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HomeMy WebLinkAboutGolf Board - Minutes - 05/18/2005City of Fort Collins Cultural, Library, and Recreational Services Golf Board Minutes: Regular Meeting of May 18, 2005 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: Board Secretary Lauren DeRosa, serving as Acting Board Chairperson, called the meeting to order at 7:45 p.m. at the City Park Nine Clubhouse. Agenda Review: There were no changes to the agenda as printed. Items of Note: ♦ Dan Preble and Board Chairperson David Johnson called earlier to say they would not be attending the meeting. ♦ Jerry informed the Board that the registration for "Fort Collins Fore Kids" has been closed and that all 120 openings have been filled. He said that we just cannot manage any more than 120 kids, however, if the Board and staff get complaints because of this we may have to open it up to two sessions again next year. ♦ Jerry informed the Board that Councilmember Diggs Brown was appointed as the new Golf Board Liaison, and he was unable to attend tonight's meeting because he is currently serving a tour of duty in the service. Approval of Minutes: On a motion by Jay Kammerzell, seconded by Shane Houska, the Board unanimously (5:0) approved the Minutes of the April 20, 2005 Regular Meeting. (Board Vice Chairperson Larry Buckendorf and Deron Grothe arrived at the meeting a few minutes later and Lary then took over as Acting Chairperson.) Citizen Participation: No Citizen Participation at this time. Staff Presentation and Round Table Discussion The meeting started with the Golf Staff telling the Board a little about themselves and the meeting then turned to a round table discussion. Larry Buckendorf let staff know that he felt they were doing a great job maintaining the courses and appreciates the way they treat their clients. Lauren DeRosa also thanked staff and mentioned that she feels the City Golf Courses treat women as equals and she really appreciates that. Jay Kammerzell asked about the pink snow mold at City Park Nine and wanted to know what was being done to address the issue. City Park Nine Superintendent David Sadler explained that they used a new product and this year we had a warm fall so the grass never went fully dormant. Because of the snows' we were not able to apply a second application until January, and by then the mold had already occurred. We have recently aerified the greens and put down seed. He is anticipating the grass will be good by Memorial Day. Jay asked if there were any procedures that the golf courses follow in regards to this? Jerry mentioned that David is doing research to help correct this problem and he has heard that Ptarmigan, another local golf course, is also experiencing pink snow mold. Jerry also mentioned that he has received calls and a -mails in regards to this, and for the most part, Golf Board Minutes May 18, 2005 Page 2 the majority of them are appreciative that we are addressing the issue. Collindale Golf Course Superintendent Doug Evans explained that David Sadler is at a disadvantage because there's a lot of shade at City Park Nine. Shane Houska commended staff on the quality of the courses. He asked if there is a set of expectations or standards that everyone follows? Jerry stated that the contractor's standards are set out in their agreements and he expects that the Superintendents will do whatever they can to make the customers happy. He hasn't felt, it has been necessary to put together a formal set of standards for them. However, we are working on the revised Golf Policies and Procedures Manual and we have identified certain criteria for the Superintendents in the manual. Jerry is hoping to prepare the manual this fall. Collindale Golf Professional Jim Greer stated that his policy is that he wants happy customers. Shane mentioned an article that he read about pace of play and asked what the courses were doing to enforce it. Jim Greer stated that Collindale has marshals seven days a week from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and we have pace of play guidelines that are handed out. If golfers don't play the front nine in 2 hours and 15 minutes we will ask them to skip a hole or if they can't improve we will potentially ask the players to leave with a refund. Jerry stated that the biggest complaint that we have had with the pace of play is that the marshals are over -doing it. SouthRidge Golf Professional Dale Smigelsky stated that his rangers are on the course 7 days a week from 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. and he provides them with charts that show them where the player should be at what time. We also post a sign on the first tee that tells the players to be prepared to play at the pace of two hours per nine holes, and if there is a slow group on number one we have a slow play announcement that we make. SouthRidge Golf Course Superintendent Randy Bonneville feels that the pace of play really became an issue when Jack Nicklaus got on television. Lauren asked if it would help the pace of play if we got GPS systems at the courses? Jim stated that he has purchased some hand held GPS systems that he is selling. Dale feels that the only players that would benefit are those who are already familiar with golf. Jerry stated that it would cost $4.00 to $5.00 more per round to have it installed on the golf carts and since we are trying to keep our fees down we chose not to have it installed. David Thilmany thanked staff for their efforts and he appreciates them coming to the meeting. Grant Sherwood asked staff what their concerns are with the policies and procedures and are there any that you wonder why they are there and what are your biggest concerns about the future? City Park Nine Golf Professional David McCleave stated that he is just greatful to break even and in doing so it shows that we are doing something right. Randy Bonneville feels that each course should operate on the revenue they bring in and he feels that SouthRidge is supporting the other courses. Jerry said that SouthRidge doesn't have as many Annual Pass cardholders as they do Green Fee golfers, and that Annual Pass players don't bring in as much revenue. He explained why the revenues are combined and that in municipal government that is how it works and it's pretty consistent in any municipality you go to. Shane asked if there was the expectation for all courses to run a positive cash flow? Jerry stated that the budget shows that they are suppose to at least break even, but in the last few years the economy, among other things, has prevented that from happening, and his biggest fear is all of the golf course competition and the fact that golf growth has been flat. Grant asked if there are policies and procedures that are disincentives to them? Jim stated that he doesn't feel that way about the policies and procedures. The Professionals have 5- year contracts that are renewal every year, which he enjoys, however, he feels it's hard to project what business is going to be like in 5 years and the City wants you to do a 5-year estimate in your bid. He also mentioned when things like health insurance goes up you're still locked into what you bid at. He stated that he is very content at Collindale, but those Golf Board Minutes May 18, 2005 Page 3 are some of the issues that make him feel concerned as he has to try and work with less staff to make up for his losses. The only way he cuts cost is by cutting labor, but in doing so he may not be giving the City all the services they want and that puts him in a tough situation. Jerry mentioned that Mike Goff, former Golf Professional at City Park Nine, bid very high to get his job, and it was hard to turn his proposal down because of his experience. His first year was good and then the economy and his health went bad and he had to resign because he couldn't meet his contractual obligations. Jerry stated that the State Constitution requires that we have contracts that are renewable every year, and either side can terminate without cause within a certain amount of time. Scott Manning, owner of Manno's Grille at Collindale, said that it took some getting use to the ways of government because he was used to working in the private sector. He doesn't feel the policies and procedures are bad it just takes some getting use to. Deron Grothe stated that SouthRidge looks great as well as Collindale. He suggested that the rangers also commend the players who are on pace of play. He asked what the procedure is if someone from the public comes to him with a concern? Jerry stated that he should call him with the issues. Dale let the Board know that he appreciates the way Jerry manages the Golf Division and that he trusts his staff. Other Business Jerry briefly explained the new budget system and he stated that he felt the Golf Division should not be directly impacted, but the General Fund could be losing millions of dollars and making a number of cuts, which could impact us indirectly. He feels that the recreational and social services the City provides may be the most impacted and this is happening all throughout government. Adjournment: On a motion by Shane Houska, seconded by Deron Grothe, the Board unanimously voted (7:0) to adjourn at 9:15 p.m. Meeting Attendance Board Members Larry Buckendorf Lauren DeRosa Deron Grothe Shane Houska Jay Kammerzell Grant Sherwood David Thilmany espectfully submitted, —4awn o Administrative Aide Staff Jerry P. Brown Dawn Worth Randy Bonneville Rob Dahl Doug Evans Jim Greer Scott Manning David McCleave David Sadler Dale Smigelsky