The following are the minutes of the Brewster Golf Commission meeting held on 11/13/2012 at the Captains Golf Course. The meeting was called to order at 3:30 PM by Cindy Bingham.
Commissioners present: Cindy Bingham, Chairperson
Jim Ehrhart, Vice-Chair
Anne O’Connell
Ed Pavlu
Marc Fontaine
Lori Arnold
Jeff Odell
Staff present: Mark O’Brien, Director of Operations
Others Present: Rob Harris, Men’s Association
Ginny O’Loughlin, Women’s 9-Hole Assn.
Judy MacCarthy, Women’s 18-Hole Assn.
Joan Hay
Jerri Carlin
Jo O’Connell
Review of meeting minutes:
Jim Ehrhart made a motion, to approve the Brewster Golf Commission meeting minutes from October 2, 2012 as written. The motion was seconded by Anne O’Connell and approved unanimously.
Association Reports:
Ginny O’Loughlin reported that the Women’s 9-Hole Association has completed its season as of the end of October. Also, they donated $250 to the First Tee Program.
Judy McCarthy reported that the 18-Hole Women’s Association also donated $250 to the First Tee Program.
Rob Harris, the new president of the Men’s Association, reported that they donated $500 to the First Tee Program.
Judy McCarthy asked if there would be future fundraisers for the First Tee Program. Mark O’Brien responded that the total cost to get the First Tee Program up and running was about $3,300. The program will be run by the Brewster Elementary Schools. With the above donations plus $500 donated from the Captains Junior Golf Day Fund, $1,500 has been raised. Other sources are being tapped for the balance. The $3,300 cost is a one time cost and no future funds will be required to keep the program running, so no future fundraisers are thought to be necessary.
Correspondence:
Val Lewis sent a thank you letter for hosting the WGAM Spring Team Matches and the Fall Cup.
Cindy Bingham read an email from Andrew and Charles Booth, first time Captains members in 2012, expressing how much they enjoyed the experience.
Suggestion Box:
Don Patterson, a Captains member, wrote that the conditions this year were they best he has seen.
Director of Operations Report (Mark O’Brien):
Mark O’Brien reported:
On the October financial report. Revenues very similar to the prior year, however cart fees were up.
The Pro Shop was broken into on November 8th. About $500 cash was stolen. We have video of the break-in, but it is poor quality. Many other golf courses have been broken into recently. The police have no suspects at this time. Insurance covers the cash that was stolen, but no the damage to the door.
The promotional video with our suggested edits should be ready soon and will be sent to the Commission when complete.
Captains warrant articles for tonight’s Town Meeting.
Superintendent’s report
In Steve Mann’s absence, Mark O’Brien read the following report prepared by Steve:
“The golf course is in pretty good shape. Looks good under the two storms that we just experienced has given us about 20 trees that came down and the most time consuming part of cleaning up, picking up sticks and twigs that can’t be picked by our equipment. The leaf litter and pine needles are a nuisance especially when wet. They clog the vacuums when they are wet. So the cleanup will take a while longer than normal. The good news is that most of it came down in a short period of time.
The irrigation system has been blown out on the golf courses but not the driving range as of yet. The driving range will be done the week of Thanksgiving. The electrical problems that have given us so much trouble since the lightning strike are fixed. The weather station is a mess and is being fixed. We are also adding surge protection at all pump houses. These may help some of the problems that we experienced during lightning storms.
The summer help personnel are mostly gone. We have two remaining until the end of this month. The 32 week personnel will be done at the end of the month too. The 40 week people will be done just before the Christmas Holiday.
Culturally we will be topdressing greens more frequently until the ground freezes. We will also fertilize everything before the end of the year. Mowing is virtually at a standstill. May have to trim it up depending on the temperatures that occur during the next month.
The yardage markers on the irrigation heads have been installed. There may be a few that are missing during the blow out procedure. We will take an inventory next spring.
Maintenance and condition wise I think this last season was one of the best we’ve had in a while.”
Comments below followed:
· Cindy Bingham asked about the hazard area that was mowed down on #5 Starboard. Mark O’Brien said this is down a couple of times a year and is necessary so large tress and brush do not grow too high in that area.
· A drop area sign is needed on #5 Starboard.
· People like the fast greens that we currently have. Why can’t we always keep them that fast. Mark O’Brien responded that they will not hold up in the heat and high traffic in the summer season at those speeds.
Junior AFP Guidelines:
It was noted that there are some inconsistencies in the Junior AFP Guidelines with the Policy Manual and the AFP application form, in addition to the way resident juniors are handled as compared to non-resident juniors. Mark O’Brien will draft new language for the next meeting.
Continued discussion of October 2nd brainstorming session:
Marc Fontaine suggested earlier start times daily in the summer season and have maintenance crews work afternoon shifts to accomplish this. Mark O’Brien opposed this idea. It will be discussed further at the January meeting.
Cindy Bingham suggested freezing the AFP rates for those members that are 80 years old with 10 years of continuous membership. After discussion it was decided not to pursue this policy.
Cindy Bingham suggested a “Rewards” program that would give a reward to both a new member brought in by an existing member as well as to the existing member. Discussion followed and it was felt that giving a discount to new members could offend long standing members. Offering an incentive to existing members that bring in a new member will be discussed at the next meeting.
Issues with the Chelsea system will be discussed at the next meeting.
The Capital Plan will be discussed at the next meeting.
Association block times will be discussed at the next meeting.
Resident and Non-Resident AFP Rates will be discussed at the next meeting.
Green fee rates will be discussed at the next meeting.
The 2013 calendar will be presented for approval at the next meeting.
Mark O’Brien presented the following tournament requests that required immediate attention:
Mark O’Brien recommended approval of the Cape Cod Women’s Golf League on Thursday, June 20, 2013 and Thursday, October 3, 2013 for morning shotgun starts at $45 per player including g.f. and cart. Jeff Odell questioned why they would get a lower rate than other outings. Mark O’Brien replied we have traditionally given them lower rates to them and the Cape Cod Pro-Am League as they are the two main men’s and women’s golf organizations on Cape Cod and it gives good exposure to the course. Anne O’Connell made a motion to approve the request, seconded by Marc Fontaine. The motion was approved with six in favor and Cindy Bingham abstaining.
Mark O’Brien recommended approval of the WGAM State Team Matches to be held two of three dates (Thursday, April 25, 2013, Thursday, May 2, 2013, Thursday, May 9, 2013). No green fee is charged, but cart fees are required. These are 8:30 shotgun starts for 30 players. Lori Arnold made a motion to approve, seconded by Anne O’Connell. The motion was approved with six in favor and Cindy Bingham abstaining.
Mark O’Brien recommended approval of a NEPGA Junior Tour event on Tuesday, April 16, 2013, 2-hours of tee times beginning at 12:00 noon. No fees are charged. Jeff Odell made a motion to approve, seconded by Anne O’Connell. Motion approved unanimously.
The next meeting of the Brewster Golf Commission will be held at 3:00 p.m. on Tuesday, December 11, 2012.
Jeff Odell made a motion to adjourn, seconded by Lori Arnold. Motion approved unanimously.
Mark O’Brien, Director of Operations