HomeMy WebLinkAbout2008 - Golf Board - Annual ReportC'}
Golf Administration
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GOLF BOARD 2008 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 2008,
the Golf Board held eight Regular Meetings, and primarily met at the City Park Nine Golf
Course Clubhouse; however, the February 20 meeting was held at the SouthRidge Golf Course
Clubhouse. The Regular Meeting of March 19 was cancelled due to potential attendance
conflicts with Spring Break week, and the Regular Meeting of August 20 was cancelled due to
some vacation conflicts. The Regular Meetings of October 15 and December 17 were cancelled
due to the lack of pertinent Board business at the time, as well as the holiday season impacting
the December meeting.
In 2008, ten 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, Michele Marquitz, Eric McCrery, Dan Preble, and Grant Sherwood.
Jay Kammerzell resigned from the Board on April 16, and Council appointed Michele Marquitz
to replace him on December 16 to a four-year term that will expire December 31, 2012. The
regular term of Deron Grothe expired on December 31, and Council reappointed him to a new
four-year term that will also expire December 31, 2012.
At the April 16 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 2008/2009. Councilman Diggs Brown
continued to serve as City Council Liaison to the Board until he was granted a leave of absence
by Council for his military service, and Councilman David Roy is now serving as City Council
Liaison to the Golf Board. Manager of Golf Jerry P. Brown served as Staff support to the Board,
and Administrative Aide Dawn Worth provided clerical support to the Board in 2008.
The most significant issues/action items that the Golf Board dealt with in 2008 were as follows:
Golf Professional Changes - In September, Collindale Golf Course contractual Golf
Professional Jim Greer, PGA, submitted a letter of resignation from Collindale effective
December 31, 2008. Jim evidently decided that after serving the City as a contractual Golf
Professional for over 30 years, that it was time for him to do something different and go in a
different direction. At the suggestion of staff, Jim felt that in the best interest of the City that he
Assign the remainder of the term of his Agreement at Collindale to SouthRidge Golf Course
contractual Golf Professional Dale Smigelsky, PGA, effective December 31, 2008. There were
no objections from the Golf Board regarding this Assignment, and the City agreed, and then
entered into a Consent To Assignment of the Collindale Golf Course Golf Services Agreement
that it modified with Dale Smigelsky for him to be the contractual Golf Professional at
Collindale until December 31, 2011; with a potential additional five-year term extension subject
to future approvals.
With Dale Smigelsky leaving SouthRidge, the City then issued a Request For Proposals (RFP)
for a new contractual Golf Professional for SouthRidge. Written proposals were received from
five Golf Professionals, and the top three proposers were interviewed in December. Board
Members Larry Buckendorf and Eric McCrery served on the RFP Review Committee. City Park
Nine Golf Course contractual Golf Professional David McCleave, PGA, was selected to be the
new SouthRidge Golf Professional effective January 1, 2009. With David McCleave leaving
City Park Nine, the City will issue a new RFP to replace him in early 2009, and two Board
Members to be appointed in January will serve on that RFP Review Committee. David
McCleave has agreed to operate both City Park Nine and SouthRidge until a new contractual
Golf Professional is chosen for City Park Nine.
Golf Operations, Policies, and Procedures Manual - After several years of gathering materials
and information, the Staff has finally put together a new "Golf Operations, Policies, and
Procedures Manual" that updated and consolidated the various Golf Division operations,
policies, and procedures into a new single source document. The Board reviewed the document
at various stages of development during the past year, and at their April 16 meeting voted
unanimously to approve the new Manual, and schedule periodic reviews of the Manual.
2009 Golf Fees and Charges - Staff developed the 2008/2009 Golf Fund Budget 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. Last year in 2007
when the Board reviewed the staff proposed 2008 and 2009 Golf Fees and Charges as a part of
the BFO Budget process, the Board discussed, held a Public Input/Comment meeting, then voted
unanimously to recommend to the City Manager to increase the fees and charges to try and
achieve more revenues and increase reserves, alternating Green Fee increases in 2008 and
Annual Pass and Golf Cart Rental Fee increases in 2009. This year at the May 21 meeting the
Board reviewed the same staff proposed 2009 Golf Fees and Charges that it approved last year
and essentially agreed to them. At the June 18 Golf Board Meeting during discussion on the
Proposed 2009 Golf Fees and Charges, one citizen spoke against raising any Senior Citizen Fees.
The Board then held a well advertised Public Input/Comment session at their July 16 meeting,
and voted unanimously at that meeting to approve the Proposed 2009 Golf Fees and Charges and
to recommend them to the City Manager; which he approved and were adopted in the 2009 City
Budget.
Management Transition - Manager of Golf Jerry P. Brown announced earlier in the year that he
will be retiring in February, 2009, after working nearly 30 years for the City of Fort Collins and
as Manager of the Golf Division. Culture, Parks, Recreation and Environment (CPRE)
Executive Director Marty Heffernan, and Director of Parks J.R. Schnelzer, met with the Board at
their June 18 meeting to discuss the Golf Division management transition. The two of them also
met with Golf Division Staff for their input. Marty discussed with the Board the recent
City-wide management reorganization wherein the Manager of Golf now reports to the Director
of Parks rather than to the Executive Director as has been done for several decades. Board
Members previously expressed their concern about this change, however Marty assured them
that the Golf Fund status as an Enterprise Fund should not be impacted by this change. He and
J.R. discussed the various options with the Board, including privatization, but stated that likely
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won't take place. They are both re-evaluating the position of Manager of Golf, and Marty stated
that it is important to him that we hire a replacement for Jerry that will fit in well with the great
team we already have in place.
Marty and J.R. again met with the Board at their September 17 meeting for continued discussion.
At that time Marty informed the Board that he is strongly leaning towards not replacing Jerry and
distributing his duties amongst current staff. He told the Board that he will probably appoint J.R.
to take over the majority of the management responsibilities, and that Parks Financial Analyst
Dawna Gorkowski will assume the budgeting and other financial/personnel aspects of the job,
assisted by Administrative Aide Dawn Worth. The Recreation Department Marketing Staff will
perform our advertising and marketing functions, under the direction of J.R. Marty hopes that
this transition structure will save the Golf Fund some money that can then be put back into the
courses. Marty stated that we are very fortunate to have competent staff which will allow us to
utilize this as an option, however, if at any time we feel this is not working we will then hire
someone to fill the position. He stated that the Golf Division needs some improvements but that
it is not broken and that he doesn't foresee any significant issues during this management
transition. After further discussion, there were no objections from Board Members to his plans.
- At the November 19 Board Meeting, Jerry confirmed with the Board that Marty decided to go
with the above option, that the Manager of Golf position will not be filled at this time, and that
J.R. will be assuming the golf management responsibilities as previously discussed.
2008 "Fort Collins Fore Kids" Event - On June 3rd we successfully conducted our 12th
Annual "Fort Collins Fore Kids" Introductory Youth Golf Clinic for girl's and boy's ages 7 to 12
at City Park Nine Golf Course, with 96 kids participating. 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 Collindale Golf Professional Jim Greer, PGA,
and his staff, and SouthRidge Golf Professional Dale Smigelsky, PGA, and his staff. Several
Board Members volunteered and worked at the event, including Shane Houska, David Johnson,
Dan Preble, and Grant Sherwood. City Council Member and Council Liaison to the Golf Board
Diggs Brown, and Director of Parks J. R. Schnelzer attended the event, and Manager of Golf
Jerry P. Brown and Administrative Aide Dawn Worth provided staff support. The City Cable
Channel 14 taped the event as a part of its upcoming presentation on the activities of City Boards
and Commissions. The Clinic 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
each received bottled water and granola bar snacks donated by DMAC Golf, LLC., and a
"goodie bag" filled with fun golf literature, a golf ball, a discount youth golf lessons coupon, a
swim pass donated by the Recreation Department, and ice cream provided free by Walrus.
City Park Nine Golf Professional & Concessionaire Agreement Extension - The existing
initial five-year term of the Agreement with City Park Nine Golf Professional & Concessionaire
DMAC Golf, LLC, as owned by David McCleave, PGA, was scheduled to expire on December
31, 2008. The Board needed to decide whether to recommend extending the term for up to five
additional years, or to go out for a new Request For Proposals (RFP) process. After discussions
with David McCleave at their at their June 18 meeting, the Board favored extending the
Agreement, and agreed to hold a citizen input session at their July 16 meeting. Several people
wrote letters of support for David McCleave, and there was no opposition. The Board then voted
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unanimously at their July 16 meeting to recommend extending the term of the Agreement with
DMAC Golf, LLC 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 term of the
Agreement would be for longer than five years, the extension needed to be approved by
Ordinance by City Council, which was accomplished in October. The Addendum to the original
Agreement was then signed and sealed on November 5, extending the Agreement with DMAC
Golf, LLC (David McCleave) as the contractual City Park Nine Golf Professional &
Concessionaire annually until potentially December 31, 2013.
Round Table Discussion with Golf Professionals - The Board has requested to annually meet
with the three contractual Golf Professionals in a round table -type format. In 2008 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 20 meeting. Board Members asked about the
extended winter conditions and their impact on the courses. Some winter damage was noted, and
there had been some vandalism at City Park Nine that was discussed. Board Members asked
about water supplies and it appeared 2008 should be good due to all of the snow. Board
Members asked about upcoming tournaments and the golf professionals all believed that there
would be less events in 2008 due to the economy, especially the lack of corporate events. The
Board asked about any new marketing ideas which the three Pro's discussed. There was some
concerns expressed regarding the recent transition moving the Golf Division under the Parks
Department, as well as the impending retirement of Jerry P. Brown as Manager of Golf. There
was also some discussion about possible privatization or other potential options. Questions were
also asked and answered regarding West Nile Virus and mosquito larva inspections, potential
demo -days, and follow-up regarding the January requests/complaints by the City Park Nine
Women's Golf Association President.
Other Golf Board Issues of Concern - Also in 2008: The Board reviewed the Proposed 2009
Golf Fund Budget (the second year of the bi-annual City Budget) at their September 17 meeting,
expressing their support ... The Board was encouraged by the staff effort to try and increase the
number of women golfers to play in the Annual City Women's Championship with lower fees,
more perks, and better advertising. In 2008 we had 28 women signed up to play in the event, up
from 21 who played in 2007 ... On October 20 Board Members Deron Grothe, David Johnson,
and Eric McCrery participated in a taping by City Cable Channel 14 at City Park Nine Golf
Course for their upcoming presentation on the activities of City Boards and Commissions. The
three hit drives and putted while answering questions about golf, the Board, and their reason for
their participation, etc ... The Board reviewed the quarterly financial and statistical/play reports,
as well as the Golf Fund Financial Statement, expressing their concern with the continued
reduction in the number of golfer rounds being played and its impact on revenues. In 2008 only
115,031 total rounds were played at the three City Golf Courses, the lowest in history, and well
down from the 150,000 rounds played in 2001. Golf Fund Operating Revenues for 2008 ended
up slightly over 100 percent of Projected, primarily due to the green fee increases for 2008.
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