Golf Commission - Regular Meeting

We're good now. Good. Yeah. Okay. It's 4:30 commission meeting on on November 17th, 2012 order. Just let the record show that the meeting is being videotaped and will be posted to the city's YouTube. First item on the agenda is approval of minutes from the October meeting. I think motion approve second. All in favor say I anybody.

Uh on the road business I just put in there the building feasibility study update. We just we met with the architects uh the other day just moving forward. You want to add anything? Um yeah we've been by Zoom. Everyone chatted. There was some ideas new ideas that were um talked about possibly different locations T etc. But there's a plan for a sitewalk which is tenatively scheduled now as of today for December 3rd. Um so there'll be a site sitewalk then and then next so far.

All right. Under new business update Dan. Uh do you want to do the rates for next year right now? Talk about I mean the budget's in here based off of we do that if you want. I really don't have much for an update. No, we got Okay. So, I hand out to everybody the rate sheet that we use for 2025. Um, I'd like to set the rates to 2026 today if possible. Um, so I get that information out to everybody, especially if we decide to go up on the memberships because we typically allow people to pay at the end of this year to save any increase, right?

Um, not saying that we need to go up, but I would like to get that information out as it is already in November. Um, I don't know what your thoughts are on that as far as state level going up. Um, personally, I'm com, you know, I don't think we can touch Cart rates at this point at all because they're, you know, rather high. Not rather high, they're higher than a lot of local golf courses. Um, I'm comfortable with green fee rates as well. Uh, but I can we can do whatever. like it doesn't matter if they was the budget prepared off of these rates, you know, as far as they are based off these rates uh and based off previous years um income. Yeah.

So we we probably maxed out around I didn't get an exact number probably around with the fall special around 775 numbers for the year. Some of those will be rolling over to next year. Um, you know, the know the thought process we had going into this year was we went up fairly substantially on the membership rates to try to force the membership numbers down. I think that worked to the tune of about 10%. Um, but we've kind of folded back up and that's still driven a lot by the young juniors and the juniors as well because those are a good rates. So any any other discussion on the rates? Any feelings? I think we would have pretty significantly on them. Last year I had not inclined to barring any environment or need to change the rates.

No, I mean um you know we did increase the rates two years ago now. It was last year. last year last year. No, it was last year cuz you I put in early so I was last fall I think the uh the membership rates are okay with me. I'm fine with the greens fees and the and the fees. I have received, you know, a few complaints about the cop fees being a little bit higher than other. I've heard that as well. Um but we also I mean I tell them buy the car carts you know we also had to we had to get a new car contract which I right there because other places had to do that right

what the situation is. Yeah. So but it wasn't for no reason significant increase in our cost even as I make motion that we accept. She has proposed second to say I. Anybody opposed? Anything else?

No, I'm pretty much, you know, just kind of coasting out the year as far as the golf course goes. Limited staff as much as limited as little staff as I can use. Now, uh we are going no cards walking, 10 greens, 10 TE's for the rest of the season. So, I just put out an email saying just $15 green. Please come out, play as much as you want. do might get a few people off that but probably pay for any staff I need at this point. So, but I will send out an email about the rates saying the same. I'm sure I'll have some people come in the fall to pay I do need to get a hold of techs right now. So, but that's about it. That's all I have.

Your update, Bill? Um, we're still working on equipment numbers right now. Um, Amy and I are going over the list. Uh, we'll get some final stuff. We'll probably have some answers, some new real numbers, um, for the next meeting as far as equipment, but there's no rush on that. Um, we're trying to reach out to contractors right now that we've been given the approval to do the pump house job. Strangely enough, they're not getting back to us as quick as they once were. Um, so we'll hurry up and wait as much as we can on that. Um, we've done all of our final sprays and applications with the nighttime temps. That's one of the main reasons why we don't like people going back on the greens this time of year, especially with those night temps. They freeze, they thaw, they freeze, they thaw. Um, it's just a really short window during the day. If it was going to get to 55 and sunny and I had [clears throat] 30s at night, you could you could play with it, but 23 and 24 at night, it freezes, then it thaws, and then it's just hard to gauge how much damage you're doing, how much damage you can do. Um, we've airrated just about everything. We did the greens, we did the TE's, we did the fairways, we did the rough. Um, we did big spacing because it's a drag race right now to see if you can just get everything once over. What we're going to do now um with the remaining time we have is try to get back in the worst fairway spots and reerate those and to overseed them in the hopes that that seed pops in the spring. Um so sprays are done, top dressing still to be done on greens. Aation and overseed is still to be done. Um but the majority of it is done. Um and that's really it. Water's all done. Everything's pretty much winterized. I know Todd's almost got put in the um restaurant as far as winterizing that. Um we're going to try to put together a bid for the restaurant sooner rather than later so we can find out some answers on that. Um but we're in winterization mode.

Yeah, I'll uh I'll send Josh a email. Yeah, you want to talk with the um all the plugs from the aeration. Was there a spot that we that you dumped all those for all over? Yeah. If you take a look, take a walk, anywhere where there's stakes and ropes, that's where we put it. We put it in a ton of spots. Yeah, that's it's cold. And we, strange enough to end the year, we caught the rains that we started with. I know. It rained to begin, there was nothing in the middle, and it rained at the end. So,

it's never perfect in New England, but at least we we got a little bit of catchup. Spring, you're going to get just the natural melt, and that's the same thing as rain. All that seed we put out. Hopefully, it pops. get aggressive with fertilizer and jump back at it next year. Any questions for Bill or Dan? August first. I was just curious, how do you determine if the course is going to close? Is it on the snow or is it some other factor?

It's kind of it's almost a gut at this point. It really is because it's like Danny and I talk 15 times a day. I talked to him more than my wife this time of year [clears throat] and it's like what's tonight going to be? Is it going to be 23? Well, is anyone going to play tomorrow? Well, no. It gets dark at 4:00. So, when are you going to start letting cards go in the afternoon? Well, it's still not there still frost at 10:00. So, the window to play is like this big. And then we try to balance like how we staff in the pro shop. We still have to have heat on in the nonwinterized bathrooms. So, like just the staffing. So, there's a lot to consider.

Yeah, there's a lot to consider. It's just like you try to get into November. You try as hard as you can to get into November and then you let feedback happen and when we still had greens and te's open so I'm tell we didn't have there wasn't tea time on right now there's no tea time on Saturday I don't know what the weather is looking for but you know it's it's easier middle of November than it is middle of not October but end of October cuz end of October you can still catch two weeks of beautiful weather in November and it's go time again 58 and sunny four or five days in a row okay put the markers back on. Let's put the flags back in. But when I look at the 10day and it isn't hitting 30° at night,

same six guys are going to put mittens on winter hats and walk around in circles whether there's And they're all Yeah. Usually. Yeah. Yeah. And the conditions are so rough right now. It's like we just aired it. Got sand. The grass is long. Te's have plugs on them. Like would it be more fun to put on a green? Yeah. But like let's just let these things be for a minute. Just kind of Yeah. So, mother natur.

So, uh speak of sand. The only complaint I can never defend is the condition of the bunkers at all. Yeah. So, and I play out once in a while, not all time, but neither does anybody else, I think. Is there any plan or is there any way to improve that or is there a reason why we don't just so that people hear it and

No, good question. it and they are in tough shape. Um, it's just where we put our priorities to, you know what I mean? It's it's like when I first started here, we used to rate bunkers like 5 days a week, then we went to four, then we went to three, then we went to two. I'm like, people just talk to me about the greens, you know what I mean? It's it's a balance of time allocation and they're just there's no irrigation around them. So, crab grass is green, but there's no watering around it. So if I put guys out there with hoses to water around them be one thing, but for 100 years people have hit sand out of the bunker onto the edge. So that grass is growing in nothing but sand. So it fries. So I'd love to say we have a plan to go out and edge them all 2 ft back, clean them up, put in drainage, but that's just huge labor and huge money. We add sand every year. Try to fluff them up, you know, try to check the depths and do that. But, um, green, Steve's fairways rough.

Yeah. I think I think some of the complaints was, you know, certain sand. Yeah. Like the ones on two, three, and four, they're pumps. They just drain through. So, I got to keep putting sand in. Keep putting sand in. And yeah, probably not a great answer, but I mean, for some of the ones like that, would we be better off just filling them in and not having that bunker? Yeah. I mean the problem is the rocks are big like big big so pore space is big so I mean I got a lot of fill yeah and the fill eventually is going to rip through like you get a rainy rainy summer the same issue yeah I mean there are boulders in that one on the right side of three yeah obviously I mean it does prevent you know falls from going into the water though exactly hitting three

yeah we flirted with the idea of turning them into sand bunkers you know I mean making pothole bunkers like it's From a playability standpoint, it's hard. That grass has got to be mowed perfect every time. Like the left side of 18 green, like that bunker is that high and it goes straight down. The one right, it's a maintenance nightmare. It's not It was awesome the first 10 years it was built. It's impossible to maintain. Like you have to have a designated crew. So again, not a good answer, but Green Stews are up. Okay, that's the answer. Yeah. Thank you. So speaking of uh like filling in bunkers, that affects the rating. I will if we ever get the final. I have not got that yet. I haven't got the ratings. So, yeah.

And then my last question is, is the cross country race already happened? We don't have We don't have anymore at Devon's now. Yeah, we haven't done. Okay. Great. They don't like running on hills. Yeah. Cross country. Cross country is not the sport it once was. They want to go to Boston and run around tracks two or three times. Devons has got some challenges, but Devon also is a real property. I mean, it's massive parking and they charge differently for parking and yeah, there's some they're not here anymore. That's all I have. Thank you. All right. Uh correspondence. There wasn't any um commission member comments. Do you have anything there?

And you good? No.

All right. So let's do we'll do the financials. So as of today or last Friday, total receipts are $581,000. So we're at 45% of our revenue, projected revenue. Expenses are at 441,000. The only thing that's in here that's kind of out of the ordinary is the termination lead. Everything else is fairly normal. There's nothing big, right? So, right now we're at about $140,000 surplus, which eaten up once they take the u the transfer for the cost and any questions on financial hearing. None say I The other thing that's in your packet is the budget for 26 27. Most of the numbers are fairly similar to the previous years. Um, one thing I did do, Darren, is I increase bills in Dan salary based on what was in the budget. So, I just wanted to make sure that that there was funding in there for that just in case it does happen. Mhm. Um and everything else I, you know, kind of kind of looked at the previous uh year's expenses and kind of, you know, put in the amount based on that a lot. $8,000

in clothing in case we do something in the brochure. Yeah. That'll be I'm sitting down with him next week to to put an order. Um what's the best way I mean because usually he invoices me at the golf shop. You just want me to for reimbursement? Okay. Okay. Yeah. I I got side runs for everybody. I'll probably grab a few extras. Excellent. Just to have Yeah, it's all so he's got these good prices.

Uh the other thing I did increase is the um is the utility cost. We were at 37,000 last year. I put 55,000 in equipment. That's what at least we decided to do that question on that too. I meant to ask the lead time if we do order them is still like 18 months. Every company is so different. Toro seems to be the the one that drags the most. Um we're not in a dire situation right now where I say I have to have that in April. So we're at the point where we're preventatively purchasing really good equipment that's going to last a long time. So we have a little bit more flexibility

and I have all the to fix stuff that I think it's going to take 8 months to get it. Okay. Well, let's make sure we put you know let's make sure that works for April May. So under the pen fertilizer we see I put 145,000. You think that's enough or 260 for direct cost. I probably increase it. I put 20 in for water and sewer. 92,000 for golf cars sales tax. That's for the golf cat lease and the maintenance and $40,000 under u professional child credit fees and also the uh the water testing. So the total budget is coming out to 1 million 312,252. It's fairly close to the previous year, but it's an increase of roughly about60,000 over last year. made it under receipts there. I kind of looked at it from the last season and chips are pretty much right right there. Fees were right about that. Car fees are pretty close to 345. Driving range was was 82, I think it was. So, I just increased it a little bit. And then everything else is just miscellaneous stuff. So, rece,000 small.

So you can review the budget. Um why don't we we can go to the next meeting review. See if you have any questions if you want to make any changes or anything like that. Same thing as you build and Dan and the next speaker. Next meeting. Anybody have to December 15th? That's

will not be here. I'll be gone. Is it good for everybody else?

When do you leave? Yeah. When do I leave? Um um June July January. January. right now. I just like tomorrow. All right, we'll just need motion to adjourn. Make a motion to be journal.