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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2011 - Golf Board - Annual ReportGolf Administration 215 North Mason Street 3rdFloor PO Box 580 Fort Collins, CO 80522 970.416.2265 970.221.6586 - fax fcgov.com/golf GOLF BOARD 2011 ANNUAL REPORT The City of Fort Collins Golf Board held 8 Regular Meetings in 2011. Board Members were Lauren DeRosa, Robert Gerard, Johnny Hodges, Shane Houska, Michele Marquitz, Jack Shearing, Don Sinnar, James Snyder and Bob Visocky. Jack Shearing resigned from the Board in July. Shane Houska was elected as Board Chairperson, along with Johnny Hodges as Board Vice Chairperson and Michele Marquitz Board Secretary. Councilmember Aislinn Kottwitz was appointed as City Council Liaison to the Board. J.R. Schnelzer, Director of Parks along with Bill Whirty, Manager of Parks, Dawna Gorkowski, Parks Finance Supervisor and Dawn Worth, Golf Administrative Assistant, provided staff support to the Board. Lauren DeRosa served her last term on the Golf Board. City Park Nine, Collindale and SouthRidge are the three golf courses that are maintained by City staff and operated under concession agreements with PGA professional operators. Food and beverage is also provided under concession agreements. 2011 Budget The Board was updated on the Golf Division’s 2011 budget with interim and periodic updates as to the status of the financial picture. Options were discussed regarding funding mechanisms and future marketing endeavors to assist in capturing a stronger market of golfers. John Litel rolled out his 2011 and 2012 marketing plan along with suggestions. Sustainable Practices Staff continued to work on sustainable practices and has accomplished the designation as Audubon Sanctioned courses on many aspects of the certification. The use of organics has increased along with a complete energy audit of the Collindale club house. Innovation funds were used to change out inefficient light bulbs, increase insulation and install energy monitors. The result has been a significant decrease in energy consumption. This is also the first full year of utilizing electric golf carts at SouthRidge. Strategic Plan Staff has been working on a strategic plan. The Golf Division is an Enterprise Fund and doesn’t receive additional funding from the City’s General Fund therefore staff felt it was important to plan well into the future. The Golf Board was updated throughout the process and the final plan is scheduled to be completed in 2012. Analysis of where we where, where we are and where we want to get to will be the criteria for the plan, and a business plan will be developed from this plan. Cell Tower at SouthRidge Golf Course Staff met with AT&T representatives to install a cell tower at SouthRidge Golf Course which would contribute significant revenues to the golf operation. A meeting was held at SouthRidge with residents and stake holders. After much discussion it was determined that a cell tower would not be installed. Golf Expo This was the first year that the Golf Division participated in the annual Denver Golf Expo. Pro Shop merchandise was sold and coupons were handed out. The coupons were tracked by zip codes to determine where the golfers were from and to help determine if we felt it would be beneficial to expand our marketing to other areas. The over all impression was that it is important that the City Golf Courses have a presence at Golf Expo, and will continue to participate. Contract Renewal At the September meeting the Board approved the renewal of Dale Smigelsky, PGA Golf Professional and Rob Dahl the Restaurant/Snack Bar Concessionaire at SouthRidge contract. Both J.R. Schnelzer and Jim O’Neil worked on changes to the contracts which would enhance the revenue stream for the City. Marketing Staff continued to work with the Recreation Marketing staff as well as the Golf Board on marketing ideas to increase play at the three City courses. John Litel has developed a strategy for implementation of a plan to assist with attracting new players and retaining existing players. 2011 Fort Collins Fore Kids Event Our 15 th Annual Fort Collins Fore Kids event took place on June 7, 2011. This was the first year that we weren’t at capacity. The Golf Professionals felt that there was a lower turn out for all junior programs in 2011. It was determined that the program would be reevaluated for the 2012 event. Discussions have taken place with the recreation staff for the introduction to golf for youth, taking the place of the Fort Collins Fore Kids program. This new offering was piloted in 2011 and will be used as the new model in 2012. 2011 Golf Fees and Charges Golf fees did not increase for the 2011 season. The proposed 2012 Golf Fees and Charges were discussed at the April meeting without any dissent. The new fees will be instituted in 2012.