The Case For Keeping Sharp Park

[David_Tepper]

Excellent column in today's SF Chronicle:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/09/15/EDUJ19N243.DTL

[Joel_Stewart]

Step by step the argument for keeping Sharp Park open is coming together.  A full report and recomendation will come out by the end of the year, but it appears that golfers are winning.   Hopefully this will not go to litagation.

[Steve Lapper]

David & Joel,

   The Sharp Park fight is a worthy one and needs all of our support. In that vein, I am taking the liberty of cut & pasting a recent e-mail from a good friend, Richard Harris , one of the campaign's primary advocates. If anyone should feel so inclined, please feel free to contact him and help out any way you might wish.



Golf in San Francisco, and the city's public golf courses, are under siege by a tag-team of golf-haters and environmental extremists who are pressuring the San Francisco Board of Supervisors to close public golf courses, starting with the historic Alister MacKenzie-designed Sharp Park Golf Course, which they want to
convert to a frog and snake preserve.  This is San Francisco, and this is no joke.  For a detailed description of the ongoing political battle over Sharp Park, see the stories collected on the "News and Resources" page of the Public Golf Alliance webpage:  http://www.sfpublicgolf.com/news.html <http://www.sfpublicgolf.com/news.html>
 
In defense of golf's great legacy in San Francisco, we have formed the San Francisco Public Golf Alliance, a California non-profit public benefit corporation registered and organized for charitable purposes.  Its purposes include researching and educating the public about recreational facilities in San Francisco, including specifically the beneficial aspects of the historic municipal golf courses.  There is substantial historical, scientific, cultural, recreational, financial, and community data that needs to be collected, analyzed and provided to the public, to the media, and to policy and decision makers about such facilities.  We need your help to collect and provide this information as a public benefit for all.
 
To support these eforts, we have scheduled a fundraiser Thursday October 22, from 6 to 8:30 p.m. at the Sharp Park Golf Course Clubhouse.
 
We need your help with our efforts, starting with your attendance at the October 22 meeting, and a financial contribution. 
At the fundraiser, contributions will be donor's choice:   

Senior/Junior: $25
Par: $100
Birdie: $250
Eagle: $500
Ace: $1,000 or More

If you cannot attend the fundraiser--or if you can make an advance donation--we request your generous contributions, which can be made in two ways:
1) Donate online through PayPal <https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&amp;hosted_button_id=7949394>
2) Mail your donation, payable to the San Francisco Public Golf Alliance: C/O Lauren Barr, Treasurer, 2840 Jackson Street, San Francisco, CA 94115
 
The Alliance has submitted applications for exemption from tax to the IRS as an organization described in Internal Revenue Code Section 501(c)(3) and to the Franchise Tax Board as an organization described in California Revenue & Taxation Code Section 23701d.  Once the Alliance receives the recognition of tax exemption letters from the IRS and FTB, all donations made to the Alliance from the inception date of the Alliance will be tax deductible to the donors.
 
All friends of golf are welcome, so please forward this email along to your friends.

RSVP to the fundraiser by replying to this email. We look forward to seeing you on October 22. 

Best Regards,

Richard Harris
Richard@erskinetulley.com

San Francisco Public Golf Alliance <http://www.sfpublicgolf.com/>
Support the Alliance with a PayPal Donation Today <https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&amp;hosted_button_id=7949394>

[Tim Liddy]

This is very encouraging. Richard Harris deserves a great deal of credit for his hard work and devotion Sharp Park and golf in San Fransico. The Sharp Park Golf Course definitely needs to be restored to its previous glory.

[Bill_McBride]

I'm curious about how the City has cooked the books to make it look like Sharp Park loses money.  I'd love to see the analysis by this woman who wrote the article.

[Joel_Stewart]

Yes Richard Harris deserves much of the credit.  He and I have discussed a number of times that this is one of the most complicated land use issues ever contemplated.  San Francisco has delayed their reports numerous times because the park and rec department just can not figure it out.

On another note, Richard Harris and many others feel this issue could be a litmus test on attacks to close golf courses throughout the country.  So those golfers in the other 49 states outside of California should watch this development unfold and give $5 or $10 to assist in this struggle.   Sadly but honestly the dollars are not going to improve the golf course (that effort will come later), but to pay environmental lawyers, land use consultants and political consultants.

[Lou_Duran]

Perhaps Ran or Ben will allow this site to receive funds via PayPal or mail and earmark them for this endeavor.  There might be some of the 1500 "members" who may wish to donate, but remain anonymous (and off donor mailing lists).

[Joel_Stewart]

People can donate directly on their web site,

http://www.sfpublicgolf.com/contact.html

If you would like to donate something else or have questions, feel free to contact me directly.

joelstewart@gmail.com