necessarily a good thing. For-Profit Companies are just that, we have seen what happens when there are no checks and controls with the Wall Street debacle. I find it extremely worrisome that our civil "servants" are often so eager to turn over their responsibilities and duties to private enterprise. And if they do, one would hope that they have the foresight to make sure that we, the taxpayers, do not get exploited. But that is probably hoping for too much.
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COMMENT 332407
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2012-10-17 12:56 PM |
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I'm not going to cry for the public tennis club-- it wasn't friendly to city residents who show up just to play unless you were a regular "member" there. Oak park has free courts and there are others in Goleta.
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COMMENT 332421
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2012-10-17 01:12 PM |
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Elings Park will not explain the fee increases beyond saying that they don't receive tax dollars. That's been there answer to any question for months now. However, the best estimates to run the las positas tennis courts as budget neutral would be considerably under the projected membership fee they are asking. So where is the extra money from membership fees going toward when Elings is a non-profit? Elings talks about projects long into the future they said would be covered by donors, but our memberships are supposed to cover operational costs, not expand the premises. At first Elings said no money would go to Oceanside School of Tennis but now half the membership fees will go them? For what? Elings won't answer.
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COMMENT 332524
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2012-10-17 03:11 PM |
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Kick Elings the heck out of SB!
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COMMENT 332533
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2012-10-17 03:26 PM |
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Bulgarians are famous for their bribing skills. I'm sure at least one of you tennis players is a lawyer. Threaten to sue to have the non-profit status of Elings Park taken away. Easy peasy...the American Way.
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COMMENT 332567
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2012-10-17 04:08 PM |
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Elings says the proposed fees are comparable to similar facilities in the area. HAHAHA! The only similar facilities in the area are the city courts, high schools and UCSB, and what do those cost. Not $820 year. My wife and I could join the Polo Club under a family membership and it would cost less than LP. I hope the lease expires, they kick out the money grubbing tennis school, and they let a volunteer group manage the courts and take care of the maintenance. Put membership at $200/year or $7 / day and that should cover whatever is needed. We pay taxes which go to Parks/Rec and that should cover the costs for court and parking lot surface improvements. That place is going to be ghost town after the existing, not outrageously expensive memberships expire at the end of the year. When the sanity returns, so will I.
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COMMENT 332533
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2012-10-17 04:15 PM |
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$40 per day is even more than a resident would pay for a weekend round of golf at Muni. Simply ridiculous.
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COMMENT 332621
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2012-10-17 06:26 PM |
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Easy. Stop playing tennis there for one year.
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COMMENT 332766
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2012-10-18 09:09 AM |
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This is absurd - thanks for bringing this to the attention of the public, OP! Is it true they have an enforced dress code?? Read that in one of the opinion articles posted on the site...that is even MORE absurd!!!
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COMMENT 333386
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2012-10-19 03:43 PM |
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This event (i.e the privatizing of a public facility) does not pass the smell test. The public loses by any measure.
But somebody will gain. This was an illegal transaction in that the action taken by the city did not meet the Brown Act requirements. There was no public notice, no public meeting announced, it was essentially "sub rosa". Somebody will gain by this sneaky lease transaction and I suspect the payoff will be downstream in a few years under the cloud of passing time.
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COMMENT 332421
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2012-10-22 06:47 AM |
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The dress code appears to be designed to target regulars who play in the afternoon hours. So far, one player has been banished by Eligns for not adhering to the dress code. The Oceanside staff have been combative about it as well, who Eligns say came up with the dress code. In my opinion this is all part of concealed effort to run players out of the facility so that more courts open up for Oceanside to move their program from the Double Tree. Public tennis goes against their financial interest to expand their academy or relocate it exclusively to Las Positas.
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