McCain, Coburn criticize Sharp Park stimulus funding

From the Oakland Tribune:

“PACIFICA — Two U.S. senators added fuel to the debate over the future of Sharp Park Golf Course when they issued a report Tuesday that criticized the use of federal stimulus funds to pump recycled water to the course.

The report — delivered by Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Tom Coburn, R-Okla. — singled out a $2.2 million stimulus grant for a new irrigation system planned for the course as one of 100 examples of “waste and mismanagement” of the money.

Specifically, the report questions whether it’s wise to spend $2.2 million to pump recycled water to a golf course that “might not exist much longer” — a reference to the fact that San Francisco has been under threat of a lawsuit by environmentalists who favor converting the 18-hole course into a nature preserve for the sake of two federally threatened species that live there. Golf lovers have fought equally hard to keep the public course, which is owned by San Francisco and located in Pacifica.

The San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department recently weighed in on the golfers’ side, circulating a study intended to demonstrate how the golf course could be redesigned to accommodate wetland habitat for the San Francisco garter snake and California red-legged frog while keeping all 18 holes. The compromise plan was widely praised by Pacifica officials and by Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Hillsborough. … “

Read more from the Oakland Tribune by clicking here.

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