Commissioners Present: John Piemontese, Wynn Morton, Andrea Johnson, Dave Valcourt, Anne O’Connell, Carl Blanchard. Absent: Jeff O’Dell
Others Present: Mark O’Brien Operations), Jerri Carlin (Friends of the Captains), Pete Ervin (Superintendent), Paige Ferraguto (Women’s 18 holers), Cynthia Bingham (Brewster Board)
The meeting was not videotaped.
Call to Order: Commission Chairman John Piemontese called the meeting to order at 4:00 PM at the Captains Golf Course.
Public Comment: Jerri Carlin, Friends of Captains, reported to the commission that the Friends is installing a new Captains welcome sign at the golf course entrance. Peter Ervin suggested that a solar type lighting also be installed.
There was a heads up that on Saturday, 11 May over Mother’s Day weekend, the Mark Ragnar (sp) Road Race would stage at the West Entrance of the golf course. Event activity should be over by 0730, and impact is assessed as minimal.
Paige Ferraguto reported that Chris Kinney, Brewster Whitecaps baseball requested consideration for a discount to coaches to play at Captains this summer (@ 11 June-10Aug, baseball season). There was some discussion and decision TBD at a future meeting after Director’s consideration and recommendation.
Correspondence & Suggestion Box: Carl Blanchard reported none at this time.
Superintendent’s Report: Pete Ervin thanked the staff for their support and reported that maintenance equipment was being prepared and serviced for the upcoming season. He also mentioned that in spite of some turnover his team was ready to begin aeration shortly and readying to open both courses to play o/a 29 March 2019.
Pete once again shared his perspective and concern as course Superintendent for the 2d and 3rd order impacts concerning the pending decision to install solar panels in the Captains west-side parking lot and driving range. Discussion followed to weigh the balance between fiscal opportunities of the solar initiative against negatively impacts to the aesthetic appeal of Captains facilities to the membership. Discussion to be continued when more detailed information is available to the commission and staff as bids to the RFP are received.
Director’s Report:
*Mark O’Brien opened his report with feedback from the recent Boston Golf show. He received many positive comments from out-of-towners who travel to play at Captains.
*February & March were very slow due to weather.
*Annual memberships are coming in slowly. We are slightly behind schedule, but no negative feedback from the golfing faithful about the recent annual fee increases.
* Efforts to economize have required some staff reductions such as use of an “on-call” course ranger.
*Pro shop is receiving new merchandise.
* Director reviewed financial data with the commission. He reported that his briefing to the Town of Brewster Select Board & Finance Committee meeting on Saturday, 2 March, was well received. To no one’s surprise the Captains projected a FY2020 estimate of an $82,918.00 deficit. Mitigating strategies continue to be investigated and considered.
* In light of the unique, projected FY2020 deficit, it is critical to inform the Captains membership of the value of their attendance at the upcoming 6 May Town Hall meeting. All are encouraged to inform and remind both golfer and non-golfer town residents/friends of the long term and multi-faceted value that Captains brings to all of Brewster.
Solar Energy initiative update. There was significant discussion regarding the RFP for solar project being considered for the large parking lot and driving range areas. Details from CVEC /Liz Argo regarding bid responses to the RFP should be available shortly. Carl Blanchard, Jeff Odell, and Dave Valcourt are the solar POCs for the commission. Among the new information is that our project can be an “in-front-of –the -meter lease” rather than an energy credit, behind the meter compensation. The straight lease rather than credits appears most attractive at this point and will facilitate evaluation of the bid offerings. John Piemontese reminded the commission that the Captains and Town were not obligated or committed at this point. Discussion to be continued regarding loss of natural beauty, flexibility for use of terrain, and fiscal benefit over a 20 year commitment. Looking at a recommendation/decision week of 25 March and an announcement o/a 15 April.
Spring members/Stakeholders Social event. Anne O’Connell confirmed 14 June 2019. Initial estimate for attendance is @ 200-220 people. Discussed plan to e-vite Captains members with an RSVP suspense and then consider opening to non-members. Sponsorship and funding for the event were discussed with more discussions forthcoming. Finally, task/purpose for the event beyond the social gathering among members included opportunity for membership Q&A as well as opportunities for Captains organizations (Friends, men’s & women’s associations, and commission etc. to communicate with the membership.
Future Agenda Items. Clearly FY 2020 budget update and membership assessment (Director), Solar initiative recommendation (Carl Blanchard), and the 14 June Membership event (Anne O’Connell) will be topics of interest at our next meeting.
Review and Approve Minutes: A motion to approve minutes of the March 12 meeting was made by Anne O’Connell and seconded by Andrea Johnson. Approved 6-0-0.
Topics the Chair did not reasonably anticipate. None.
Adjourn: Motion was made by Carl Blanchard and seconded by Dave Valcourt. Motion was approved 6-0-0 and meeting adjourned at 1800 hours.
The next commission meeting will be on 9 April 2019 at the Captain’s Golf course at 1600 hours unless otherwise posted.