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Minutes 09-15-05 MINUTES OF THE GOLF COURSE ADVISORY COMMITTEE HELD ON THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 15,2005 AT 3:00 P.M. IN THE RESTAURANT OF THE LINK'S CLUBHOUSE, BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA Present: Arthur L. Matthews, Jr. Chair James Smith, Vice Chair Lynda Frederick William McCarty (arrived at 3:33 p.rn.) Herb Suss Corrado Giangreco Kurt Bressner (arrived at 3:17 p.rn.) Dan Hager, Manager of Golf Operations Scott Wahlin I Manager of Golf Maintenance Freda DeFosse, Manager of Golf Administration Absent: Arthur Gabler Dan Winters, County Alternate I. Openings A. Call to Order Chairman Matthews called the meeting to order at 3:02 p.m. B. Agenda Approval 1. Additions, Deletions, Corrections None 2. Adoption Motion Ms. Suss moved to accept the agenda that was duly seconded and unanimously carried. C. Announcements Chairman Matthews welcomed the members to the meeting and introduced Ms. Lynda Frederick the newest member on the Board. Meeting Minutes Golf Course Advisory Committee Boynton Beach, Florida September 15,2005 II. Minutes A. Minutes of the Golf Course Advisory Committee Meeting of March 24, 2005. Chairman Matthews called for a motion to approve the minutes. Ms. De Fosse had previously provided the Recording Secretary with the corrections of the minutes of the March 24, 2005 meeting as follows: . Scott "Whalin" should be changed to Scott "Wahlin" throughout the minutes. . Page 3, third paragraph, in the next to the last line, the word "down" should be added before "500 rounds." . Page 4, first bulleted item, "blowsticks" should be changed to "glowsticks." . Page 4, the first sentence in the next bulleted item should be changed to read: "The Ladies Golf Association and Men's Golf Association will be having an inaugural memorial event on April 6th." . Page 4. The event scheduled for May 21 st is the "fifth", not "fourth" annual adult/child championship. . Page 5, First full sentence, the word "Junior" should be changed to "Amateur." Motion Mr. Suss moved to approve the minutes with the corrections. Motion seconded by Mr. Smith and unanimously carried. III. Reports A. Manager of Golf Operations Report 1. Business Report Mr. Hager announced play is down 4% across the Country. The rounds at the Links are down 6%, but financially the Golf Course is doing okay and is $19,000 in the black. Mr. Hager felt it was very rewarding that the Links was debt free in these times. Chairman Matthews pointed out many golf courses are losing money and going out of business. The City is fortunate to have such a caring staff that continues to keep the Links above water. Mr. Hager felt their success has been not to make the prices cheaper, but to make the Golf Course the "best for the money." 2. Golf Cart Replacement Mr. Hager reported they went out to bid to replace the 90 golf carts. They are going with the company that is offering the Club Car, which is the company the Golf Course has been doing business with over 21 years. He felt their product is state of the art, compared to other carts. They have now gone to 48-volt carts instead of the current 2 Meeting Minutes Golf Course Advisory Committee Boynton Beach, Florida September 15,2005 carts at 36 volts. These batteries are stronger and last longer. The carts are equipped with onboard computer diagnostics and management tools, which will give them a higher trade-in value. Mr. Suss inquired how long it has been since new carts were purchased, and Mr. Hager said it had been six years. This is the first time they are purchasing all new carts at one time. Since Club Car no longer is offering 36-volt carts, staff determined to purchase the entire fleet of 48-volt carts. Mr. Smith inquired if special charging equipment would be needed for the new carts. Mr. Hager explained each cart comes with a charger. Staff anticipates they would be delivered in early November. Approval of the bid should be on the Commission Agenda for the first week in October and if approved, the carts should be delivered sometime in early November. Mr. Suss inquired what the cost was for the carts, and Mr. Hager responded it would cost $179,000 after trade-ins. The funds would come out of the Golf Cart Replacement Account; therefore, no additional costs are involved. Mr. Hager noted the new cars are more economical and only cost 13<t to recharge, compared to the previous cost of 21 <t per car. Chairman Matthews inquired what the trade-in value was for the old carts. Mr. Hager responded the trade-in for the 91 cars was $108,000. Mr. Suss inquired if a warranty came with the cars. Mr. Hager said there was a 3-year bumper-to-bumper warranty. The vendor also guaranteed that the battery would only have to be changed once, which will result in a potential savings of $25,500. Mr. Suss inquired if there was a service contract. Mr. Hager explained the Golf Course paid $800 a month to a company to service the cars, but now it will be done in-house, resulting in an additional savings. 3. Park Vista Invitational 09/23/05 (addressed later) 4. Rate Changes Mr. Hager reported there were three rate changes proposed in their budget. One would be an increase of $1 for a capital improvement surcharge. Mr. Wahlin will be addressing capital improvements later in the meeting. The second increase is a $1 cart fee. The annual permit fee has been increased by $50. The current annual permit has been $600 for 11 years and is now going up to $650. Mr. Hager pointed out this was a small increase compared to other annual permit costs charged by other golf courses. The increase also includes tax. People will now be allowed to renew their permits using a credit card. This is the first time this has been instituted. Chairman Matthews welcomed Mr. Bressner to the meeting. 5. Events held and scheduled since April 1, 2005 Mr. Hager gave an update of events since the last meeting. The Sister Cities night tournament took place on April 1 st and was successful in raising money for the Sister Cities Program. 3 Meeting Minutes Golf Course Advisory Committee Boynton Beach, Florida September 15, 2005 On April 6th the MGA and LGA Memorial Event took place. The Concert on the Green was held on April 16th. Attendance was lower than anticipated. The South Florida PGA senior/junior pro-pro championship took place on May 2nd and was a great success. The South Florida segment is the largest segment of the PGA in the U.S. and the initial kick-off took place at the Links. This is great publicity for the Links. The adult-child championship to raise money for junior golf was held on May 12th and there were 100 participants. The Women's Amateur Public Links Sectional Qualifying tournament took place for the first time. The U.S. Golf Association puts on the event. Florida is the largest golfing State in the Country, and there is only one qualifying site and they chose the Links for its ****% rating. All the best amateur women in Florida and other countries came to the Links to qualify. They raved about the event and how it was set up. A plaque was presented to the Links and Ms. De Fosse displayed the plaque for members to view. Mr. Hager anticipated they would be returning next year. Chairman Matthews inquired if the St. Valentine's Day event would be scheduled again. Mr. Hager responded they are planning to have the event. 3. Park Vista Invitational 09/23/05 (addressed out of order) Mr. Hager announced that the Park Vista Invitational is a new event and is scheduled for next Friday (September 23rd). Five schools will be participating, which is a precluder to their sectional championship. They have a junior fund to raise money and it has been building up. For the first time ever, they will be offering $1,000 in scholarships to the three winners. The Links has developed a great relationship with Park Vista and they are very excited about this event. Mr. Hager pointed out the excellent quality of play the students have displayed. The City Amateur tournament will take place on November 5th. It will be done differently this year and will have a larger field. On the same date, the Links' walker team will be walking for the Heart Walk Fund. Some of the money raised from the City Amateur tournament will also go to the Heart Association. On February 18th, ALS (Lou Gehrig Disease) Association will be holding a long drive contest. The name of this organization is Driving for Life, which was the reason a long drive contest was scheduled to raise money. It was also decided to have a grudge match on February 13th between the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox ball players that will be here during spring training. The Yankees spring train in Tampa Bay. Mr. Hager anticipated a representative from the Tampa Bay Yankees would be calling him in the next few days through a contact he has with the Salvation Army. This would be a wonderful way to raise money for a terrible disease. 4 Meeting Minutes Golf Course Advisory Committee Boynton Beach, Florida September 15,2005 Mr. Smith pointed out that Kurt Schilling is a major supporter of ALS and his son is named Gehrig. 6. FEMA reimbursement ($177,929) Mr. Hager reported that the Golf Course received FEMA funds in the amount of $177,929 as a result of a citywide team effort. 7. Park Vista Autistic Unit Mr. Hager reported there is a new teacher at the school. There are six students participating in the program and it should be starting up one week from today. They are excited about this program. B. Manager of Golf Maintenance Report Mr. Wahlin presented the Golf Maintenance Report 1. Greens Grass Update Mr. Wahlin reported the grass on the putting green and the family golf course was different from the grass on the Championship Course greens. To cause more confusion the name of the grass on the family greens is called champion grass, and the grass on the Champion Course is called Tifdwarf. Mr. Wahlin presented a comparison chart for the costs of the different grasses to determine if staff would like to put Tifdwarf grass on the remainder of the course. The Champion Ultradwarf Bermuadagrass would cost $35,200 per acre, compared to the Tifdwarf Bermudagrass would cost $123,200 per acre. Mr. Wahlin explained installing Tifdwarf Bermudagrass is a very involved process, which is why it costs so much to install. Installation of the Champion Ultradwarf is less complicated. Mr. Wahlin next discussed the irrigation requirements for both grasses. Champion grass cannot go 24 hours without being irrigated and requires daily syringing. Tifdwarf can go two to three days without irrigation. Champion Ultradwarf required two weekly foliar fertilization applications, whereas there is none for Tifdwarf. With regard to aerifications, it is recommended that Champion be aerified four times per year and Tifdward only two times per year. If Champion grass were aerified four times per year, it would be done in June, July, August and September and would require practically closing the Golf Course the entire summer. Tifdwarf grass only has to be aerified twice a year, which is much better. Vertical mowing for Champion Ultradwarf would have to be done four times per year and Tifdwarf only twice a year. Disease control was a big issue this past year and staff was not successful in controlling disease on a couple of greens. Greens on #3 and #8 took six to eight weeks to recover. 5 Meeting Minutes Golf Course Advisory Committee Boynton Beach, Florida September 15,2005 They are good now and are ready for the season. Mr. Wahlin explained the course lost half the grass on those greens this summer, but they have now grown back. Mr. Wahlin next discussed the recuperative potential for both grasses and explained how the grass actually grew. Champion grass takes a longer time to grow than the Tifdwarf that takes one to two weeks to grow back. He did not think staff would go with Champion grass in the future, but will wait until there are funds to go to Tifdwarf. Mr. Smith was under the impression that Champion grass did not have a long life and needed to be replaced more often. Mr. Wahlin explained that this is the reason Champion required more aerifications. Discussion took place regarding the maintenance of the grass. Mr. Wahlin noted they were in good shape for the season, but the summer was difficult. (Bill McCarty arrived at 3:33 p.rn.) 2. Summer Projects Update Staff has continued to clean up from last year's hurricanes. Over 40 large pine and palm trees killed by the hurricanes were removed. A subcontractor is scheduled to remove 35 more dead pine trees this month. Eight so-called "safety" trees have been planted between the driving range and the #1 family tee and also between #s 6, 7 and 8. Two trees on the left side of #16 are scheduled to be replaced. The following are in the process of being completed: a. Drainage, shaping and sod to right of #1 Champ Green. Gravel, sand and catch basins have been added. The car path will be repaved and a curb will be introduced on the right side. b. Reshape and re-sod #4 white and red Champion tees. c. Rototill and smooth bumps in front of #5 Champion tee. d. Extend blue tee to make white tee #11 Champion. By extending this tee, it will become a legal par 5 in accordance with the Florida Golf Association and the USGA. e. Drainage behind #12 Champion Green. f. Reshape and re-sod #18 Champion greenside bunker. The front greenside bunker on #18 is new. 3. Winter Overseeding a. Because the Tifdwarf greens are 12 to 13 years old, staff has decided not to overseed this year. (1) Concentrate on weed control/eft over from Hurricane damage. (2) Staff has not overseeded the Championship Course in the past. 6 Meeting Minutes Golf Course Advisory Committee Boynton Beach, Florida September 15, 2005 Since Mr. Wahlin has been on staff, he does not recall Tifdwarf greens being overseeded. He explained the key to having good Bermuda grass greens during the seasons is to have carbohydrate reserves and ready food available for the plant. By having these reserves during periods of wet cloudy weather and no photosynthesis, the plant will have food stored up to get through this period. He anticipated over the next month the greens would get slower because the carbohydrate reserves are being built up so they can make it through the remainder of the season. All this is dependent upon the weather. If there is a cold spell, staff will spray paint the greens dark green. 4. Irrigation Update a. Computerized Control System. b. HDPE (High Density Polyethylene) c. $1,000,000 Mr. Wahlin anticipated that within the next six to eight years the irrigation system would be replaced. The pump station has already been replaced. Replacing the existing irrigation system will cost $1 million. Half the cost would be for materials and the other half for labor. Mr. Smith inquired if this could be done in stages. Mr. Wahlin said they are budgeting $100,000 for reserves to replace the system. The Golf Course has two major expenses that will occur over the next five to seven years. They are the replacement of the irrigation system and the regressing of the Championship Course Greens. Chairman Matthews inquired what the life of the PVC piping was. Mr. Wahlin responded there are different lives for PVC piping, depending upon its use. Mr. Wahlin noted the Golf Course's irrigation system runs at 125 PSI and is moving through the piping all the time. The piping system is good and is oversized. It is designed to water the 40 acres on the other side of the canal as well. The pressure on the Golf Course is very good and the standard is not to have the water moving faster than 5' per second. If there is good pressure, this means the water is moving slowly and the pressure is being maintained throughout the system. Mr. Smith inquired if the control system could be replaced. Mr. Wahlin said it is possible to replace the control system and not the piping. Mr. Smith inquired if this was something the Golf Course might consider. Mr. Wahlin felt the projects were equal and to replace the control system could cost $500,000, but this is something they review. 5. Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program Update (Mr. Bressner left the meeting at 3:55 p.rn.) Mr. Wahlin explained the intent is to make the Golf Course a certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary. The process is almost complete and there are six areas that must be certified and to date they are certified in three areas as follows: 7 Meeting Minutes Golf Course Advisory Committee Boynton Beach, Florida September 15, 2005 a. Environmental Planning b. Chemical Use Reduction & Safety c. Water Quality Management (Wildlife & Habitat Management is pending) Mr. Wahlin explained the process involved a written inventory of core habitats, native plants and existing wildlife on the Golf Course. In addition, written documentation of staff training is required. Mr. Wahlin explained where the core habitats are located throughout the Golf Course and the required upkeep. Chairman Matthews asked if this has had any affect upon the play. Mr. Hager responded there have been some negative comments. Board members recommended posting signs to alert people to the areas that are part of the wildlife sanctuary. Mr. Wahlin felt eventually people would become accustomed to these areas and realize why they are being maintained in this manner. Mr. Whalin explained how those areas would be maintained Other areas that had to be addressed were water conservation and outreach and education. Mr. Wahlin felt the remaining items could be completed in one week when he had the opportunity. Once everything has been prepared, he will send it to the Audubon Society. Mr. Hagar commended Mr. Wahlin for all the good work he has done for the Golf Course. Chairman Matthews thanked Mr. Wahlin for his report. IV. New Business 1. Starting Time Procedures Mr. Hagar noted for the past 21 years, people were required to call the Golf Course two days in advance for a starting time. The premise behind this was to deter no-shows. However, in today's society, this no longer works. If the situation occurred when a group of people or vacationers wanted to get a time five or six days out, they would call another course instead of waiting until two days to call the Links. Staff has now determined to allow starting time reservations eight days in advance. Mr. Hager explained the reasoning behind eight days instead of seven days. Staff did a lot of research and brainstorming to come up with eight days. Mr. Suss inquired when the eight days would take affect. Mr. Hager anticipated it would begin on November 1st. This means a person could call for a starting time eight days prior to November 1St, which is October 23rd. This information will be included in the permit renewal letters. Staff anticipates with this change, the Links will go to the top of the list as a viable place to play golf. Staff is working on the redesign of the starting time sheets because now eight starting time sheets would be required. Mr. Hager pointed out this would apply to two sessions. The eight-day requirement will apply to everyone, including permit holders. The reason 8 Meeting Minutes Golf Course Advisory Committee Boynton Beach, Florida September 15, 2005 this was never done previously was because permit holders were aware of the system and always called at the earliest time. Mr. Hager felt this new process would result in less congestion during a session. Members thought this was an excellent procedure. Mr. Hager explained after November 1 st, people could call anytime to reserve a starting time eight days in advance and all times would be available to everyone. This was a positive up-grade for the Links and to make playing golf more accommodating for the customer. The only advantage a permit holder would have is that they were aware of the procedure for scheduling tee times. Mr. Hager said staff would do everything possible to get the new time changes disseminated to everyone. Chairman Matthews thought this was a good decision. Mr. Hager explained it was important that the Golf Advisory Committee endorse these changes and recommendations and the members agreed with Chairman Matthews. Staff anticipates this new procedure will result in increased business. 2. Automated Tee Time System Chairman Matthews inquired if no-shows would increase and how would it be addressed. Mr. Hager noted there are no-shows now, but the only way staff would learn if a person or group were chronic no shows would be the frequency of a particular name or group showing up and this is difficult to monitor. Mr. Hager explained that the automated tee time would monitor no-shows. Mr. Hager discussed how the new automated tee time system would be able to retrieve all kinds of information including no-shows. The system would be able to block chronic no-shows. In this instance, they would have to call the Pro Shop. Mr. Hager noted one of the biggest complaints is that people cannot get the tee times they want and the new system should eliminate this problem. Mr. Hager explained how the system would work. People could select a tee time over the telephone using an interactive voice system or by going online to the Golf Course's website, which is the easiest way to book tee times. Mr. Smith inquired if there was a preferred method. Mr. Hager would recommend going online because he felt this was the easiest way. Mr. Smith inquired if a person would be eligible for a rate differential if they booked their time online. The purpose of the new system would be to cut down the time staff has to spend on the telephone booking tee times. There is no advantage to using the automated telephone system over the computer, but the computer can accept an unlimited number of hits at the same time, whereas only two phone lines are being recommended. Currently staff uses four phone lines. Also, by going to the automated system, it would greatly cut down the wait time on the telephone, where currently people have had to wait up to ten minutes to speak to someone. 9 Meeting Minutes Golf Course Advisory Committee Boynton Beach, Florida September 15, 2005 One of the advantages of booking on line is that the names of each member of the party would be listed; however, this may not be possible using the phone system. Ms. Frederick said that one golf course assigns numbers to people and when booking tee time, the number would have to be entered. Mr. Hager discussed giving a lower rate for people using the computer. He explained it costs 101t per person to make a reservation and if a person canceled the time, it would still cost 101t. Mr. Hager pointed out this same system would apply to the Family Course, but that course would only require two days advance notice. The company offering the system is charging $5,000 for the program, so he did not see how a discount could be applied. Mr. Hager noted Ms. DeFosse did a survey to determine whether people would be amenable to an automated system and it appeared that more people preferred the telephone versus the computer. He felt that all people needed to do was to try it to see how it worked. Once they tried it, people would be accustomed to it. Also, there is consideration being given to have a kiosk in the Pro Shop that would contain a wealth of information, plus the ability to book a starting time. Members felt having a kiosk would be a plus. They are working very closely with the company providing the system to come up with a system to accommodate staff's recommendations and upgrades. Chairman Matthews felt providing this system for $5,000 was outstanding. Mr. Hager noted they have not yet purchased the system because it is a work in progress. Mr. Hager pointed out the Links is the only golf course he is aware that measures how they are succeeding with its commitment to its customers. With the new system in place, staff would be able to cut back on paperwork, because the system would produce an electronic starter sheet that would be on a monitor in the starter's booth. The computer would also record the time when a person left the tee and other information such as the cart number, name of each group, how they paid, if they were a permit holder, etc. All this information could be retrieved and compiled into a report so staff could track all this information. All this is included in the $5,000 fee. Mr. Smith inquired what the status was and Mr. Hager said staff had a conference call with the vendor today at 11 :45 a.m. and they came back with what staff had asked. The only drawback with the telephone system is the names of the players cannot be recorded. Mr. Smith felt using the Internet would eliminate this. The vendor has been asked to address having the phone system accept the names of a group and they are looking into this. Mr. Suss felt senior citizens would be reluctant to use the computer or the automated telephone system and would prefer to remain with telephoning the golf course and speaking with a live person. Also, they are used to calling two days in advance and would now have to call eight days in advance. Chairman Matthews concurred that many people have an aversion to using automated telephone systems. 10 Meeting Minutes Golf Course Advisory Committee Boynton Beach, Florida September 15,2005 Ms. DeFosse felt it was important that people be trained and educated to the new system. She realized that it would take time for people to become used to the new system. Staff will be available to help people who are not comfortable with computers or using automated telephone systems and does not expect people to start using it immediately. Mr. Hager noted the vendor is so confident that the system will work, they are providing a one-month trial period, and if it does not work, they would take it back. Ms. Frederick inquired if people would still be able to call the Golf Course for tee time once the new system was in place. Mr. Hager said people could still call the Golf Course and speak with a person. However, he would like to discourage this once the system is up and running because one of the purposes of the system is to eliminate staff spending so much time on the telephone booking tee times. Mr. Hager noted it is still in the planning stage, but he would like the Board's endorsement to move forward with it. Chairman Matthews commended staff on doing the research to come up with a system that would work. He noted training was important in order to get people comfortable with the new system. Chairman Matthews also felt the data the system would provide would be very beneficial to the operation of the golf course in order to keep people informed on how the golf course is performing. Also, Chairman Matthews thought it would be beneficial to have a training period for the public to get accustomed to the system. Ms. De Fosse felt it could be possible to set up a system for people to practice on before it went live. 3. Park Vista High School Mr. Hager reported in the Neighborhood News section of yesterday's newspaper, there was an article about the explosion of students attending the school. The school was designed to hold 2,000 students and there are 2,900 students enrolled. The traffic situation in the area is horrendous and far worse than anticipated. Mr. Hager discussed the traffic situation and the dangers that now exist, especially for the students. Ms. DeFosse has spoken to Matt Immler, the City's new Police Chief. Chief Immler is contacting the Sheriff's Department to see if something could be done. Mr. Hager concluded his report. V. Old Business Mr. Suss inquired about babysitting services offered at the Links that were discussed at the last meeting. Mr. Hager reported he has not yet spoken to the City's Risk Manager, Chuck Magazine to determine the City's liability. Mr. Hager noted there are very stringent requirements in operating a daycare. It was pointed out some golf courses do provide daycare services. Chairman Matthews asked about the status of the two construction sites discussed at the last meeting. Mr. Hager reported that nothing has started. He attended a County Commission meeting and the developer was given approval to build 14 to 17 home sites and a bridge would have to be constructed along Canal Drive. The community would 11 Meeting Minutes Golf Course Advisory Committee Boynton Beach, Florida September 15, 2005 not be gated. Residents of Biltmore Terrace were not in favor of the development and staff is concerned about children cutting across the golf course to attend school. With regard to the construction on the old dumpsite, Mr. Hager did not think anything would happen on this site. Ms. DeFosse said they have not heard anymore about this. VI. Adjournment There being no further business, the meeting properly adjourned at 5:05 p.m. Respectfully submitted, ,.~..h~4-'- )4.. ht ~Jrflu. Barbara M. Madden Recording Secretary (September 23,2005) 12