Short title

This Act may be cited as the Golf Course Preservation and Modernization Act.

Findings

Congress finds the following: (1)Langston Golf Course, Rock Creek Golf Course, and East Potomac Golf Course are owned by the United States and are under the administrative jurisdiction of the National Park Service, and each golf course has a long history of service to the general public as an integral part of the nation’s capital, including services to local and regional residents, visitors, and tourists. (2)East Potomac Golf Course was opened in 1920 with three courses to accommodate all levels of play, including an 18-hole tournament level course and two 9-hole practice courses, and was initially segregated, with African-Americans only permitted to play on Mondays. (3)Rock Creek Golf Course opened in 1923 as a 9-hole course, and in 1925 the course was completed as an 18-hole tournament level course. This course was located in Rock Creek Park, a major recreation and picnic facility for residents. (4)Langston Golf Course opened in 1939 as a segregated golf facility for African-Americans, is listed in the National Register of Historic Places, and has been the home course of both the Royal Golf Club and the Wake Robin Golf Club, the nation’s first clubs for African-American men and women, respectively. The golf course was named for John Mercer Langston, the first African-American Congressman from Virginia, elected in 1888. (5)Unlike other National Park Service facilities, golf courses require unique capital investments to keep them maintained and operational. (6)The National Park Service has continuously struggled to manage and maintain each of these three courses. (7)Concession restrictions do not generate sufficient revenue for the National Park Service or concessionaires to provide affordable recreation while properly maintaining and making the capital investments required for golf courses today. (8)Each of the three courses contains valuable historic components that must be maintained. (9)Concessions restrictions will continue to cause deterioration, disrepair, and limited public use, reducing the quality of play and jeopardizing the historic preservation of the courses. (10)These courses together constitute an undervalued and underused asset that can be maintained and modernized as affordable facilities for use by the general public if an appropriate lease arrangement is used that encourages private investment in keeping with the existing Federal procedures. (11)The National Park Service recently issued a request for bids for continued concession operation of the Langston and Rock Creek Golf Courses under one concession contract for seven years; however, the capital improvement necessary to maintain and modernize the courses and to prevent their deterioration is not possible using a traditional concession contract. (12)A long-term lease for the three courses together, designed outside of the constraints of concession law, will encourage private investment in these courses, improve and modernize the courses, ensure affordable play, and preserve the historic nature of them.

Management of golf courses

(a)

Definitions

For the purposes of this section, the following apply: (1)

Rock Creek

The term Rock Creek means the federally owned golf course and related facilities located at 16th and Rittenhouse NW, Washington, DC 20011, within the boundaries of 16th Street, NW to the East; Military Road, NW to the South; Beach Drive NW to the West; and Sherrill Drive, NW to the North. (2)

Langston

The term Langston means the federally owned golf course and related facilities located at 26th and Benning Road NE, Washington, DC 20002, within the boundaries of Anacostia River to the East; Hickory Hill Road to the Northeast; Valley Road NE to the Northeast; Azalea Road NE to the North; Ellipse Road NE to the West; M Street NE to the North; Marlyand Avenue NE to the Northwest; 22nd Street NE to the West; 26th Street to the West; and Benning Road NE to the South. (3)

East Potomac

The term East Potomac means the federally owned golf course and related facilities located at 972 Ohio Drive SW, Washington DC 20024, within the boundaries of Ohio Drive to the East, South, and West; and Buckeye Drive SW to the North. (4)

Secretary

The term Secretary means the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Director of the National Park Service. (b)

Continued leases

The Secretary shall ensure, to the extent practicable, that month-to-month concessions contracts are continued for the operation and maintenance of Rock Creek and Langston until the lease in force on the date of the enactment of this Act for East Potomac expires, at which time the lease referred to in subsection (c) shall commence. (c)

Lease

The lease referred to in subsection (d) is a lease for the continued operation and maintenance of Rock Creek, Langston, and East Potomac as golf courses. A lease entered into under this section shall include the 3 golf courses in one lease agreement and require that the golf courses be operated and maintained in a manner that— (1)retains the historic nature of the courses; (2)at least 2 of the 3 courses require fees related to use of the golf courses to be affordable in light of the current fee system used today at the courses; (3)may allow fees collected at one golf course to subsidize the maintenance and operation of one or more of the other golf courses; and (4)allows for a long-term ground lease on the 3 courses. (d)

Requests for proposals

The Secretary shall solicit proposals, through a competitive process, to procure the lease described in subsection (b) and may, after such solicitation, enter into agreements to procure the lease. The Secretary shall solicit the request for proposals under this subsection in such a manner— (1)to provide that the lease described in subsection (c) shall be entered into not later than 180 days after the effective date of this Act or not later than 30 days after the expiration of the concession contract for East Potomac; and (2)which ensures, to the greatest extent practicable, the participation of disadvantaged business enterprises among the equity partners of the sponsors of the proposals. (e)

Applicability of certain laws

The National Park Service Concessions Management Improvement Act of 1998 (16 U.S.C. 5951 et seq.) shall not apply to requests for proposals submitted and leases and agreements entered into under this Act.