Golf Commission

The following are the minutes of the Brewster Golf Commission meeting held on July 13, 2010. The meeting was called to order at 4:00 PM.

Commissioners present: Rob Harris, Chairman Cindy Bingham, Vice-Chair Jim Ehrhart Lori Arnold Anne O’Connell Jeff Odell Marc Fontaine Joseph Shaw, Commissioner Emeritus

Staff present: Mark O’Brien, Director of Operations

Others present: Jim Foley, Board of Selectmen Liaison

R. Harris called the meeting to order at 4:00 p.m. Since there are several new commissioners, he had everybody introduce themselves.

R. Harris appointed M. Fontaine as the Greens Committee Chairman for the Golf Commission.

The minutes from the June 8, 2010 meeting were reviewed. C. Bingham noted a few changes to the minutes. A motion made by C. Bingham, seconded by J. Odell, to approve the minutes as amended. Motion passed unanimously.

CORRESPONDENCE

• The 9-Hole Women's Association sent a letter requesting that they be allowed to sell raffle tickets from the clubhouse during August to raise money for their Rally For A Cure event. J. Odell made a motion, seconded by C. Bingham to approve this request. Motion approved unanimously.
• Thank you letters were received from the Nauset Girls Golf Team for allowing them to use the course for their matches and practice this past Spring; and the Housing Assistance Corp., the YMCA Cape Cod, Independence House, the Cape Cod Hospital Auxiliary-Chatham Branch, and Children's Cove for gift certificate donations that we gave supporting their fundraising efforts.
• The following donation requests were denied as they do not meet the Commission guidelines: Woburn Host Lions Club; The Lions Club of Dennis-Harwich; the Adele Decof Pro-Am Invitational; the Kevin Chambers Benefit Golf Tournament; the Sgt. Paul J. Nichols memorial Golf Classic; and the Josh Beckett Foundation.

DIRECTOR'S REPORT

• The FY2010 ending financial report was reviewed. M. O'Brien noted that he was still waiting for some final numbers from the Accounting Department as the fiscal year had not been closed out as yet, but for the most part the report should be accurate. The Net Return came in at $84,842 up from last year's return of $4,170. However, M. O'Brien noted that this was due to a larger contribution from the Receipts Reserved for Appropriation Account.

SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT

• In S. Mann's absence, M. O'Brien reported that due to the lack of rain, we are in danger of exceeding our water withdrawal permit. Therefore we have had to cut back on our watering of certain parts of the golf course. M. Fontaine said that has met with Steve on this issue and that he is looking into the amount of gallons allowed for other area courses. S. Mann is looking to applying for an increase in our water withdrawal permit. This is a lengthy process and there will be some expense as we will need to hire an engineering firm. M. Fontaine said that he took a tour of the maintenance facility with Steve and he came away very impressed with the equipment, noting that it is apparent that we have some good mechanics on staff.

OLD BUSINESS

• C. Bingham asked about committee assignments. The only assigned committee member at this point is the greens committee. This will be discussed at a future meeting.
• R. Harris brought up moving the first tee time earlier to 6:00 a.m. M. Fontaine said that S. Mann had indicated to him that 6:15 would not be a problem on the weekends, but during the week would be a problem as that is when they mow fairways and spray fungicide. It was decided that M. O'Brien would discuss this with Steve Mann and that we would try to implement a 6:15 a.m. start next weekend with the possibility of starting early on a daily basis if it was feasible.
• The minutes from the sub-committee meeting regarding the refund policy were reviewed. C. Bingham made a motion, seconded by M. Fontaine to approve these minutes. Motion approved unanimously.
• A new refund policy from the above sub-committee was reviewed. (see attached) J. Ehrhart made a motion, seconded by A. O'Connell to approve the new refund policy. Motion approved unanimously.
• J. Ehrhart made a motion, seconded by L. Arnold, to approve a $1,085 credit toward the 2001 AFP fee for Jim Hardman. Motion approved unanimously.
• J. Ehrhart made a motion, seconded by L. Arnold to amend the refund policy to add a #6 saying that if the AFP rejoins during the year that a credit was granted, then the credit is rescinded. Motion approved unanimously.
• R. Harris made a motion, seconded by C. Bingham to grant a full refund of $1,500 to John Warren for his AFP fee.
• J. Ehrhart made a motion, seconded by L. Arnold to issue a $1,460 credit toward the 2011 AFP fee for Todd Montanaro. Motion approved unanimously.
• All of the above credits and refunds are in accordance with the new policy just adopted.
• Capital improvement requests were reviewed by the Commission. These will be presented to the Board of Selectmen on August 9th.
• Pace of play was discussed. It was suggested that we use the cart signs to display the "Slow Play Hotline" info.
• C. Bingham suggested that we eliminate the rule prohibiting carts in the parking lot. It was decided that even though there is no effective way to enforce the policy, we should leave it in place due to liability issues.

SUGGESTION BOX

• Signage needed indicating that there are restrooms located at the halfway house. M. O'Brien said he would take care of that.
• The water from the water cooler in the clubhouse hallway is not cold. M. O'Brien said that he would look into repairing this.
• Spike cleaners should be located at the 9th and 18th greens for people to use after their round. It was felt that these were not necessary.
• A plastic grate is broken on Port #8 about 180 yards from the green. M. O'Brien said that we would get that fixed.
• A complaint was received regarding the new policy of members not being able to reserve unused guest times until 8:00 p.m. the day before play. It was noted that this policy took effect in February of this year, but was not enforced until June due to the lack of demand for guest times. A. O'Connell will respond.

NEW BUSINESS

• L. Arnold, C. Bingham, and Ann O'Connell volunteered as a sub-committee to investigate improving and updating the web site.
• Having an exit interview for members was discussed. L. Arnold will look into formulating a questionnaire for exiting members.
• L. Arnold discussed methods for improving the value of the food and beverage operation to the Captains Golf Course. M. O'Brien said that he was sure that Joe Spiotta of the Casual Gourmet would be happy to meet with representatives from the Commission in this regard.
• BREWSTER GOLF COMMISSION July 13, 2010
• R. Harris brought up the idea of establishing a formula for setting the AFP rate based on the ratio of membership revenue to expenses. This will be discussed further at the next meeting.
• J. Odell reported that we will be sending out information to all of the golf coaches from the colleges that participate in the NEIGA tournament in October regarding specials available for family members that may attend the event as well as available Brewster lodging. We will also promote outing business to these folks for alumni golf outings, etc.
• A Commission calendar scheduling issues the Commission regularly needs to deal with will be discussed at the next meeting.
• R. Harris reminded everyone that the dedication of the Ellsworth Pavilion will be taking place this Friday at 4:00 p.m.

Since there was no other business, the next meeting was set for August 10, 2010 at 4 pm. A motion made by J. Ehrhart to adjourn the meeting was seconded by C. Bingham, and the meeting adjourned at 6:45 PM.

Respectfully submitted

Mark O'Brien Director of Operations