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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2007 - Golf Board - Annual ReportGOLF BOARD 2007 ANNUAL REPORT The City of Fort Collins Golf Advisory Board normally meets on the third Wednesday of each month at 7:00 p.m. October through April, and at 7:30 p.m. May through September. In 2007, the Golf Board held eight Regular Meetings, and primarily met at the City Park Nine Golf Course Clubhouse; however, the March 21 meeting was held at the SouthRidge Golf Course Clubhouse, and the July 18 meeting was held at the Collindale Golf Course Clubhouse. The Regular Meeting scheduled for August 15 was cancelled due to some vacation conflicts, and the Regular Meeting scheduled for October 17 was cancelled due to the lack of a quorum. The Regular Meetings of November 21 and December 19 were cancelled due to the holiday season and the lack of pertinent business at the time. In 2007, nine citizens who were appointed by City Council served on the nine -member Golf Board. They were Larry Buckendorf, Lauren DeRosa, Deron Grothe, Shane Houska, David Johnson, Jay Kammerzell, Eric McCrery, Dan Preble, and Grant Sherwood. The regular terms of Lauren DeRosa and Dan Preble, and the one-year term of Eric McCrery, expired on December 31, 2007, and Council reappointed them effective January 1, 2008, to new four-year terns that will expire December 31, 2011. At the March 21 meeting, the Board unanimously re-elected David Johnson to another term as Board Chairperson, Deron Grothe to another term as Board Vice -Chairperson, and Grant Sherwood to another term as Board Secretary, for 2007/2008. Councilman Diggs Brown continued to serve as City Council Liaison to the Board. Manager of Golf Jerry P. Brown provided administrative support and Administrative Aide Dawn Worth provided clerical support to the Board in 2007. The most significant issues/action items that the Golf Board dealt with in 2007 were as follows: Collindale Concessionaire - The existing initial five-year agreement with the Collindale Golf Course food and beverage Concessionaire, Brauns Bar & Grill at Collindale, LLC, dba Manno's Grille at Collindale, owned and operated by Scott Manning of Fort Collins, was scheduled to expire December 31, 2007. The Board needed to decide whether to recommend extending the tern for up to five additional years, or to go out for a new Request For Proposals (RFP) process. After discussions with Scott Manning at their June 20 meeting, the Board agreed to request citizen input at their July 18 meeting. More than 40 people attended the July Board Meeting with the majority supporting extending the agreement. The Board then voted unanimously to recommend extending the term with Manno's for up to five additional years. Staff worked with the Director of Purchasing and the Assistant City Attorney to proceed with the extension. Since the total agreement would be for longer than five years, the extension needed to be approved by Ordinance by City Council, which was accomplished in September. The Addendum to the Agreement was then signed and sealed in October, extending the Agreement with Manno's annually until potentially December 31, 2012. Memorandum of Understanding - Prior to and during the public input process for potentially extending the agreement with the Collindale Concessionaire, members of both the 9-Hole and 18-Hole groups of the Collindale Women's Golf Association (CWGA) provided comments negative to Manno's regarding what they considered as lesser quality service to their groups, and they believed that Manno's needed to serve the golfers better. Even though the Golf Board voted unanimously 9:0 to recommend the extension of the Agreement with Manno's, the Board stipulated that Staff and Manno's should continue to work towards improving the service to all golfers and to improve the relationship with the CWGA. The main concerns of the CWGA were banquet room usage and the provision/costs of food and beverage services, et. al. After much discussion and meetings between Manno's and several CWGA members and their officers, Staff negotiated a Memorandum of Understanding document that was signed in October by the parties directly involved that allowed the CWGA to provide their own food and non-alcoholic beverages for their scheduled events, and their exclusive utilization of the banquet room at the Collindale Clubhouse for these limited events, without using any of the services or provisions of the Concessionaire. A section in the Concessionaire's Agreement specifically allowed for this type of circumstance, which all parties believed to be the best solution to this situation. Golf Fund Revenues and Golf Rounds Played - The Golf Board has continued to follow this issue very closely, and has expressed their support and concern as well as providing positive input and suggestions. The Golf Fund has not yet recovered from the revenue shortfalls and play reductions of 2002-2005; even though 2006 finished with slightly over 100 percent of projected Operating Revenues, the first time we have exceeded 100 percent since 2002. Golf rounds played however remain down into 2007 approximately 20,000 rounds annually under the 15 year average of 145,000 rounds annually prior to 2002, which has required a major restructuring and lowering of the Golf Fund expenditures and projected revenues to balance the Fund. After loosing the entire months of January and February, and the first week of March to snow, 2007 has ended at just under 100 percent of projected Operating Revenues. Warm weather and good golf play from July through November helped make up the early season deficit. Considering that there is still an over -supply of golf courses and that the popularity of the game of golf nationally has not shown any growth of new or returning golfers since 2001, nearly reaching 100 percent of Operating Revenues in 2007 is an accomplishment. The fee increases for 2007 made the difference. 2008/2009 Golf Fees and Charges - Staff developed the 2008/2009 Golf Fund Budgets as per the City directed Budgeting For Outcomes (BFO) process guidelines, increasing the expenditures very little within the limited Golf Fund Reserves/Revenues projected and available. Staff originally prepared its Proposed 2008/2009 Golf Fees and Charges to match the expenditures, having preliminary discussions with the Board in March. Staff was reluctant to recommend raising some of the fees, especially the 9-Hole and 18-Hole Green Fees. However, Board Members and Staff realized that fee increases were necessary to continue to maintain the quality of our facilities and to increase our Reserves so we can acquire needed Capital Outlay and Improvements. The Board thoroughly discussed the situation again at its April 18 meeting, and recommended to increase the fees to try and achieve more revenues and increase reserves. Staff then prepared a revised proposal with a balanced set of increases that would provide at least a 25 percent Green Fee discount for Seniors and Juniors, which are still at or below the regional averages. The Board voted to approve the increased revised Staff Proposed Golf Fees and Charges for 2008/2009 as their recommendation, and hold a Public Input session at their May 16 meeting. The meeting was well advertised; however there was no public input or comment. The Board then voted to approve the Proposed Golf Fees and Charges for 2008 (2009 will be reviewed next year) and to recommend them to the City Manager, which he approved and were adopted in the City Budget in November. Reorganization - Effective in 2007, as a part of the entire City management structure reorganization, the Golf Division was moved from being an independent division reporting to the Executive Director of Culture, Parks, Recreation and Environment (formerly Cultural, Library and Recreational Services), to become a division within the Parks Department, which now includes Parks, Cemeteries, Forestry & Horticulture, and Golf. Board Members were informed of the reorganization at their January meeting, and they expressed some concerns that others may now attempt to find ways to utilize Golf Fund monies for non -golf purposes. At their February meeting CPRE Executive Director Marty Heffernan told them he felt that was unlikely to happen and should not be an issue. Round Table Discussion with Golf Professionals - At the request of the Board, the three contractual Golf Professionals, Jim Greer, PGA, of Collindale; David McCleave, PGA, of City Park Nine; and Dale Smigelsky, PGA, of SouthRidge, met with the Board at their February 21 meeting in a round table format. Board Members asked the Golf Professionals the following questions: 1.) What ideas do you have that would assist the City in exceeding the budgeted revenues for the Golf Division?, 2.) What can the Golf Division do to help you (Golf Professionals) to perform your job better?, 3.) With respect to pace of play, what should be the expectation and what can the three courses do as a whole to keep the pace of play to an acceptable level?, 4.) What do you feel particularly proud about during the past year?, 5.) Do you have any unmet goals and how can we (Golf Board) help you to meet them?, 6.) Are there any current policy/procedures that may get in the way of maximizing revenues?, and 7.) What new ideas/strategies do you have for 2007? To view the answers and discussion visit the City of Fort Collins web site at www.fcgov.com/golf and click on "Golf Board" in the upper right box, then download the Minutes from the February 21, 2007 meeting. SouthRidge Golf Club Updates - At their March 21 meeting, the Board met at SouthRidge and held discussions with contractual Restaurant/Snack Bar Concessionaire, Rob Dahl, Golf Course Superintendent Randy Bonneville, and contractual Golf Professional Dale Smigelsky, PGA. They updated the Board on many issues at SouthRidge including the renovations at Mackenzie's Pub & Grill, grounds maintenance concerns, and Pro Shop operations. Download the March 21, 2007 Golf Board Minutes on the City web site as shown above to read the discussion. 2007 "Fort Collins Fore Kids" Event - On June 5th we successfully conducted our 1 lth Annual "Fort Collins Fore Kids" Introductory Youth Golf Clinic for girl's and boys ages 7 to 12 at City Park Nine Golf Course, with 121 kids signed -up. This event is co -sponsored and supported by the Golf Board, and is coordinated by City Park Nine Golf Professional David McCleave, PGA, and his staff; with the help of SouthRidge Golf Professional Dale Smigelsky, PGA, and his staff; and Collindale Golf Professional Jim Greer, PGA, and his staff. Several Board Members volunteered and worked at the event, including Lauren DeRosa, Deron Grothe, Shane Houska, and Dan Preble. City Councilmember and Council Golf Board Liaison Diggs Brown, CPRE Executive Director Marty Heffernan, and Parks Director J. R. Schnelzer attended the event, and Golf Division Administrative Aide Dawn Worth provided staff support. The participants received hands-on instruction on putting, chipping, driving, and golf rules, safety, and etiquette. For only a $2.00 pre -registration fee the kids also received bottled water and snacks donated by DMAC Golf, LLC., and a "goodie bag" filled with fun golf literature, golf balls, swim/skate passes donated by the City Recreation Department, discount youth golf lesson coupons, and ice cream provided free by Walrus. Junior High School Golf Coaches Fees - After some confusion with regards to the management of our established policy regarding the fees that Junior High School Golf Coaches must pay if they choose to play recreational golf (and not actually coach) while their students are playing or practicing at our courses, the Board and Staff decided to review the Policy. The Board, at their June 20th meeting (you may see the full discussion on the City Golf web page under Golf Board Minutes for June 20, 2007), met with several Junior High School Golf Coaches, and reaffirmed the policy that states that coaches will pay full fees to play such recreational golf. Coaches pay no fees while coaching, and they may use a golf cart for no cost to monitor their students on the courses. In addition, as a gesture of good will and a "thank you" to the coaches for providing a service to junior golfers, the Board suggested that the Golf Division sell annually one 9-Hole 10-Play Punch Card to the Head Coach of each Junior High School Golf Team at 50 percent off the posted rate, if the coach desires. Currently it is our understanding that Fort Collins is the only municipality along the Front Range that supports and partially subsidizes through reduced fees an organized Junior High School Golf Program. Other Golf Board Issues of Concern - Also in 2007 ... The Board started reviewing Golf Division Policies and Procedures in September. It is necessary to update and consolidate all of the various policies and procedures to create a single source document. The Board will also make any suggested recommended changes to specific existing policies/procedures in early 2008, with the goal of producing a final "Golf Division Operations, Policies and Procedures Manual' no later than April, 2008 ... The Board reviewed the Proposed 2008/2009 Golf Fund Budget at their July meeting, expressing their support ... City Park Nine Golf Professional David McCleave, PGA, was elected into the University of Wyoming Athletics Hall of Fame, and the Colorado Golfer Newspaper named City Park Nine as "The Best 9-Hole Golf Course in Colorado" in October ... At SouthRidge we installed and made operable the new $120,000+ replacement irrigation system in April, and we repaved the driveway entrance off of Muirfield Way into the clubhouse parking lot at a cost of $25,000 in September ... and at Collindale we successfully prepared the course for the U. S. Open Qualifying in May, and the State High School Boys Championship in October, receiving many compliments from participants of both events.