Commissioners Present: John Piemontese (Chair), Anne O’Connell (Vice-Chair), Carl Blanchard, Wyn Morton, Andrea Johnson and Jeff Odell.
Others Present: Mark O’Brien (Director of Operations), Pete Ervin (Superintendent), Cindy Bingham (Select Board liaison), Paige Ferraguto (Women’s 18-Hole Assn.) Donna Potts (Women’s 9-Hole Assn.), Jerri Carlin, Jackie Ferraguto, and And Carol Reganauer.
This meeting was held at the Captains Golf Course and was not televised.
Call to Order: John Piemontese called the meeting to order at 4:00 p.m.
Reorganization:
- Jeff Odell nominated John Piemontese for Chairman. Nomination was seconded by Carl Blanchard. There were no other nominations. Vote was 6-0-0 in favor.
- Jeff Odell nominated Carl Blanchard as Vice-Chairman. Nomination was seconded by Anne O’Connell. There were no other nominations. Vote was 6-0-0 in favor.
Public Comment:
- Jerri Carlin voiced her concerns about the Golf Commission meetings being held at the golf course and not being televised.
- Paige Ferraguto asked for an explanation as to why the Golf Commission meetings were being held at the golf course and not at Town Hall and televised. Anne O’Connell responded that the Commission felt that they could be more effective meeting here at the golf course where they could actually tour areas of concern on the facility as issues arise. Wyn Morton concurred with Anne’s assessment.
- More discussion followed and it was determined that John Piemontese would respond in writing to Paige Ferraguto.
- Cindy Bingham commented that on July 1, one of the water buckets on the Port Course back 9 was empty during play. Mark O’Brien responded that this was an isolated incident and it would be addressed.
Correspondence and Suggestion Box:
- Suggestions were received for Paige and Jackie Ferraguto asking for the Golf Commission meeting to be televised.
- Suggestion received from Barbara Emery regarding having paper towels in the rest rooms. Mark O’Brien stated this is being taken care of.
- Peg Jablonski’s suggestion regarding making the practice green non-smoking was discussed. Mark O’Brien stated that he felt this would be poorly received by our customers and very difficult to enforce. All agreed.
Superintendent’s Report:
- Pete Ervin reported that work on the main irrigation well has been completed and the jockey well work should be done by Thursday.
Director’s Report:
- Mark O’Brien reported that the final FY2018 financials are not available yet. He will have them for the next meeting.
- June was a good month and it was nice to be able to close out the fiscal year with positive months of May and June.
Capital Plan:
- Mark O’Brien distributed some projections that would allow us to establish a budget for capital going forward. He stated that he and Pete Ervin had not had a chance to meet and discuss prioritizing capital projects.
- Pete Ervin expressed some concern about the Commission expecting us to come up with a capital plan while we are in the midst of our busy season. John Piemontese explained that they are not looking for a formal plan, but rather, just a list of priorities.
- To be discussed further at the next meeting.
Web Site Update:
- Wyn Morton distributed a report from our web master showing Google reviews from the last six months. There were eight 5-star reviews, six 4-star reviews, and two 3-star reviews.
- The report also included information about number of Sessions, Users, and Search Terms.
Back Nine Reservations:
- Carl Blanchard said he is happy to see the promotion of 9-hole tee times on the web site home page banner. It did not appear that there was an increase in 9-hole play in June.
Future agenda items:
- Final FY2018 financials.
Review and Approve Minutes:
- None to review.
Topics the Chair did not reasonably anticipate:
- Jeff Odell asked about the yardage markers for the range. Mark O’Brien replied that they are on order. There was a delay because we had to fill out a credit application and open an account with the company we are using.
Adjourn:
- Jeff Odell made a motion, seconded by Carl Blanchard, to adjourn the meeting.
- Motion passed 6-0-0.
- Meeting adjourned at 5:16.
The next meeting of the Brewster Golf Commission will be held on Tuesday, August 14, 2018 at 4:00 at the Captains Golf Course.
Respectfully submitted,
Mark O’Brien
Director of Operations