The County Board of Supervisors and former Congressman Doug Ose have a working plan for management of Gibson Ranch on the table that, with the exception of one caveat concerning entry fee increases, appears poised for approval and, if so, would pave the way for Ose to continue on as manager of the 325-acre nature reserve.

The Board of Supervisors has directed Regional Parks Director Jeff Leatherman to fine-tune a plan he and Ose jointly crafted and presented to the board May 23 that proposes a year-to-year contract for Ose’s company, GRP 2011, LLC. (GRP), rather than a 20-year lease he’d original said he would pursue. The lease would run for four years and carry an option for extensions of up to four additional one-year terms, with a 90-day notification to terminate.

Perhaps the most significant changes, however, involve a shift in responsibility for several operational costs from Ose to the county. Ose was granted a five-year renewable lease to manage the park in 2011, however, earlier this year he announced plans to pull out unless the county could renegotiate an agreement to offset his monthly losses of roughly $20,000, losses he said he was incurring largely due to rising labor costs.

Under the terms of the proposed plan, the city would take on $110,500 in annual operating costs for Gibson Ranch. Both sides seem to support the plan, but Ose cautioned more tweaking could be required.

“What I’ve tried to do is identify marginal costs, costs for things like sewer, water and electricity,” Ose said. “I don’t want to eat my cake too soon, though. I know the rules and this is not a done deal until they say yes.”

Under the plan the county would pay an estimated $53,000 for utilities, including sewer and water quality certification; between $5,000 and $7,000 to maintain and repair the wells on the property, and provide Ose with a $50,000 annual contribution toward reimbursements for capital improvements and deferred maintenance.

The plan contains one component, however, for raising revenue that the board is not supportive of: raising the park’s entry fee from $5 to $8. As result, the supervisors have given Leatherman and, ostensibly, Ose, more time to come up with alternatives for that piece.

“There was serious concern from a couple of the board members about the wisdom of raising the entry fee,” said Ose. “They were very direct in saying they didn’t want to see the vehicle entry fee raised, and I was just as direct in saying ‘I’m not losing any more money.’ So we are sharpening our pencils and will be attempting to find a solution.”

County Supervisor Sue Frost called the new plan a “win” for all sides, indicating it would likely be one the entire board could approve, provided the entry fee issue was resolved.

“There is a lot to like in the new proposal, which appears to me to be a win for the county, a win for GRP, and most importantly a win for the community,” Frost said. “However, I am not in favor of increasing the parking fee above $5 because I do not think it’s fair to ask the residents of the community to pay a fee higher than every other park in this county. I’m optimistic we can get this done while keeping the fee at $5.”

In April, officials said Recreation and Parks department would compete with Ose and potentially other, outside vendors for the management the Gibson Ranch contract. A fourth option: close the park for good. It was unlikely an outside vendor would have taken over the contract as there were no serious bids on the table and, shifting management back to Recreation & Parks would have called for the addition of as many as five new positions just to manage the park’s equestrian boarding program launched under Ose’s tenure.

Leatherman now asserts there was always a plan to have his department, essentially the county, work with Ose in drafting a plan to share operational responsibilities and find a way to keep the park open.

“The BOS is focused in on what alternatives we have to raising the fee, but the remaining points appear to be consistent with what the board is willing to support,” Leatherman said.

The new proposal also calls for the county to install an automatic pay station in the park, which could net the county additional revenue of between $7,000 and $10,000 annually.

 “During the winter months, we go skinny, because not a lot of people come through the gates,” said Ose. “So we’ve worked out a plan to install essentially a pay station so that, during those days we do not have an open kiosk at the entry, patrons can pay their fees and we can use those funds to help offset operational costs.”

Ose said more changes, although likely minor ones, are expected, but he remains optimistic and has agreed to continue on as manager of the park until the end of June.

“I’ve agreed to play nice in the sandbox,” Ose said. “We’ve extended our contract to June 30. We’ve got a great working relationship. They (the board of supervisors) aren’t easy, but they are supportive and they are direct.”