FYI: There is a lot of detail here, so it is MUCH EASIER to read and make sense of on a laptop/tablet/desktop computer, rather than your cell phone.
Updated February 22nd, 2023 at 2:00 pm
I received an email on Tuesday evening with some VERY important information from Shirley Stealey, President, Highland Gardens Civic Association about their Meeting TONIGHT, Wednesday, re #Orangebrook GC:
The Ernie Els Design group, the GCF and PPG development team will all present their ideas @ 7:00 pm, McNicol Community Center, 1411 S. 28th Ave., #HollywoodFL
Save Orangebrook Golf Course, aka @SOrangebrook tweeted today:
#HollywoodFL residents: Please take a look, sign & retweet this petition to say No to High Density Housing on Hollywood FL’s Orangebrook Golf Course (A parks & Rec land) #Broward #saveorangebrook
https://www.change.org/p/sign-this-petition-to-ban-high-density-housing-on-hollywood-fl-orangebrook-golf-courseThe final design will be selected on March 1st probably 3pm City Hall, and Mayor Levy / our Commissioners will decide on the last minute High Density Housing, which was never part of the vote, nor any step of the 3-4 year process till the Best & Final Offer Stage!
The Mayor & Commissioners decided on a continuance after a marathon 6+ hour City Hall Meeting last month, when we heard the BFO’s, I’ll be speaking on behalf of all my neighbors who can’t make a weekday meeting in the middle of the day Please retweet
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Latest developments regarding the Orangebrook Golf Course, P3's and how the elected Hollywood City Commission and the bureaucrats at Hollywood City Hall are, once again, trying to change historical reality and thwart the public's very clear wishes and desires for that important "open" space in southern #HollywoodFL.
Bound by Pembroke Road to the south, I-95 to the east and S. Park Road to the west, this property represents one of the largest open, undeveloped areas in all of southern Broward County that is actually NEAR anything or anyone, as opposed to the large swaths of semi-agricultural or industrial land in western Broward so far from humans that it might as well be Mars.
That is, IF Mars was not just hot and humid, but swampy and full of millions of irritating, useless iguanas.
You don't have to be a regular recreation level golfer or visitor to the Orangebrook's golf course and clubhouse, or even be much of an environmentalist to appreciate that having open places in the city that are NOT covered up by either asphalt or concrete is a very positive thing.
Especially in a county like Broward that continues to count as "open/green space" the surface area of local canals, creeks, and lakes in order to tweak the numbers and make the numbers look more impressive than what first-hand observation tells us as we make our way from Point A to Point B.
Some of you more regular visitors to this blog over the past 17 years may recall from several pointed blog posts in the past that this peculiar accounting practice was one of the things that places like traffic-intensive Hallandale Beach used to submit to the county and state to goose-up their data prior to the passing of the city's Park Bonds issue several years ago.
That overwhelming public vote led to a large increase in the amount of actual recognizable "parks" and recreational facilities in Hallandale Beach, though, of course, most people I know in the city who closely follow things at HB City Hall also voiced lots of frustration that it had taken SO LONG to get something nice and quantum leaps better than the old facilities their own kids had to use and put up with. them and their own family to actually use.
As I and many other local civic activists in HB said publicly at the time about this accounting trick, it was sometimes as if the city and the county truly believed the fantastical data they told the public, and that it would be nothing for local residents to simply walk or bike across a canal or lake to get to the other side.
Yes, as if the bureaucrats somehow equated sitting on the grass on the west side of the Intracoastal near the Walmart on Hallandale Beach Blvd. to an actual walk in a park like the county's T.Y. Park or Anne Kolb Nature Center on Sheridan Street, to get away from the constant noise and congestion of South Florida.
So, all of that history, plus what has taken place the past two years-plus with The Related Group's incompatible 1301 plan for Ocean Drive on Hollywood Beach, serves as a predicate for better understanding what I'm sharing with you today regarding the current situation at Orangebrook and what the battle for that land really represents to me and many of you.
Reminder: the award for the Orangebrook Revitalization Project has been pushed back to the March 1st Hollywood City Commission Meeting!
Received this email from the Hollywood Lakes Civic Association today about Orangebrook
The following is an updated, slightly-edited excerpt of an email that I sent out over Super Bowl weekend to a trusted friend and fellow Hollywood civic activist who also happens to be the head of their particular Hollywood neighborhood Civic Association:
Your comments on Nextdoor about the developing situation with the city's plans for Orangebrook were right on target, as usual.
Reading them, at bottom, it sounded like every other conversation that you and I have had in-person or over the phone the past 4-5 years, regardless of the individual issue, not just how poorly the City of Hollywood has managed P3's the past few years.
This link is from a December 2021 blog post of mine re the mess the city was making of the P3 process with respect to the Hollywood Beach Golfcourse and Clubhouse project.
Why is tonight's 6 pm Hollywood Beach Golf Course and Clubhouse Project meeting being held virtually?
So that it's easier for vendors/contractors, and more difficult for taxpayer citizens?
Because it conforms to the city's new unspoken policy of putting citizens last.
The tweet thread below is from last week, adding more pieces of the puzzle to what was/is taking place at Orangebrook.
Though there have been many sad and pathetic self-serving scenes played out in public by people at City Hall the past few years, few are worse than the part in our story wherein certain of the city's bureaucrats and Dept. heads show nothing but contempt for the public, alternating between condescending or patronizing attitudes towards the public when they deign to publicly make known their feelings that the city is going in the completely WRONG direction.
And yet as you and I have discussed dozens of times, THEY love to play the role of victim when concerned residents like Cat Uden or I or you simply use the known facts, public docs and govt. video to hold a mirror up to them and their many past broken promises, and share our knowledge and insight with the public and the South Florida news media.
That's a large part of why Cat and I and others are persona non grata to so many at Hollywood City Hall.
C'est la vie!
The city's thin-skinned Disinformation Dept. are NOT used to being in the verbal line-of-fire, especially with reporters watching, but I can guarantee you that will increasingly become the reality for them starting in the next week, once I have finished writing and memorializing some facts and points that many folks in town seem to have either forgotten or never quite known as well as you and I do.
Dave
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As you can see below, there's plenty of historical precedent in Hollywood for not only real estate developer efforts to build housing upon the Orangebrook Golf Course, and take that open space away from the public that it belongs to, but plenty of proof regarding the willingness of the Hollywood City Commission voting against the wishes of Hollywood residents or their own staff -or both- when it comes to that golf course.
That's what informs what I'm always telling people about the elected officials and city bureaucrats here in Hollywood, and the culture there.
There's what they say.
There's what they do.
And then there's what they do and say AFTER they hear from the lobbyists.
Wish that weren't true, but there's no use pretending otherwise when making plans, strategies or brainstorming about how to improve the city's long-term Quality of Life for residents and stakeholders.
Dave
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Miami Herald
DEVELOPER WANTS TO BUILD ON GOLF COURSE TARGET SITE: HOLLYWOOD'S ORANGEBROOK
By ANNE MARTINEZ, Herald Staff Writer
April 9, 1998
Developer Michael Swerdlow is shopping around plans to build a corporate headquarters for HIP Health Plan on part of Hollywood's Orangebrook Golf Course.
City leaders said Wednesday that Swerdlow is looking to lease about 40 acres of land on the 36-hole golf course, at Park Road south of Hollywood Boulevard, to build an 800,000-square-foot facility for about 800 employees of the prominent insurance company.
In return, Swerdlow would spend $8.5 million to build a city sports park and a new clubhouse on the golf course's property, as well as rebuild the remaining 18-holes into a championship course.
``It's a very dramatic project,'' said Hollywood City Commissioner Dick Blattner. ``I'm really excited about this.''
Swerdlow could not be reached for comment Wednesday. But the mega-developer, who built the Hollywood Mall and Oakwood Plaza among several other South Florida developments, has talked about his plans with commissioners and some members of the community.
Members of Hollywood's Park East Civic Association are scheduled to hear a presentation of the plans at an organization meeting April 21.
Tom Lander, acting president of the civic association, said he was concerned about using park land for a commercial development.
``I don't feel it'll be in the best interest of the city to give up open space,'' Lander said. ``He had a lot of land and now that he ran out of places to develop, he wants our land.''
HIP Health Plan has some offices across the street from where Swerdlow would like to build the new headquarters. Swerdlow has not submitted any specific plans to the city.
George Keller, director of development administration for the city of Hollywood, said he was not familiar with Swerdlow's plans, but in past months has heard talks about using a portion of Orangebrook land for development.
Blattner said the project would be a boon for Hollywood, generating about $500,000 a year in property taxes.
Mayor Mara Giulianti also said she was intrigued by the project.
``I told him I thought the plans should be brought forward to a public hearing,'' said Giulianti, who added Swerdlow said he was seeking full support from commissioners before moving forward. ``I said we would really have to find out how the community felt.''
Commissioner Sal Oliveri, however, said he would not support a plan that would take away open space.
``I'm totally against taking open space for commercial buildings,'' Oliveri said.
In 1996, Hollywood voters shot down a $37 million parks bond issue that included a controversial proposal to eliminate nine holes from Orangebrook to create a multi-sports complex. Some residents voted against the bond issue because it included the Orangebrook plan.
Swerdlow's proposal to enter into a long-term lease with the city would require a four-fifths vote from the commission.
Giulianti, who supported a long-term lease of city-owned land for the Diamond on the Beach project, said Swerdlow's proposal, however, may be best placed before voters on a referendum.
Miami Herald
FIRM GETS NEW CHANCE TO PUT COURSE ON PAR
By Jerry Berrios
June 3, 2004
Despite objections from Hollywood's parks director and city manager and more than two hours of discussion, a majority of Hollywood commissioners Wednesday decided to give the company currently managing Orangebrook Golf & Country Club another chance.
By a vote of 4-3, Hollywood commissioners extended the management contract with Golf Hollywood! for another 18 months. Vice Mayor Beam Furr and Commissioners Cathy Anderson, Keith Wasserstrom and Fran Russo voted for the extension. Mayor Mara Giulianti and Commissioners Peter Bober and Sal Oliveri voted against it.
Furr suggested the extension because he said he knows the company can do the job. Golf Hollywood! also maintains Hollywood Beach Golf and Country Club and Eco Grande Golf Course, which officials agreed are in good shape.
``I don't want to go to a full renewal,'' Furr said. ``I'll be honest. I don't think they deserve it yet.''
City officials will now negotiate an 18-month contract with Golf Hollywood! in which the company would get a fixed fee and the city would buy course equipment. The city currently shares the Orangebrook profits with Golf Hollywood!
The current contract, which started in August 1997, was to expire on July 31.
Dave Flaherty, Hollywood's director of parks, recreation and cultural arts, showed commissioners photos of weeds in the fairways, greens with patches, and tee boxes with weeds and no grass.
He suggested the city seek a new company to manage Orangebrook's two 18-hole golf courses.
During the past three years, the city has spent $1.1 million upgrading the club's west course.
Orangebrook is at 400 Entrada Dr., south of Hollywood Boulevard and west of Interstate 95. The course opened in 1935.
David Lottes, of Golf Hollywood!, acknowledged that Orangebrook hasn't been maintained properly, but that's because of a lack of maintenance money.
Flaherty said at one point that he went to Lottes and asked him whether he needed more maintenance money for the courses, but Lottes declined. Lottes said he wanted to stay within the city's contract.
City Manager Cameron Benson told commissioners that Lottes has not fulfilled the current contract.
``It hasn't happened,'' Benson said. ``. . . I don't think it is going to happen in an 18-month period.
Miami Herald
DIAMOND IN THE ROUGH
By Jerry Barrios
June 6, 2004
When Tom Parker stepped onto the links at Orangebrook Golf and Country
Club in 1957, he said he found them beautiful.
``It was well-maintained,'' said Parker, a Hollywood dentist. ``There
weren't weeds in the fairway. It was a golfer's paradise.''
That's a far cry from today's condition. Weeds have taken over the
fairways and tee boxes. Putting greens have bare patches.
Last week, after Hollywood's parks director and city manager
recommended looking for a new operator, a majority of Hollywood
commissioners gave the current management company, Golf Hollywood!, 18
months to turn things around at the city-owned golf club.
In an era of immaculately manicured golf courses, many on Broward
County's western fringe, a core of players has stuck with Orangebrook
despite its shortcomings. Fathers have taught their sons, daughters
and grandchildren the game on its ragged fairways. Friends have had
the same weekly tee time for years, growing old together on the links.
``I still love the course, but I only play it because it's
convenient,'' Parker said. ``It's five blocks away from my home. But
when I really want to play a good course, I go somewhere else.''
Richard Nortmann has played at Orangebrook since 1956, and he says the
links have always struggled.
``It was never lush because the city never spent the required sum. I
don't know why,'' he said before hitting his tee shot on the west
course's 12th hole.
Nortmann said he isn't bothered by unkempt tees or weed-infested fairways.
``We just move our ball out of the rough stuff and play it,'' he said.
Nortmann, who plays Orangebrook three times a week, says it's the
greens that get him.
``I like nice greens,'' he said.
Orangebrook opened in 1935 and over the years expanded to two 18-hole
golf courses.
In the late '50s, when Nortmann and Parker started playing at
Orangebrook, the Hollywood Beach Golf and Country Club was the only
other course in the city.
Parker said he saw Jack Nicklaus play at Orangebrook during the Golden
Bear's amateur days.
Other golf legends who reportedly hit the Hollywood links: Ben Hogan,
Sam Snead and Byron Nelson.
NOT THE MASTERS
Orangebrook was the spot for lunches, dinners, dances, weddings and
parties, Parker said. It is nothing of the sort today.
But loyal golfers, like Nortmann, still remain. He played last
Wednesday and the bill for his greens fees and cart rental came to
$17.
``You can't expect the Masters when you're paying $17,'' Nortmann said.
Last Wednesday, Nortmann hooked up for a game with Gene Herman, who
has been playing at Orangebrook for 12 years, and Jim Riggi, who has
been playing the course for four years.
``It's convenient,'' Riggi said. ``The price is reasonable for
Hollywood residents. Living on Social Security, I'm able to afford to
play golf.''
The golfers said they play other courses during the summer, when rates
are the cheapest, but they are Orangebrook members.
For them, it's about cost, convenience and camaraderie.
In the past, there was a proposal to build a movie studio at
Orangebrook's driving range. Developer Michael Swerdlow wanted to move
and expand HIP Health Plan of Florida's Hollywood locale to the site.
In February 2000, Hollywood voters overwhelmingly approved a
referendum that prohibits using the land of the city's three golf
courses for parks, office buildings or any other development.
Parker, who said his son and grandson learned to play golf at
Orangebrook, spearheaded a group of residents who fought to keep it
intact.
In November, voters may be asked to weigh in on whether to use 40 of
Orangebrook's 255 acres for a sports park with soccer and
baseball/softball fields.
Orangebrook, at 400 Entrada Dr., south of Hollywood Boulevard and west
of Interstate 95, behind the police station, would be left with an
18-hole west course and a nine-hole east course. The sports park would
be in the southeast corner of the site, north of Pembroke Road and
west of I-95.
A similar referendum floated in 1996 failed.
LOSING MONEY
In the past, Orangebrook has lost money and the city has had to make
it up from its general fund, Commissioner Cathy Anderson said.
``I can't remember when Orangebrook has made money,'' said Anderson, a
Hollywood history buff.
The city and Golf Hollywood! share in Orangebrook's profits, with the
city receiving 66 percent of the net proceeds.
From August 1997 to July 2003, that amounted to $1.1 million for the
city. In addition, Hollywood collected $762,000 in capital improvement
surcharges from November 1999 through September 2003, with the money
plowed back into course improvements.
In recent years, the number of rounds played at the club has
decreased, but that could be attributed to 18 of the club's 36 holes
being closed for seven months to rebuild greens and redo fairways and
tee boxes during 2002.
Even though those numbers are increasing, there are golfers who no
longer play Orangebrook because of its condition, said Dave Flaherty,
Hollywood's director of parks, recreation and cultural arts.
``We want to get those golfers back,'' Flaherty said.
David Lottes, vice president of Golf Hollywood!, said he wants an
increase in the annual maintenance allotment from the city. Right now,
Golf Hollywood! gets $964,000 a year.
``We need ample resources to make a difference,'' Lottes said. ``With
proper funding, I know we can turn this thing around.''
Miami Herald
ORANGEBROOK REFERENDUM IN THE WORKS
By Jerry Berrios
June 27, 2004
Some Hollywood residents aren't crazy about the idea of using part of
Orangebrook Golf and Country Club for a sports complex.
In November, voters may be asked to weigh in on whether to use 35 of
Orangebrook's 255 acres for a sports park with soccer and
baseball/softball fields.
``It would still be a recreational use,'' said Lorie Mertens,
Hollywood's director of intergovernmental affairs. ``We aren't looking
to put up a stadium or a gym.''
City officials are studying whether they can build the complex and
redesign Orangebrook to keep its two 18-hole golf courses.
Orangebrook, at 400 Entrada Dr., is south of Hollywood Boulevard and
west of Interstate 95, behind the police station. The sports park
would be in the southeast corner of the site, north of Pembroke Road.
A similar referendum in 1996 failed.
Residents in the Park East neighborhood are circulating a petition
opposing the Orangebrook item on the November referendum. If the item
is approved by voters, the bond issue would cover police, fire, parks,
street and neighborhood improvements.
The city would borrow money to build a new police station and make
improvements and taxpayers would pay back the loan.
Claire Garrett, a member of the Park East Civic Association, said if
the Orangebrook question is on the November ballot, it should be a
stand-alone item, not lumped in with the recreation section.
``I haven't talked to one person who supports the notion of a sports
complex at Orangebrook,'' Garrett said.
In 2000, Hollywood voters overwhelmingly approved a referendum to keep
all three of the city's golf courses intact.
Garrett, who does not play golf, said she wants to preserve the open
space and designate the Orangebrook course as a historic spot.
In a flier, residents say migratory birds and great white herons,
pelicans and kingfishers would be displaced.
Mertens said any change would have to go back to the voters. She said
city officials are trying to address the needs of the community.
``Hollywood is changing,'' Mertens said. ``Hollywood has more younger
families coming in.''
The central location is ideal, Mertens said. The site does not abut a
residential neighborhood, and traffic would enter from Pembroke Road.
Hollywood Parks Director Dave Flaherty said the city needs new fields
to allow teams to continue to play when existing fields are out of
commission for repairs.
``We are pushing the envelope with our fields,'' Flaherty said. ``They
are continually in use, whether it is soccer, baseball or softball.''
``Nobody is trying to get rid of the golf courses in Hollywood,'' said
Flaherty, a golfer. ``The community is changing. The needs are
there.''
Hollywood commissioners are scheduled to meet at 3:30 p.m. July 6 to
narrow down the list of projects on the potential referendum. On July
13, commissioners are slated to approve the final list.
Miami Herald
LOBBYISTS TRUMP CITY STAFF
By RONNIE GREENE AND TODD WRIGHT
May 8, 2007
On big things and small, Becker & Poliakoff lawyers have persuaded
Hollywood commissioners to override staff recommendations.
A golf course in the rough. A Thai restaurant in a pinch. A hotel plan
in a hole.
The three Hollywood businesses, unrelated to one another, each wanted
something from the city -- a contract extension, a financial grant,
and a lucrative development deal.
In each case, Hollywood staff said no.
Enter Becker & Poliakoff.
Problem solved.
The three cases -- ranging from an $80,000 grant to Try My Thai to the
$110 million Johnson Street hotel development -- reveal how Becker &
Poliakoff wins even when city staffers say no.
Politicians overrule them.
"There is a perception that if you want to get something done, you get
them -- and that's a problem," said Commissioner Peter Bober, the only
one to vote no each time.
WEEDS ON THE LINKS
At Hollywood's Orangebrook Golf and Country Club, the greens were
brown. Weeds overran the course.
City staff called the conditions inferior to any other course in town,
a direct shot at Hollywood Golf!, the course's maintenance team.
"The only option I want to present is we simply deny the renewal and
get another management company," said David Flaherty, then the city's
parks director.
Days before the 2004 vote, Becker & Poliakoff attorney Alan Koslow met
individually with commissioners, then pressed them in a meeting.
Hollywood Golf! kept its contract in a 4-3 vote, with Commissioners
Bober, Sal Oliveri and Mayor Mara Giulianti against it.
It did so even though Vice President David Lottes admitted in the
meeting: "Have we delivered at Orangebrook? I have to agree with Mr.
Flaherty. No, we haven't."
"That was strictly a decision based on the fact that Koslow had a lot
of friends on the commission," Oliveri said.
Koslow said his client did a good job on a difficult course. "It
wasn't Augusta at the Masters, but for Orangebrook it was pretty damn
good." Eighteen months later, the contract ended. By then, the city
had sunk $1.1 million into the course and paid Hollywood Golf! an
additional $135,000.
Phonethip Vaz, proprietor of downtown's Try My Thai restaurant, was
struggling for cash and seeking an $80,000 grant from the Community
Redevelopment Agency.
CRA Director Neil Fritz opposed giving the money to finance new
kitchen equipment, imported furniture and Thai decorations because he
wanted to push retail and office development.
Vaz hired Koslow, who said he worked pro bono.
"We have to help out the little people also," Koslow said in February
2006, reminding commissioners that Vaz catered campaign functions at
no cost. Fran Russo, for one, received $500 in food in-kind in 2006.
Try My Thai had support from neighboring businesses, and Koslow
suggested disregarding Fritz's recommendation. Commissioners did, with
only Bober objecting.
On the beach, Becker & Poliakoff represented the Marriott Ocean
Village, one of three developers vying in 2005 to build a hotel on
city-owned land at Johnson Street.
City Manager Cameron Benson concluded the firm's plan would result in
"a negative impact to the Beach CRA in financial terms, especially
during the first two decades and continuing to the third."
Benson said, "They submitted what I thought was a subpar project."
Baltimore's Cordish Co. had built the city's most bustling hot spot,
the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, and proposed a destination
development on the beach.
Benson said it had "the greatest potential" for tourists and
residents, offering double the retail and parking.
'DON'T BE NAIVE'
"Don't be naive," Koslow said during the nine-hour debate, arguing
that Marriott's track record -- it already had a hotel on the beach --
showed it was the best.
Oliveri moved to vote Marriott the top-ranked firm. The reason?
Echoing citizens who appeared before commissioners, he thought
Cordish's proposal was too big. Becker & Poliakoff's Bernie Friedman
dialed some commissioners on their cellphones on the dais.
Yet as he urged his colleagues to pick No. 2-ranked Marriott, Oliveri
instructed staff to enlarge the project so it would not drain city
dollars.
"I'm confused, and I don't understand," Benson replied.
By a 4-2 vote, commissioners overrode him, with Bober and Beam Furr
against and Giulianti away from the dais.
Commissioners decided to rank a No. 2 firm, in case Marriott's deal
collapsed. Amid confusion over another vote, Friedman yelled out,
"Cathy, vote yes!" to Commissioner Cathy Anderson.
"We had a world-class collection of tenants ready for this project,"
said Cordish executive Scott H. Marder.
Cordish did not have a lobbyist.
South Florida Sun Sentinel
Big changes may be ahead for Hollywood's biggest golf course
BY Susannah Bryan, Staff writer
November 30, 2015
Golfers have been booking tee times at the sprawling Orangebrook Golf & Country Club since the 1930s.
But Orangebrook, the largest of Hollywood's three municipal golf courses with 36 holes and 240 acres, has seen better days.
City officials say the greens need an upgrade that could cost anywhere from $10 million to $20 million. What's more, the fairways have been losing money for the past 10 years.
In an effort to make the best use of the land, Hollywood plans to ask developers to come up with a new vision for Orangebrook's two 18-hole courses. One possible option would turn over up to 18 holes to a developer in exchange for a pricey upgrade to the rest of the course. What would be built would need commission approval.
But voters would have the final say on whether development comes to Orangebrook.
Because of deed restrictions that require the land remain open space, any changes would require voter approval. The question could appear on the ballot as soon as November 2016 or November 2018, city spokeswoman Raelin Storey said.
At least one resident is already griping about the proposal, saying the folks who love Orangebrook as it is will be furious when they get wind of the plan.
"Once Orangebrook is destroyed, there is no undoing it," longtime resident Howard Sher said in an email to Hollywood city commissioners. Sher fears one of Orangebrook's 18-hole courses will be transformed into rows of homes.
Hollywood Commissioner Dick Blattner, a proponent of the development plan, said it only makes sense to seek out the best plan for the course, which extends from Interstate 95 west to Park Road, and from Hollywood Boulevard south to Pembroke Road.
"If we can get someone else to take that over and make it a good course and make it residential mixed-use, why is that a bad deal?" Blattner said. "Golf courses are closing all over. It has to do with the fact that the property is too valuable to be used as a golf course." Orangebrook has a loyal following of lower-budget golfers and remains popular today, logging around 80,000 rounds of play a year, Storey said.
"That was always the working man's golf course," said Hollywood resident Jim Lamey, who worked at Orangebrook 15 years ago, when the fairways were even busier.
"I golfed the course forever, until I couldn't swing a club anymore," said Lamey, 77, who last played Orangebrook around five years ago.
But from 2010 to 2014, costs outweighed profits by more than $2 million, city records show. The biggest losses were in 2010 and 2014, when the course lost $498,258 and $419,530, respectively.
Lamey said he understands why the city might want to reinvent Orangebrook.
"Golf has definitely declined in popularity," he said. "Young people don't have the time or the money."
City Commissioner Patty Asseff says she'd like to see the city use half the land for an upscale community center and more soccer fields.
"That property is a great piece of property," Asseff said. "I know developers would really like to build homes. But we already own the land and I'd like to use it for the community."
Commissioner Peter Hernandez has a different idea: Keep all 36 holes in play, but make room for two hotels at the edge of the golf course.
"I don't think we should develop it with row houses," Hernandez said. "I like the idea of keeping 36 holes. I think there is room for both."
City Hall is still working on the request for ideas from developers, Storey said. When the requestis ready, it will come before city commissioners for a vote, likely early next year.
"Something needs to happen with Orangebrook," said Terry Cantrell, president of the Hollywood Lakes Civic Association. "But many residents will still want it to remain open space. It's deed restricted as open space in perpetuity. It can't be used for anything else unless the voters approve it."
Storey was quick to say that Hollywood leaders plan to seek input from residents at future workshops.
"The city is absolutely committed to this being an open and transparent process," she said.
South Florida Sun Sentinel Editorial
In Hollywood election: Say 'Yes' for parks, police, neighborhoods
March 7, 2019
You've got to feel for Hollywood residents, who after those in Lauderhill and Lauderdale Lakes, pay the highest tax rate of Broward County's 31 cities. The cost hits home not only at tax time, but when they try to sell their property and see the sticker shock on buyers' faces.
Because of generous union contracts awarded over the years, $50 million of Hollywood's $282 million annual budget goes to pay legacy pension costs - money that could otherwise have funded a badly needed city facelift.
Instead, city commissioners are asking voters on March 12 to approve three bond referendums - $78 million for a new police headquarters; $64 million for city parks, golf courses and cultural facilities; and $23 million for neighborhood improvements, including seawalls, sound walls and signage.
We encourage taxpayers to dig deep and vote yes on all three. The city will be better for it.
That said, passing these bonds means the cost of living in Hollywood will increase again. For a home with a taxable value of $165,000, the three bonds would add $106 to the annual property tax bill. That's not an insignificant sum in a city where half the residents are what Mayor Josh Levy calls "income constrained."
Plus, if the city commission soon passes a $400 million bond for a needed septic-to-sewer program, water rates will also increase. And don't forget the county sales tax just increased by a penny for transportation.
It's clear that Hollywood has rebounded from the dark days of 2011, when it faced a $38 million budget shortfall. The last two years, its budget grew 9 percent a year, with taxable property values jumping from $13.2 billion to $16.4 billion today. (Every new billion of value adds $7.5 million to the city's general fund.)
With the clouds having parted, the city last month eased years of strained relations with the police union by restoring the pension benefits it cut in 2011. In return, officers agreed to take lower cost-of-living increases, forego merit increases through September 2021, and contribute more toward their pensions and health insurance costs.
Now, commissioners want to address the city's look and feel.
When these bond proposals first surfaced last year, we were skeptical. But the city has listened, made adjustments and created proposals certain to improve the city's appearance and the residents' quality of life.
Among other things, the plans call for:
* Building a 120,000-square-foot police headquarters - almost twice the size of the current headquarters - on the site of the driving range at Orangebrook Golf and Country Club. A 450-space parking garage also is planned.
By moving the police station off Hollywood Boulevard, the city would open a prime, two-acre site for something that would enhance the boulevard and boost the city's tax rolls. It's an appealing idea.
That said, the city should be embarrassed for having allowed this building to become such a rundown moldy mess. It's one thing to argue that the police force has outgrown a building built in the 1970s, when the force was half its size. It's another to see photos of its shocking state of disrepair. Some governments manage to keep buildings healthy for hundreds of years. This one is only 50. There's no excuse.
* Revamping the 265-acre Orangebrook complex in a way that preserves, yet enhances, two 18-hole courses. One course would be designed to meet championship-level standards, something that would become a destination and enhance the city's sizzle. Plans call for a new clubhouse and a hotel, though no one can yet say which brand. The complex would be wrapped by a perimeter trail for walkers, joggers and bikers.
* Updating the Hollywood Beach Golf Course designed in 1924 by Donald Ross, a revered name in golf course architecture. A new clubhouse would be built where the old one was torn down. A perimeter park with walking trails would invite non-golfers. And with fences replaced by a more natural buffer, it would enhance city life near downtown's Young Circle.
* Adding about 14,000 feet of seawalls around North Lake and South Lake, built in two phases and only on public property. Where there is now rocky rip-rap, seawalls would be built to the county's new 5-foot (NAVD) height requirement. For existing seawalls, that means a likely rise of about 2.5 feet. These new structures are sure to alter the view, but they are sorely needed in neighborhoods on the front lines of sea-level rise.
* Adding sounds walls to protect three communities from traffic and other noise.
* Updating old and weathered neighborhood entry signs.
* Acquiring, if a fair price can be negotiated, the former Sunset Golf Course, which would be turned into a nature preserve with walking trails. The site could help with water retention and stormwater management. And decades from now, as the sea level rises, it could become a reservoir or "aqua-park."
* Finishing the undergrounding of power lines in North Beach - those outside the boundaries of the Community Redevelopment Area - so all power lines on the barrier island would be buried.
* Holding off on plans to ask taxpayers to fund a new city hall. "We know we have issues, but right now, it's not a necessity," Levy said. "The community told us, 'You need to stay with your existing city hall.'"
That said, Levy believes City Hall Circle is an underutilized site. He thinks it would make sense to explore a private-public partnership for its redevelopment. Nothing is in the works, he says, but "if an opportunity comes up, we shouldn't shy away."
South Florida is no longer a cheap place to live. And some of us are really struggling.
That said, Hollywood needs sprucing up.
Given its location and natural beauty, Hollywood should be so much grander than it is.
It's not possible to pay for big improvements on a pay-as-you-go basis, Levy argues, and you can't reduce the tax rate until you get growth in value.
These bonds will go a long way toward helping Hollywood gussy itself up and attract the kind of growth that will make residents proud. They deserve your support.
Editorials are the opinion of the Sun Sentinel Editorial Board and written by one of its members or a designee. The Editorial Board consists of Editorial Page Editor Rosemary O'Hara, Sergio Bustos and Editor-in-Chief Julie Anderson.
South Florida Sun Sentinel
Unsolicited bids must be received with caution as well as due diligence - ANOTHER VIEWPOINT
By Beam Furr
October 5, 2021
If you've lived in South Florida for a while, you probably have a favorite spot or two.
There is probably a good chance this site is on publicly owned land - a park, maybe, or a community center.
It is natural to want to be protective of that place, which is why we get more than annoyed when someone comes in, out of the blue, with a proposal to develop one of those places for their own purposes.
These developers come in with a big idea, a polished proposal and an agenda, but not necessarily one created with the public in mind. The "unsolicited bid," which is allowed under Florida state law, has become a tool used by ambitious developers as a shortcut, leapfrogging over a comprehensive-needs assessment and sidestepping other factors important to the community.
That assessment - and those other factors - are arduous by design. The process is meant to determine what the residents need or want and where it should go. Whether it is a park, library, road, hospital, wastewater treatment plant or school, each project requires serious deliberation that takes many factors into consideration. The environment, economic development, traffic, housing, sanitation and a host of other issues must be examined to try to avoid negative unintended consequences.
Under ordinary circumstances, developers' proposals would be expected to satisfy all those concerns. The writing of these proposals takes time and analysis by people whose job it is to keep the public interest in mind. The "unsolicited bid" avoids much of that due diligence. That due diligence, however, is where the public has an opportunity to voice its concerns and opinions.
For example, in the city of Hollywood, the proposed Azalea Terrace project on parkland and beachfront property anticipates building a 320-foot luxury condo in exchange for providing community amenities and rent. The public has shown no support for this project, and the fact is that the need for a new park and new community center was never raised when the city recently put on the ballot a general obligation bond to renew tired facilities.
But the "unsolicited bid" process has taken on a life of its own. Instead of the issue being what kind of community center might be desired, or what the public thinks is the best use of this land, all the discussion revolves around the height of the condo.
The same can be said for an unsolicited bid to redo Hollywood's Orangebrook Golf Course. This unsolicited bid threw what should have been a very predictable process into anything but, all in the hopes of taking advantage of a local general obligation bond.
Again, time, money and public trust are at stake. The public interest has been glossed over.
Recently, Broward County received an unsolicited bid for vacant land and entertained offers from Amazon and Bang Energy. Having voted in favor of the Bang Energy proposal, the Broward County Commission is being asked to reconsider the terms and conditions because of discrepancies in promised employee pay at the proposed facility, among other factors. This probably would not have been the case had the commission determined up front what the best use of that land would be and what would be required of any applicants.
The county also received unsolicited bids for one of the most important project decisions facing Broward, namely our Joint Government Center with Fort Lauderdale. This is a project that will have an impact on Broward County for many generations to come.
The Joint Government Center will be a signature building for Broward County that anchors downtown Fort Lauderdale. The County Commission this time, however, wisely voted against the unsolicited proposal for the Joint Government Center because there had not been a needs assessment done prior to the bid. There wasn't any way to ensure everything that was needed would be included.
To accept the unsolicited proposal would have short-circuited the entire process and almost guaranteed that some important considerations would have been missed. It would have also diminished the opportunity for the public to be heard.
Public-private partnerships have their place. However, the unsolicited bid can be very problematic. It is important for governmental bodies to protect the process, as messy as it may be, to ensure that not only the public is heard, but that the right project is developed in the right place.
Beam Furr is a member of the Broward County Commission representing District 6, which includes parts of Hallandale Beach, Hollywood and Pembroke Pines.
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