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HomeMy WebLinkAboutGolf Board - Minutes - 07/18/2007City of Fort Collins Culture, Parks, Recreation and Environment Golf Board Minutes: Regular Meeting of July 18, 2007 Council Liaison to the Board: Councilmember Diggs Brown Staff Support to the Board: Jerry P. Brown, Manager of Golf at 221-6350, and Dawn Worth, Administrative Aide at 416-2265 Call Meeting to Order: Chairperson David Johnson called the meeting to order at 7:35 p.m. at the Collindale Clubhouse. Agenda Review: There were no changes to the agenda as printed. Items of Note: ♦ Jerry reminded Lauren DeRosa, Dan Preble and Eric McCrery that their terms expire December 31 st and they need to contact Karla Smith in the City Clerk's office if they would to like to reapply. ♦ Jerry informed the Board that there is a fairly lengthy article on Byron Collins and the Harmony Club published in the current issue of Style Magazine. Approval of Minutes: On a motion by Jay Kammerzell, seconded by Grant Sherwood, the Board unanimously (9:0) approved the Minutes of the June 20, 2007 Regular Meeting. Citizen Participation: No Citizen Participation at this time. Public Input/Comment: Consideration of Extending the Term of the Agreement with the Collindale Restaurant Concessionaire Jerry informed everyone attending the meeting that the Board had a previous discussion with Collindale Restaurant Concessionaire Scott Manning during the June 20th meeting and if anyone is interested in reading those Minutes they will be available on the City's website in the next few days. He reminded the Board that they need to make their decision of whether or not they would like to renew Scott's agreement or go out to bid by their August 15th meeting. Jerry informed everyone that this process will include the Board's recommendation as well as the staff's recommendation. The Director of Purchasing Jim O'Neill will receive these recommendations and will then make a decision on whether or not to go to the City Council or conduct a new bid. Since Scott's contract is over five years we are required to go to City Council. Jerry received a -mails regarding Scott's renewal, which were previously given to the Board. He said the a -mails Golf Board Minutes July 18, 2007 Page 2 included both positive and negative comments and he briefly reviewed the e-mails. David Johnson then opened the floor for comments. ♦ Jennifer Loomis has been an employee of Scott's for the past four years and in her opinion he is doing a great job. She informed the Board that the banquet room now has to be booked six months in advance for events. Jennifer said that they have regulars in the restaurant weekly. She is in support of renewing Scott's contract. ♦ David Bruning is also an employee of Scott's and he said that it would be naYve for the staff at Manno's to say that there aren't improvements that they could make and they are willing to try and work things out with the Women's Association. However, he feels that they need to meet them half way. He is also in support of Scott's renewal. Chanel Morelli is also an employee of Scott's and she said that she has personally sat down with the chairwomen of both groups to address the issues. She said that staff is willing to meet them eye -to -eye. Chanel feels the behavior some of the Association members show towards staff is unacceptable. She also said that she believes Scott's contract should be renewed. ♦ Tara Porter came to express her support for Scott's contract renewal. She explained that her Rotary Club meets at Manno's on Tuesdays. She stated that she spends a fairly substantial amount of money there monthly and if the quality of the food as well as the service were poor that wouldn't be the case. Tara feels Scott does a lot for the community. She also said that she's not sure why this is even an issue. Jerry then reminded everyone that the agreement is for over five years and therefore tonight's meeting is part of the City contractual requirements. ♦ Jennifer Iole said she's here in support of Scott. She also said that she feels the establishment has changed for the better since Scott took over ownership. Jennifer stated that there are a number of eating establishments in Fort Collins and it says a lot when Manno's is always busy. Ashley Gruber stated that she plays golf at Collindale three times a week. She said that not only is the course great, the restaurant is as well. Ashley said that she has also attended a lot of the functions at Manno's and it's a great environment. She supports the renewal of Scott's contract. ♦ Guy Coombes stated that he moved here from Scotland and part of the reason he enjoys Fort Collins is because of Collindale. He said that he feels very Golf Board Minutes July 18, 2007 Page 3 welcome at Collindale and he enjoys the atmosphere and food at the restaurant. He also supports Scott's renewal. ♦ Martin Gruber stated that he comes to Collindale regularly. He feels Scott is doing a great job and supports his contract renewal. Martin stated that he would like to hear some comments from those individuals opposing Scott's renewal. ♦ Rita Steinke came to speak on behalf of both the 9 and 18 hole Women's Association. She explained that she hasn't been a member very long and isn't aware of all the past issues. Her concern is the current on -going issues the members have been having with Scott and his staff. Rita said that their main concern is that this is a golfing establishment and it was under their impression that the golfing community would be served first and they don't feel that has been the case. They also feel the quality of the food is inconsistent and the service has been poor at times. Rita said she was curious to know how many individuals who come to Collindale are golfers. She feels that if the golfers quit coming then it will affect the course. Rita also said that the Association would like to come to an agreement with Scott. ♦ Pam Hansen Gausman stated that she enjoys the staff at Manno's and the course is great. She also stated that it says something that Scott's staff has been around as long as they have and that he doesn't have a high turn -over rate. She also supports renewing Scott's contract. David Johnson thanked everyone for their comments. Jerry explained that these issues didn't just recently arise and they have been brought up in the past. Jerry said that we have held meetings with both Scott and the Women's Association and we will continue to do so in order to hopefully resolve these on -going issues. He informed everyone that the new Director of Parks J.R. Schnelzer has also been present at the meetings and since he hasn't been directly involved with these issues in the past it gives us a new perspective. Jerry said that it is apparent that Scott does a great job serving the public; however we also want to make sure the needs of the golfing community are being met. He informed everyone that he has suggested that Scott provide a comment box for his customers to place anonymous suggestions in it. Jerry then recommended that Scott's contract be renewed with the understanding that staff continues to work with all the parties involved. J.R stated that we are going to continue working on these issues and he believes we are heading in the right direction. David Johnson stated that he worked at Collindale in his younger days and he feels the changes that have taken place are amazing. He also said that he has played with other men's groups and they have commented on how much they like Collindale. David said that he supports Scott's contract renewal; however he said that he feels Scott and the Women's Associations need to meet half way. Lauren DeRosa is a member of the Women's 18-Hole group and she personally isn't unhappy but she understands the concerns with the golfers needs being met. She stated that she has had some issues being Golf Board Minutes July 18, 2007 Page 4 served on the turn. Lauren said that she also supports Scott and feels that he and the Women's Association need to resolve their issues. Dan Preble said that he also recalls what Collindale was like in the past. He complemented the food and service he has received at Manno's. Eric McCrery stated that he has worked several years in the golf industry and he feels that Collindale provides one of the best environments. He said that revenues continue to rise which shows that Scott's doing his job. Larry Buckendorf stated that Scott is in a unique situation here. He said that his position on this is that this is a golf course and it is clearly stated in the contract that the purpose of this establishment is to address the needs of the golfers. Larry stated that the Golf Fund makes the majority of its revenue from the green fees and golf carts and not the restaurant. Larry supports Scott and suggested that he not discount the suggestions that have been given. Shane Houska stated that Manno's has created jobs for the community and it's great that there's not a high turnover. He said that Scoff's revenues continue to increase and he feels that it wouldn't be wise on our part to not renew his contract. Shane feels this could be a win - win situation. He also suggests that Scott serve the golfing community first. Grant Sherwood brought up a previous comment that Collindale Golf Professional Jim Greer stated last month that the entire staff at Collindale works well together. He feels that is very important. Grant also asked Rita Steinke to clarify what it is that the groups are asking of Manno's. Rita said that it's a combination of issues. She said that she is aware these issues have been on -going; however the groups feel that the issues have increased this year. Grant then asked if she feels the issues have been alleviated in anyway after the meetings took place and Rita said that they hope that's going to be the case. Jerry said that we are definitely going to hold more meetings to address these issues. He also said that we are going to look at the Association utilizing the Banquet room more. Jerry informed everyone that Scott was not directly involved in the initial discussion we had with Braun's, the previous owners. Lauren stated that she called Scott when the issues first rose. She said that one issue they discussed was the groups not being able to all sit together and Scott explained to her that it was difficult to seat all of the players together due to the fact that they aren't all coming in at the same time and they would have to turn down customers if they were to keep those tables free. Deron Grothe said that he has eaten here and it might not always be perfect but it's good and it's a place you can come with your family. Deron said that Scott has a good opportunity to serve the golfers and he should take advantage of that. Jay Kammerzell stated that he doesn't golf here often. He was wondering if it would be a good idea to go out to bid to look at other offers as well as give Scott the opportunity to re -bid after looking at those issues. Jay stated that it doesn't mean that Scott wouldn't get the bid, but there could be something else out there. He commented that Scott wasn't the original bidder; he was grandfathered in, and wonders if that is fair to other bidders? David Johnson responded by saying that he understands where Jay is coming from but he feels it would be a difficult decision to re -bid because the revenues are continuing to rise and we do have a four year history with Manno's. Lauren informed everyone that she was here for the original bid and that Scott was a real asset to Braun's when we were evaluating all of the original bidders. It's her opinion that Braun's made a poor choice to send Scott to Steamboat and since he returned and took over the restaurant that things are much better. Golf Board Minutes July 18, 2007 Page 5 On a motion made by Larry Buckendorf, seconded by Lauren DeRosa, the Board voted (9:0) to recommend extending the term of the agreement with the Collindale Restaurant Concessionaire (Manno's) for the additional five years, and to continue to work to try and improve service to golfers and improve relationships with the Collindale Women's Golf Association. Review the Proposed 2008/2009 Golf Fund Budget This year the City of Fort Collins is again using the budgeting process called BFO (Budgeting for Outcome). Jerry explained the process and said that it was a little difficult. He stated that in the past we would base the budget on the prior year's budget. About five years ago the City began to face some budget issues and that's why they decided to implement this process. They felt this was a better way of explaining to the City Council and the Public how the City spends its money. Jerry informed the Board that the General Fund portion is around $100 million and the Golf Fund pays 5% of our revenues to the General Fund which pays for our share of general government services. Larry Buckendorf asked why we have to follow the same guidelines if we aren't under the General Fund and Jerry said that even though we are an Enterprise Fund the City Manager had determined that we have to follow the same guidelines. Jerry said that the document he provided shows where we feel we will be through the next budget cycle. He said that we have to show a positive balance at the end of the year as well as with the reserves. He pointed out where the document shows the Ending Working Capital which are the Golf Fund Reserves, based this on our normal growth pattern. He then briefly reviewed the data. After further discussion the Board unanimously agreed to support the Staff Proposed 2008/2009 Golf Fund Budget. Other Business ♦ Jerry informed the Board that the Park Planning & Development Division is currently in the process of putting together an updated Parks and Recreation Policy Plan and the Director of Park Planning Craig Foreman would like to know if the Board is interested in him attending a Board meeting in order to discuss it with the Golf Board. The Board felt that it wasn't necessary since the Plan doesn't pertain much to golf. Jerry stated that if anyone was interested then they could attend one of the Public meetings. ♦ Jerry said that we modified the 9-Hole Women's Association tee time schedule for Thursday morning. He said that during one of the meetings it was decided that it wouldn't pose much of an issue since we aren't doing much other business on Thursdays. Therefore, they will be going at the same tee times as the 18-hole Women's group. Correspondence/Financial and Statistical Reports ♦ Jerry discussed a report he provided showing that as of June 30th we are at 44.93% Operating Revenue, down 5.68% on projections. Golf Board Minutes July 18, 2007 Page 6 ♦ Jerry reviewed an article that says a new study of core golfers (those who play 8 or more rounds a year) in the nation is higher than previously reported with the National Golf Foundation. The new number is estimated to be around 15 million compared to 12.5 million reported a year ago. The article also said that despite an increase in Junior golfers in 2006 the total number of golfers who play at least one round of golf annually is at 28.7 million which is down 2% from the prior year. Adjournment: On a motion by Eric McCrery, seconded by Shane Houska, the Board unanimously voted (9:0) to adjourn at 8:50 p.m. essp�e'c'tffulllly submitted, -/� �,—Pa / � &x `/* v Dawn Worth Administrative Aide Meetine Attendance Note: 28 Guests signed in. There were some illegible signatures as well as individuals that chose not to sign in. Board Members Staff Guests Larry Buckendorf Jerry P. Brown Amanda Amsworth Ken Lamboume Lauren DeRosa Mike Enright Warren Boizot Jennifer Loomis Deron Grothe James Greer Jason Brownhill Kerry Manning Shane Houska Scott Manning Jen Brownhill Chanel Morelli David Johnson James O'Neill David Bruning Edna Owens Jay Kammerzell J.R. Schnelzer Guy Coombes Tara Porter Eric McCrery Dawn Worth Brian Delozier Rita Steinke Dan Preble Bill Dovin Mark Schermerhorn Grant Sherwood Pam Gausman Jim Thome Robin Gilmour Dan Timm Ashley Gruber Bill Wilson Martin Gruber Yvonne Wittreich Tracy Hub Brittany Hutson Paul Hutson Jen Iole