HomeMy WebLinkAboutGolf Board - Minutes - 08/20/2003City of Fort Collins
Cultural, Library, and Recreational Services
Golf Board
Minutes: Regular Meeting of August 20, 2003
Council Liaison to the Board: Councilman Bill Bertschy
Staff Support to the Board: Jerry P. Brown, Manager of Golf at 221-6350, and Stacy
Kelley, Administrative Aide at 416-2265
Call Meeting to Order: Vice Chairperson Mindy Markley called the meeting to order at
7:30 p.m.
Agenda Review: No changes to the printed agenda.
Items of Note: Chairperson David Johnson and Board Members Larry Buckendorf and
Grant Sherwood telephoned that they would be absent.
Approval of Minutes: On a motion by Mike Sanders, seconded by Bill Rutledge, the Board
unanimously (6:0) approved the Minutes of the June 18, 2003, Regular Meeting.
Citizen Participation: No Citizen Participation at this time.
Discussion and Approval Requested on Staff s Recommended 2004 Annual Pass
Fees:
Staff previously provided a report and recommendation to the Board. After a brief
discussion, Bill Rutledge moved to approve the 2004 Annual Pass Fees as requested by Staff.
Mike Sanders seconded the motion. Claire Nelms asked why the Board should be
considering raising the fees every two years? Jerry said it is consistent with our approved
policy of annually alternating fee increases of Golf Carts and Annual Passes in one year, and
Green Fees in the next year, and 2004 is the year we are scheduled to raise Annual Pass Fees,
as necessary. It is now necessary especially because of our projected revenue shortfall. The
Board voted unanimously to approve Staff s recommendation for the 2004 Annual Pass Fees
(6-0).
Discussion on Various Golf Fee/Issues:
Prime/Non-Prime Times
Jerry clarified the current Prime and Non -Prime Time definitions at the golf courses. Jerry
would like the Board to discuss whether or not they feel that Prime and Non -Prime Times
should be modified. Any modification would be a recommendation to the City Manager and
the ultimate decision would be his. Jerry mentioned that most Northern Colorado courses
have Non -Prime times during Monday through Thursday only. The Board thought this was
a good option. This would still allow Seniors and Juniors to play with their Restricted
Annual Passes during the week. Collindale Golf Professional Jim Greer said Fridays are
Golf Board Minutes
August 20, 2003
sometimes the busiest day of the week and should not be Non -Prime Time. Claire Nelms
mentioned she didn't think Seniors would be too greatly affected on Fridays. She said the
policies should be as consistent and as simple as possible. Jerry suggested to the Board that
Restricted Annual Passes should still be allowed at City Park Nine on Fridays until 12:00
Noon to give pass holders an option for playing on Fridays. Jerry also suggested extending
this Prime Time change at Collindale and City Park Nine through the month of September
to be consistent with SouthRidge. A conceptual motion was made by Mike Sanders and
seconded by Claire Nelms to recommend that Collindale Non -Prime Time play be Mondays -
Thursdays, with City Park Nine remaining until 12:00 Noon on Fridays, and to extend this
through September. The motion was approved unanimously (6-0).
10-Play Punch Card Usage
Mike Sanders said he feels 10-Play Punch Cards should not be transferable and should be
the card holders discount only. Also, punch cards should expire just like Annual Passes.
There should be an expiration date. Lauren DeRosa said retailers love punch cards because
there is some likelihood that the punch card won't get used fully. Mindy Markley used the
Lincoln Center as an example that if someone buys season tickets, it isn't very likely they will
see every show and the Lincoln Center markets on that face. Manny Jimenez does not agree
to make punch cards expire. He feels that the majority of 10-Play Punch Card holders are
not selling punches to other golfers and he knows of people who wouldn't be able to play 10
rounds in a year. Mindy suggested a 2-year expiration date for punch cards. Lauren said
people would be taking a risk if they bought their card in November. She agreed with
Manny that a 1-year expiration was not a good idea. Bill Rugdedge asked why Annual Passes
currently expire in March and not December? Jerry explained that in the "old days" on
January In many people didn't have funds because of Christmas. Manny asked how the
fiscal budget worked for the City? Jerry said from January to December. Bill Rutledge made
a conceptual motion to make Annual Passes and Punch Cards start in January and expire in
December. The motion was approved unanimously (6-0). The Board did not vote on the
transferability issue.
Private Golf Carts
Mike Sanders asked how much revenue does the City currently make off of Private Carts?
Should someone only pay $200 per year or $15.00 per use? Jerry said there are only about 30
carts currently. Mike wondered how much damage there is on the courses if people think
that if they have their own cart they'll do what they want with it. Bill Rutledge said they still
have to sign an agreement and acknowledge proof of insurance. Mindy Markley said many
people have their own carts due to medical reasons. Manny Jimenez asked how are the carts
controlled? Jim Greer said the courses do not have very much control of private carts. Jerry
reminded the Board that City Park Nine also used to store carts for individuals but after
several arduous years of discussion and decisions, we no longer have storage for them. He
said many of the private carts are at SouthRidge owned by the adjacent homeowners. Mike
said he would like the medical carts to be labeled and the rest of the private carts should be
phased out by January 2006. There was no vote on this issue at this time.
Potential Reservation Fees
Jerry asked the Board if no-shows should be fined or penalized. He explained that other
courses have a difficult time charging for no shows. He mentioned that Staff is looking at
going to a software program that would track golfers and would be able to evaluate no-
shows and uses more accurately. If we implement such a program we could issue
reservation cards for a fee and potentially give preference to Fort Collins residents. The
Board agreed that we should look at such a system and discuss it again once we have more
information.
League Play
Jerry asked the Board to have discussion about League play. He said this is a guaranteed way
for the golf courses to make money. Currently at SouthRidge there are no Annual Passes
used in leagues. He would like to see a recommendation to open up more leagues at City
Park Nine and Collindale as long as Annual Passes couldn't be used, unless exempted. The
Board generally concurred.
Poudre School District Usage
Jerry asked the Board if they thought the Poudre School District fees should be modified?
Staff s recommendation is to raise the fees to the Junior fee rate. Mike Sanders asked what
the percentage of play during the week was that the school district is using? Jim Greer said
three tee times a day per course. Manny Jimenez would like to see the fees stay reasonable
so more kids play not less. He thinks the fees should remain as they are now. The Board
unanimously concurred to leave the Poudre School District fees as they are now.
Other Business:
❖ Jerry said the water conditions are great at Collindale and City Park Nine but SouthRidge
could be hurting for water
❖ Jerry reviewed the Press Release about the scheduling of mosquitoes spraying for the
West Nile Virus. Bill Rutledge asked if the newspaper could write an article about what
is being done for mosquitoes at the golf courses?
❖ The Collindale 18-hole Women's League is donating $300 for markers. The Ladies and
Staff recently had a really good meeting to discuss the relationship between the two.
❖ Manny Jimenez asked if the net was completed at SouthRidge? Jerry said we put in as
much as we could afford at this time. The # 14 tee box will be a temporary par 4. We
still need $35,000 to complete the netting to return # 14 to a par 5 as designed.
❖ Mike Sanders thanked the Board Members for their hard work throughout the last
several months.
❖ Jerry said the Budget is not looking good. He is asking the Superintendents to revise
their budgets and make additional cuts. It appears that we will only be spending money
for required and necessary expenses for the near -term.
Adjournment:
On a motion by Mike Sanders, seconded by Claire Nelms, the Board voted unanimously
(6:0) to adjourn at 9:03 p.m
Respectfully submitted,
Stacy Kelley
Administrative Aide
Meeting Attendance
Board Members
Lauren DeRosa
Manny Jimenez
Mindy Markley
Claire Nelms
Bill Rutledge
Mike Sanders
Staff
Jerry P. Brown
Jim Greer
Stacy Kelley