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HomeMy WebLinkAboutGolf Board - Minutes - 10/14/2020 Golf Board TYPE OF MEETING – (REGULAR) October 14, 2020 6:00 PM Zoom Meeting 10/14/20 – MINUTES Page 1 1. CALL TO ORDER • Kathy Meyer called the meeting to order at 6:00 PM 2. ROLL CALL • Board Members Present o Ross Liggett o Kathy Meyer o James Penland o Jon Schmunk • Board Members Absent o Michael Hardisty • Staff Members Present o Scott Phelps o Dawn Worth 3. AGENDA REVIEW • Scott would like to discuss the smoke update under Other Business. 4. CITIZEN PARTICIPATION • No citizen participation 5. APPROVAL OF MINUTES On a motion by James Penland, seconded by Jon Schmunk, the Board voted (4:0) to approve the September 9, 2020 Minutes. 6. UNFINISHED BUSINESS • New Board Member Updates Scott informed the Board that Tom Rock submitted his resignation. This leaves the Golf Board with two open positions. Scott stated that we received 11 applications so we shouldn’t have any troubles filling the positions. New appointments are scheduled for December. • 2021 Work Plans & Meeting Schedule At the September meeting, the Board chose to postpone approval until October. The BOARD NAME TYPE OF MEETING – (REGULAR, WORKSESSION, SPECIAL) 10/14/20 – MINUTES Page 2 Board reviewed the Work Plan. Scott said he would like to schedule a joint outing with the Loveland Golf Board. The Board was open to this suggestion & will modify the Work Plan if needed. Scott will further discuss this with Loveland’s Golf Manager & report back to the Board. The Board voted (4:0) to approve the 2021 Work Plan & Meeting Schedule. 7. NEW BUSINESS • Golf Cart GPS Trackers Scott informed the Board that he was approached by a company & is exploring the option of installing GPS trackers in the golf carts. He reviewed the features & said it costs .50/18-hole round. Scott stated that it also has marketing capabilities, which could potentially help pay for the units. However, we have had a difficult time with marketing commitments. He reminded the Board that we were only able to get one advertiser on the scorecard. Pedersen was also hesitant advertising on the range balls & we agreed to enter a 2-year agreement with them. Scott mentioned the possibility of increasing cart rates to pay for the system. He informed the Board that we will not be held accountable for broken or stolen units. James suggested installing them at one course as a trial run. Scott said that is something we can consider. Jon doesn’t believe a cart increase would be an issue for those who use carts. Ross agrees that an increase wouldn’t be an issue. However, he doesn’t believe installing GPS trackers will increase sales since there are phone apps & lasers that golfers can utilize that do the same thing. Ross mentioned that we likely wouldn’t generate much marketing since the cost of advertising on Social Media is cheaper & reaches more individuals. Scott doesn’t think installing the units will increase rounds, but perhaps cart rentals. Ross said they might be beneficial for pace of play. Scott reminded the Board that we will be implementing a new point of sale system and some of the systems have the capability of tee sheet GPS capability. Kathy asked how the units are charged. Scott said they are hardwired to the cart batteries. James said it might be beneficial to install cell phone holders in the carts to make it easier to utilize these apps. Scott will further discuss this with the Golf Professionals & Mike Calhoon, Parks Director, and update the Board at their November meeting. • 2021 Golf Fees & Charges Scott reviewed the 2021 fees & charges. The increases for 2021 are the range & private cart fees. He reminded the Board that these fees have already been submitted & approved by the City Manager, and unless we are providing a new service that requires additional funding they are the fees we need to stick to. Ross suggested that we consider utilizing dynamic pricing. Scott said this is a feature we can evaluate in the new POS RFP. Ross believes this would be beneficial to create some flexibility. Scott informed the Golf Board that Council has directed us to find a way to accommodate lower income BOARD NAME TYPE OF MEETING – (REGULAR, WORKSESSION, SPECIAL) 10/14/20 – MINUTES Page 3 golfers with a better sliding scale. He mentioned that Recreation has a similar program that he has been discussing with the Recreation Director. Scott said even though we don’t have a program in place for free & reduced lunch recipients, we do have great rates for youth golfers. He mentioned that our youth golf pass is the least expensive he can find in the state. Not only is it a great rate, but it also includes the 6 buddy passes & no per pay fee. We also have the Youth on Course program and the 5th Grade play for free program. Scott said the Golf Professionals are also offering a variety of youth classes & free club rentals. James said identifying the low-income individual could be an anonymous card, so they don’t feel uncomfortable. Scott stated that we would likely be able to utilize Recreation’s eligibility list. They would determine qualification & let them know that it includes Golf as well. Ross stated that most systems have that capability, they can just be set up as a discount player type. Scott said we also offer a discounted Senior rate during non-prime time. Scott agrees that we need to be inclusive, we just need to determine the best way to promote it. 8. FINANCIAL UPDATE/ROUNDS REPORT Scott provided a financial update & reviewed the rounds report. We have surpassed last year’s rounds & overall we are up 0.65%. Scott mentioned that several tournaments were cancelled due to COVID. We are a head compared to this time last year, despite being closed most of January-April. He stated that the restaurants are behind in revenues & are still running at 50% capacity. The Concessionaires are trying to come up with ways to continue to utilize the outdoor space during the colder months. Scott said on CSU game days, Potts is going to have tailgate parties, with every other parking space open to allow for social distancing. The driving ranges are behind as well due to closures. We have some savings due to high paid Superintendents retiring. Spending has been limited due to COVID so most equipment replacement was delayed until 2021. We just continue to hope for warm weather the remainder of the year. 9. BOARD MEMBER REPORTS • No Board Member reports 10. OTHER BUSINESS • Avid Golfer & Other Discounts Scott mentioned that we are looking into advertising with AvidGolfer. He mentioned that we missed the deadline last year. Scott explained what Avid Golfer’s Golf Passport program entails. He said there are similar books that the Marketing Team are looking into for comparison. Scott mentioned that we haven’t had to do much discounting. We are currently in Non-Prime Time & will start our Off-Season rate’s on November 1. Ross stated that you can target the discount during specific times. BOARD NAME TYPE OF MEETING – (REGULAR, WORKSESSION, SPECIAL) 10/14/20 – MINUTES Page 4 • New Point of Sale System & Tee Sheet Proposals Scott informed the Board that the City’s new credit card processor went into contract, so we were able to start the RFP process for our new POS. • CB & Potts Tents & Tailgates This was discussed under Financials. • Smoke Update Scott mentioned that the air quality was deemed hazardous in Fort Collins today. When this happens, the City’s policy doesn’t allow for outdoor programs to be held. Scott was directed to get everybody off the courses. After contacting the Pro Shops, the air quality was moved back to poor allowing golf to resume. Scott stated that we are going to start reviewing the hourly air quality report & treat it like some courses treat a lightning storm. Notifying guests with an air horn if they need to leave.. 11. ADJOURNMENT On a motion by James Penland, seconded by Kathy Meyer, the Board adjourned at 8:00.