The following are the minutes of the Brewster Golf Commission held on 1/18/2012. The meeting was called to order at 4:00 PM by Rob Harris.
Commissioners present: Rob Harris, Chairman
Cindy Bingham, Vice-Chair
Jim Ehrhart
Lori Arnold
Anne O’Connell
Jeff Odell
Marc Fontaine
Staff present: Mark O’Brien, Director of Operations
Steve Mann, Superintendent
Others Present: Jim Foley, Selectmen Liaison
Ginny O’Loughlin, Women’s 9-Hole Assoc.
Chip DeLisi
Association Reports and Public Comments:
Ginny O’Loughlin reported that the Women’s 9-Hole Association membership drive is going on. Memberships are coming in slowly, which is normal for this time of year.
Public Comment:
None
Approval of previous minutes-
A couple of small corrections were noted. C. Bingham made a motion to approve the minutes as amended. J. Ehrhart seconded. Motion approved unanimously.
Correspondence:
None
Superintendent’s Report (Steve Mann):
Tree and stump removal is ongoing.
The course is in good shape.
We will be top-dressing greens a couple of more times this winter.
The vacant 40-week position will be advertised within the next week or two.
Director of Operations Report (Mark O’Brien):
The New England PGA Junior Tour requested a date of Tuesday, April 17, 2012 to hold a tournament. M. O’Brien said they would need about 2 hours of tee times and do not pay any fees. He recommended approval based on a 12:00 noon start. J. Odell made a motion seconded by A. O’Connell to approve the request. Motion approved unanimously.
The December financials were reviewed. Another strong month of play.
The FY13 Golf budget was reviewed. M. O’Brien, R. Harris, and C. Bingham had previously met with Charlie Sumner and Lisa Souve to review the golf budget. The budget will be reviewed by the Selectmen on January 30 and by the Fin Comm. on March 14.
A 10-year projection of golf revenues and expenses, prepared by M. O’Brien, was distributed and reviewed. The projection shows negative returns to the Town in each of the years from now through 2020 when the bond is paid off. The negative returns amount to about $3M over the ten year period. This plan calls for maintaining balances in the Receipts Reserved for Appropriation Account and only reducing it by $50,000 per year, as opposed to using this fund to completely offset losses, which would completely deplete the account by FY14. This plan will be forwarded to the Selectmen for their review.
Consultant Committee Liaison Report (Lori Arnold):
The report titled “An Operational Analyses of The Captains Golf Course” submitted by The Golf Consulting Group, LLC that was submitted on January 13th was discussed. An error in their statistics regarding AFP play was reported to them by R. Harris. L. Arnold will report back to them to suggest they clean up their grammatical mistakes before the final draft is submitted. The Golf Consulting Group will present the report to the Golf Commission on Monday, January 23rd at 1:00 p.m. in the Town Hall. They will present the report to the Selectmen that evening at the Selectmen’s regularly scheduled meeting.
AFP Rates:
J. Odell suggested we consider freezing the AFP rates for those 75 years or older who have been AFPs for at least ten years. He also suggested a tiered membership with a $100 premium for those that wish to play before 9:00 a.m.
R. Harris suggested an AFP classification for those that just walk on day of play and do not make a reservation.
J. Ehrhart suggested that caps the number of rounds with a surcharge for rounds in excess of cap.
C. Bingham suggested limiting AFPs to 3 plays per week.
M. O’Brien said that we need to have the AFP rates finalized by mid-February.
It was decided that the AFP fees will be voted on at the February 7, 2012 Golf Commission meeting.
M. Fontaine suggested appointing a sub-committee to work on AFP rates. It was decided that this was not necessary.
The next meeting Golf Commission meeting will be held on January 23, 2012 at 1:00 p.m. at the Brewster Town Hall.
Jim Ehrhart moved to adjourn, seconded by A. O’Connell. Motion approved unanimously.