The inside drama behind Outside Lands

When Jared Blumenfeld was asked to step in as interim manager of the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department two months ago, it was made clear that his role was as a placeholder until a permanent director could be found.

SAN FRANCISCO — When Jared Blumenfeld was asked to step in as interim manager of the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department two months ago, it was made clear that his role was as a placeholder until a permanent director could be found.

And now it appears as if Blumenfeld forgot his place.

A few weeks back, the temporary Rec and Park head fired Margot Shaub, one of the department’s senior managers, in an apparent clash of will and vision for the agency. Given that The City sent out layoff notices Friday to 400 employees, that may not seem like a particularly noteworthy act, except that Shaub was the one person who actually made money for the cash-strapped department, having put together this year’s highly successful Outside Lands festival, which brought in more than $800,000.

“Of all the weaknesses in the department, I don’t think it makes a lot of sense to focus on one of the things that is actually working,” one agency official told me. “If you’re a placeholder, you shouldn’t be making senior-level personnel changes.”

The apparent reason for Shaub’s removal, however, makes the move even more curious. Shaub was in the process of preparing a new agreement for next year’s summer concert, something that had drawn great interest from local music promoters. Ever since Another Planet Entertainment received the nod last year to do Outside Lands, there had been much grumbling about whether the East Bay promoters would be given the inside track to land the concert bid or if others would get a chance to compete for it.

People in the department said Shaub had pushed to nearly double the amount of money the agency would receive from the Golden Gate Park arts and music festival, a process that would require Rec and Park to put the agreement up for competitive bids. But any contract with a cost figure of more than $1 million automatically requires approval from the Board of Supervisors, and department officials were apparently concerned about the board’s involvement — politics being what they are in The City that used to know how.

One source in the department said Blumenfeld was adamant that the agreement not go before the board. And sure enough, just last week the process was changed so it won’t be put out to bid. Rather, the department is seeking a request for qualifications to see which promoters could handle a park concert, a move that allows officials to select any promoter who meets their guidelines.

Department officials, speaking only on background, told me they wanted to do that in order to speed up the timeline so the promoter selected can quickly begin preparations for next year’s concert. Going through a formal bid process might take until April, they said, which would be too long to make a summer rock festival a reality.

However, others involved in the talks said that the process was changed as a way to give Another Planet Entertainment preference — something that Shaub reportedly had warned could lead to a lawsuit.

And a lawsuit regarding the bid award wouldn’t surprise anyone, since Another Planet is run by Greg Perloff, who formerly worked at Live Nation, another concert promoter that spun off from Bill Graham Presents. To say that there’s bad blood between the two groups would be an understatement. Live Nation dwarfs Another Planet in both size and scope, and has badly wanted to get involved in Rec and Park plans to hold more concerts to bring in revenue.

Blumenfeld was said to be too busy to return my phone calls seeking comment on the department’s internal intrigue. But it’s interesting to note that until his decision to replace Shaub with Rich Hillis, who worked in the Mayor’s Office of Economic Development, Blumenfeld’s only conspicuous act was to announce that he planned to bike to each of The City’s parks, an eco-friendly way to show just how green he can be.

Blumenfeld might want to keep it to a few casual jogs around McLaren Lodge. Mayor Gavin Newsom told me last week he hopes to have a permanent park chief in place within three months — assuming he can find someone who wants to fill a post that has been more like a way station in recent years.

Newsom told me he didn’t know about Shaub’s firing, but did say he “likes our interim managers to make decisions.” He didn’t say whether or not they’re supposed to be good ones (Newsom’s own personnel moves have been highly suspect).

But you’d have to be from another planet to think this matter won’t end up in court if the promoters of Outside Lands prove once again to have the inside track.