Commissioners Present: Anne O’Connell (Chair), Andrea Johnson (Vice-Chair), Rob David, John Kissida, Wyn Morton, Jeff Odell and David Valcourt.
Others Present: Jay Packett (Director of Operations), Colin Walsh (Superintendent,), Rob Harris (CCMGA), Terry Ivester (18-Hole Women’s Assn), Peggy McEvoy (Friends of Captains), Bill Meehan (Liaison to Finance Committee), Donna Potts (9-Hole Women’s Assn)
THIS MEETING WAS HELD REMOTELY WITH AUDIO AND VIDEO RECORDED. The meeting may be viewed at: https://reflect-brewster-ma.cablecast.tv/CablecastPublicSite/show/6168?channel=1
Anne O’Connell called the meeting to order at 4:00 pm after reading remote meeting guidelines and procedures.
Declaration of a Quorum – All Commissioners present and accounted for which constitutes a quorum.
Public Comment – Peggy McEvoy (Friends of Captains) – The upcoming tournament is fully booked and there are many prizes and games, a live auction, $10,000 hole in one and a boat for a hole in one on different holes. The next event will be the planting of the daffodils. Peggy McEvoy thanked Colin Walsh today as it is National Golf Superintendents Day.
Review and Vote Off-Season Memberships – Jay Packett – Off-season memberships were not offered this past off-season based on the numbers. Off season membership will be offered to Brewster Residents starting October 1st through March 31st with unlimited membership being $480 and twilight membership being $200.00. It will not be available online, only in the pro shop. Jay Packett proposed these numbers to the Golf Commission. Discussion followed and it was determined that it is best to provide a recreational option to the Residents of Brewster through the Off-Season Membership offering. Jeff Odell moved to approve off-season resident memberships – Seconded by Andrea Johnson – The motion was passed unanimously pending Select Board approval.
Review and Vote FY2023 Capital Projects – (See updated spreadsheet in the agenda for the revised Capital Plan) – Jay Packett – Equipment replacement has increased due to a few items being moved from fiscal 24 to fiscal 23 – primarily the spray rigs that go out on the course will be in FY23 and the fairway mowers have been move from FY23 to FY24. The Irrigation design scope of work has not changed – an engineer will come in to build a plan to replace the irrigation system in FY25 and forward. Sink-hole capital plan has been increased $20,000. The cart barn sink hole in the cart barn is waiting on a geotechnical engineer and it is believed that the project is more in depth than thought and the $20,000 seems to be necessary. The Cart Path improvement number of $120,000 has not changed. Cart paths have been looked over by the Lawrence Lynch Company and the worst parts will replaced first. The $15,000 for new forward tees is for material necessary to build those tees. The HVAC line is asking for another $50,000 and could increase based on the bids that have been received thus far. Windows and Doors addition of $125,000 will be covering the windows in the pro shop and 3 doors in the Pro Shop as the prices were higher than originally anticipated. Kitchen equipment replacement and club house surrounds and improvements have not changed. The $200,000 for maintenance building design has been moved to the Annual Town Meeting in the spring as the RFP is not out yet and the money will not be needed till a later time. It should not delay the project in any way.
Anne O’Connell proposed to have the Capital Budget approved as an overall amount of $1,030,000.00 –
John Kissida noted that it is critical that we get the Maintenance RFP out as quickly as possible – and noted there is not a lot of time and things will get jammed up quickly. It has become a critical element to ensuring this ready for Spring Town Meeting – Jay Packett noted that there are many other projects going on in the Town and there is one person for the Town of Brewster that handles procurement. There have been major HVAC projects and Windows and Doors that are higher priority than the maintenance building at this time. Bill Meehan noted that it may be necessary for there to be a plan B for the sink hole in the cart barn as the DPW has a big project upcoming with Millstone Road and asked for Jay Packett to expand on FY27 Sinkhole Repair and thanked Jay Packett and Colin Walsh. Jay Packett noted that FY27 Sinkhole Repair numbers are for material costs – It is in case we need to buy materials for sink holes that may develop.
Motion to approve the Capital Projects was made by Andrea Johnson and seconded by Wynn Morton – Unanimously approved.
Update to FY23 HVAC Project (Jeff Odell)
Bids opened up yesterday morning – they have received 2 bids, 1 is a fairly large corporation out of Rhode Island, and the other is a smaller company out of Medway, MA. Rise engineering is doing the evaluation of the bidders – professionals are looking at the bids/companies. Jay Packett anticipates awarding a bid at the beginning of next week with more to come at the next meeting.
Update to FY23 Windows and Doors Project (Rob David)
Bid is out for the 2 phase Clubhouse and Proshop plan. The bid openings are scheduled for September 26th for sub contractor bids and September 30th for the General Contractor bids. It is a large project with approximately 84 windows and 12 doors in total. We can update after the bid openings at the end of the month.
Potential Alternate Funding for Capital Projects (John Kissida)
See article in packet – John Kissida – Note that capital project costs have increased, and current revenue situation may not always be the case so alternate grants and funding options should always be considered. It is important to not give up on CPC and note that the course is interested in funding and looking for other grants. Jay Packett noted the funds were unable to be obtained from the CPC funds. It was summarized that CPC funds are an entire region/town, and the golf course is only a portion of the Town. The Captains Course may not qualify for ARPA Grants. Discussion followed. Anne O’Connell proposed a meeting with CPC to see if the Golf Course ever will have a chance for CPC funds. John Kissida noted that the timing could work – the design of the irrigation system and purchasing of spray rigs are regionally significant, the golf course is an economic driver in the region so there should be a chance, but where the real issue is, is with who writes the grant.
Continuation of Development of Golf Commission Calendar (Anne O’Connell)
See updated calendar in packet – Anne O’Connell asked when does the golf commission see the budget? Jay Packett stated that the budgets started on December 6th last year and they would be available to be viewed after that. Anne O’Connell noted they would be okay with the first meeting in January and that can be adjusted as needed. A five year budget will be created this year for the Golf Course. John Kissida asked if we could run an 18 month vs a 12 month calendar – this would provide fiscal and calendar year. Dave Valcourt stated a 2 year fiscal year calendar and this was confirmed by Anne O’Connell. Status updates on Capital meetings changed to June and January.
Preliminary Discussion on Membership
Anne O’Connell asked what information golf commissioners would like to see before they begin speaking about membership numbers?
Dave Valcourt – tee time lock outs? Are we satisfying the members’ expectations based on what they are paying? Would like to look to Men’s and Women’s groups at Captains for feedback. Jay Packett noted they can run reports to see the number of shutouts for a date. He also noted that shutouts have been significantly lower this year.
Jeff Odell noted that shut out means they did not get a tee time within their request window but did not stop them from playing at a later time. Jay Packett confirmed that was correct. John Kissida asked the possibility of finding out who was still interested from the non-resident waiting list. Dave Valcourt noted that he thought they should look at awarding some memberships in good faith to the people on the waitlist that have been patient about the issue – Jay Packett stated he disagreed, and Anne O’Connell noted this was a discussion for another time. Jay Packett did want to note that the waiting list was at about 105 people.
Anne O’Connell noted she will follow up with associations and Jay Packett will work on information of access to play by members.
Course Operations Questions and Concerns
Anne O’Connell had an unsigned, handwritten note asking the golf commission to consider a no smoking policy (including cigars) on putting greens and putting areas. Anne O’Connell agreed it may not be a bad suggestion, but they certainly would not police it. They did not know where a sign could be put on the back putting green. No further comments made on the topic.
Questions and Comments from Associations and Liaisons:
Rob Harris – The CCMGA is doing well and will try to get some thoughts based on the questions asked earlier. He also noted some shut out reports may not be accurate as a group may get a tee time but cancel because they did not select a latest time to play option. Jay Packett noted that is correct and the only way to obtain correct data then is for members to actually put in their desired window to play in or the numbers will be skewed.
Terry Ivester – said the changes that have been made have been effective and appreciated by the association. There are times with holidays that shutouts are expected. The association has been very happy with the staff, the course conditions, and the times they have received. Donna Potts agreed with Terry Ivester and brought up their annual meeting and will look to get feedback about the questions asked earlier. Bill Meehan noted that he is available during the budget process and to feel free to reach out.
Review and Approve Minutes
- 8/9/22 Motion to approve minutes was not voted on.
Future Agenda Items and meetings
Anne O’Connell noted the next meeting on September 27th via Zoom – Need to decide if either the October 11th or 25th will be in person. John Kissida noted he will be out of town for the 25th. Anne O’Connell noted they will move for the in person meeting to be on October 11th. The first meeting in November is on election day and there is a request to change to the 1st and the 15th or the 15th and 29th. There will be no meeting on November 8th.
Matters not anticipated by the Chair:
Jay Packett noted the 2nd water station shipped yesterday. Install will take about 4 to 5 days once received. The bathroom door on the Ladies Room at the snack shack has been installed. Jay Packett thanked Lou Moreno, Rob Campbell and Randy Jamieson. Rob David thanked Jay, Pat, Colin, the staff, and Freeman’s Grill and thanked everyone for a great weekend at the Captain’s Invitational. Jay Packett noted they will be doing the first initial interviews for the Assistant Operations/Pro Shop Manager position. There are 2 candidates for the position.
A motion to adjourn was made by John Kissida, seconded by Andrea Johnson, to adjourn the meeting. Motion passed unanimously. The Meeting was adjourned at 5:40 pm.