A small Midwestern city (population 65,000) is seeking an outside partner to operate two municipal golf courses. The city retained our firm to manage a competitive Request for Proposals (RFP) process on its behalf seeking an outside partner to operate both courses. The city received four responsive submissions from highly qualified partners. The leading respondent proposed to guarantee savings of $1.4 million over the five-year term, a 50% reduction in the existing city subsidy.
The city subsidizes the combined operations of both courses with about $525,000 per year. The city was unable to sell the courses due to a deed restriction. This public-private partnership (P3) initiative has not been fully implemented to date.