Facing a potential billion-dollar budget deficit, San Francisco officials don’t usually grapple with the problem of what to do with an extra few million dollars.
But that’s the situation they found themselves in after a wealthy Pacific Heights resident died and left behind a small fortune with a very specific bequest. And not everyone’s pleased with how they’ve handled it.
Upon his death in 2023, Ben Bobo left a will stipulating a generous gift to the city of San Francisco: He wanted a chunk of his estate to pay for new park benches to honor the memory of his partner, Rory, his golden retriever, Chad, and himself.
The size of the gift — $3.6 million — and the precision about its intended use presented a dilemma to the Recreation and Parks Department. Notified of the windfall, officials there said they couldn’t “make that many benches,” according to Kim Ridinger, the executor of Bobo’s estate.
Ridinger believes Bobo didn’t grasp the size of the gift, as the clause in his will “[goes] back 20, 30 years,” before the value of his real estate assets swelled significantly. He agreed with the Parks Department that $3.6 million was just too much to dedicate to one use case.
“There’s a little bit of a weird feeling here, that I’m changing the exact wording of what he wanted, but I kind of have to go with what I knew of him,” said Ridinger. “He was a pretty practical guy.”
One option that arose in discussions with the agency was a kind of super bench, a giant structure that could seat 200 people at Aquatic Park — but neither party thought that would be the best use of funds.
Ridinger worked with the department on a plan to divide the money into three tranches, with portions going toward new seating; improvements to Bobo’s beloved Alta Plaza Park, including 20 new benches; and other projects and refurbishments. In total, 20% of the gift, approximately $720,000, was earmarked to “build and install approximately 50 new benches and other park furnishings,” while 80% would go to Alta Plaza and other uses.
The Recreation and Parks Commission unanimously approved the plan last week, though it will need the go-ahead from the Board of Supervisors and, eventually, a probate judge, to be finalized. While Ridinger and others see the plan as honoring Bobo’s legacy, some see it as a clear departure from the deceased’s stated wishes.
“It just drove me crazy in all the ways that I feel like San Francisco always drives me crazy,” said Henry Symons, an East Bay resident who frequently visits city parks with his family.
Symons was the sole public commenter at the Parks Commission meeting, expressing opposition to the plan because of how little of Bobo’s money would be dedicated to new benches.
“The city’s choosing to spend 80% of this windfall on something else,” he said. “I thought that was quite unfair.”
Thomas Wrobel, a San Francisco probate lawyer not directly involved in the case, questioned why Ridinger and the city were expanding the meaning of the gift’s “sole purpose” as specified in the will.
“Is it really subject to interpretation? It seems pretty specific to me,” he said.
In addition to the Parks Department, Bobo left money to the SPCA and to several friends and family members, who recall him as a well-traveled, classy man who loved to roam the city’s parks with his dog.
SF’s steep price tag for dedicated benches
William Benjamin Bobo, who went by Ben, grew up in Indiana and served in the military before moving to San Francisco in the 1970s, where he owned a furnishings business in the Design District that sold “all the finer things,” according to his niece Susan Bobo, who received $100,000 in the will.
“He was debonair,” Susan said. “Class A.”
She’s circumspect about the Parks Department’s plan: While her uncle was “meticulous when it came to making sure things were taken care of in the way that he wanted them to be,” she said, supporting a literal reading of the will, “the betterment of any park would be something he would want, too.”
But some online commenters had their own opinion, their lack of connection to the family notwithstanding. A Reddit thread about the bequest provoked dozens of skeptical or angry responses from posters questioning the high cost of the benches, as well as the ethical implications of using the money for projects outside of Bobo’s intention.
People drew comparisons to San Francisco’s $200,000 toilet (no, it didn’t cost $1.7 million) and expressed frustration at the city’s spending.
The $720,000 covers 50 benches, as well as “site furnishings” like bollards, bike racks, garbage cans, and planters, Parks Department communications director Tamara Aparton said in an email. The cost of benches “varies based on what type of bench and complexity of installation,” she added.
For a sense of SF’s bench norms, Gardens of Golden Gate Park collects $15,000 to dedicate a new hardwood bench for 15 years and $25,000 for 30 years.
San Francisco’s park bench pricing is significantly higher than that in surrounding communities, though. In Berkeley, people can pay $3,400 to cover the costs of a new bench with a cast-iron commemorative plaque, estimated to last 10 years. In San Rafael, a wooden-backed bench with a dedication costs $3,500, while getting it in steel cuts the price to $2,300. In San Mateo County, it costs $5,000 to install and dedicate a bench for 10 years, though the system is overbooked. Oakland is also not accepting new commemorative bench donations, but an activist last year installed a new sidewalk bench for $80.
Wrobel said it would be “really interesting” to see how the probate judge in March might address the proposed modification of Bobo’s gift. Instead of altering Bobo’s wishes, the city could set up a fund to invest the gift and pay for the maintenance or replacement of benches in perpetuity, the lawyer said.
Symons sees that as the honorable way forward: “If someone gives money for benches, I feel like that money should be spent on benches,” he said.
As for Susan, she wishes she’d known about the gift before he died and could have discussed his vision with him. And of course, she wishes they had more time together. Her hope is that the gift gives San Francisco residents a reason to remember her uncle.
“Whatever he wanted, he deserves. He gave so much to this world,” she said. “He was a legend in my life.”