Marina City council chooses a new operator for the Marina Equestrian Center.

After two meetings and over nine hours of deliberation combined, Marina City Council followed the staff recommendation and picked Chaparral Country Corporation Inc. as the new vendor for the Marina Equestrian Center, the largest park in the city, for the next 20 years. The Sept. 8 decision was divided 3-2, with Councilmember Cristina Medina Dirksen and Mayor Bruce Delgado dissenting. 

Marina got the Marina Equestrian Center (MEC) from the federal government via the National Park Service in 1998 under the Federal Lands Parks Program. The place can only be used for recreational purposes or as a public park and use of the land for private purposes is forbidden. 

The Marina Equestrian Association, a volunteer-based organization, has been managing the MEC for over 25 years. The group has long offered the more affordable horse boarding in the county, but critics have raised concerns about the group's inability to safely and adequately manage the property.

The city published a request for proposals in October 2020, and received three proposals; one came from the existing tenant, MEA. A second bid came from the Ford Ord Equine Foundation, a new local nonprofit organization, and a third was submitted by Chaparral, a for-profit organization based in Woodside that manages horse parks in Northern California. 

Some of the goals in the RFP are the following: To keep the MEC as a public park; make sure the park is complying with the deed rules; increase visitorship to the park and to the recreational trails nearby; diversity services; improve the facilities; and increase the revenue. 

The three proposals were evaluated according to criteria including organizational background and experience; cost-benefi;, concept plan (services, operations and maintenance); and cash flow. Based on the results, staff recommended Chaparral.

Marina City Manager Layne Long said some residents who spoke up in support of keeping a local nonprofit at the helm were confused at what was at stake. “The issue is to get into compliance so we don’t lose this amazing park,” he said. (For example, the previous tenant, MEA, has long offered year-round private boarding, a service that doesn’t comply with the deed agreement for the park.)

During a city council meeting on Aug. 31, the only vendor that presented its proposal was Chaparral, the vendor staff recommended council approve. Medina Dirksen and Delgado said they wanted to provide equity among all vendors and hear from the competitors as well. Councilmember Lisa Berkley said the MEA had several opportunities over their 25-year tenure to reinvest themselves, adding the group's members only started to get active and participate in events when they felt threatened. “They’ve been warned and given a chance  over and over and over again,” Berkley said. 

Councilmember David Burnett said the council had hard choices to make, and it should be made rationally rather than emotionally. “If we don’t follow the staff recommendation, we would lose horses in our community," he said.

“To think we can somehow negotiate a way around is ignoring the reality before us,” Councilmember Kathy Biala said. Biala became the swing vote in this decision, and before voting, she requested to examine Chaparral's finances carefully.

City staff will now work on a draft concession agreement and get input from the community.