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Minutes 01-12-06 MINUTES OF THE GOLF COURSE ADVISORY COMMITTEE HELD ON THURSDAY, JANUARY 12, 2006 AT 3:00 P.M. IN THE CITY COMMISSION CHAMBERS, CITY OF 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 Arthur Gabler, Alternate (left at 3:36 p.m.) Corrado Giangreco, Alternate Dan Hager, Manager of Golf Operations Scott Wahlin, Manager of Golf Maintenance Freda DeFosse, Manager of Golf Administration Absent: Dan Winters, County Alternate Kurt Bressner, Non-Voting Member I. Openings A. Call to Order Chair Matthews called the meeting to order at 3:00 p.m. and called the roll. All regular members and two alternates were present. B. Agenda Aporoval Motion Vice Chair Smith moved to hear New Business first, since the meeting at which it was to be presented had been cancelled due to the hurricane. Ms. Suss seconded the motion that passed unanimously. IV. New Business (Heard out of Order) A. Presentation by Board Member, Herb Suss Chair Matthews stated this item had been the purpose for calling a meeting in the Fall of 2006, but the hurricane intervened. Herb Suss announced he had received a telephone call on the day before this meeting advising him of an E-mail in which the former CRA Director, Doug Hutchinson, mentioned he had a developer interested in redeveloping the golf course. Mr. Suss furnished the Board a copy of a one page document entitled "Future of the Links" in which Mr. Suss had summarized his thoughts and recommendations concerning keeping the current 27 holes intact, and not allowing any part of the Golf Course to be given up for development. Mr. Suss's document also aired his views on the Golf Course's image, marketing, permitting, reconstruction/repair, and financing. Meeting Minutes Golf Course Advisory Board Boynton Beach, Florida January 12, 2006 Motion Mr. Suss moved the Golf Course Advisory Board forward a recommendation to the City Commission as follows: "The Golf Board strongly recommends that the current 27 holes remain intact permanently for the use of all golfers, and not be considered for any other purpose." Mr. McCarty seconded the motion for purposes of discussion. Chair Matthews asked all Board members to render their opinions on the proposed recommendation. Mr. Suss contended the City of Boynton Beach was getting crowded, overdeveloped, and the only thing it had to offer the citizens was the beach and a pristine golf course. He strongly believed if anything outside of golf were developed on even a part of the golf course, it would lead to continued loss of ground and further development. While the development was not actually planned, he did not want to take chances. Ms. Frederick agreed with Mr. Suss. She felt current management staff had put a lot of work into getting the golf course where it was now. She would be very concerned about additional traffic if things were to change. From what she had read, there was always the possibility the old landfill adjoining the course would be develop. She thought The Links was a well-maintained course that had gotten good reviews from players. They were getting amateur tournaments and she would hate to see that disrupted. Mr. McCarty concurred with Mr. Suss and Ms. Frederick and felt the recommendation was in order and timely. Mr. Gabler indicated he was a permit holder and Alternate member of the Golf Course Advisory Board. Mr. Gabler had heard the rumors of development, but did not know any real details about them or whether any plans were imminent. Development would alter the golf course and in the absence of any other information, he concurred. He believed it was the Board's responsibility to make a statement on this. Chair Matthews commented he had not had time to read Mr. Suss's document and so could not comment on it. He reminded everyone that the role of the Board was to act in an advisory capacity to the City Commission, but the power to decide ultimately rested with the City Commission. Mr. Hager referred to Mr. Suss' "Future of the Links" document, saying it was his practice to look at something before making a decision, and he had not had any time to read it. Mr. Hager believed everyone in the room had the same interest. They all loved the golf course, thought it was doing great, and would continue to do so. It was his personal policy to look at anything and give it thought. The golf course employees ran the golf course and everyone else's interest was multiplied in them tenfold since it was their livelihood. The golf course personnel were not in a position to make decisions beyond the City Commission and City Manager. Mr. Smith did not want Mr. Hager to comment on Mr. Suss' document, but wanted him to bring the Board up to date on any pending developments. He asked if there were any serious proposals in front of them that would involve breaking up the golf course in any way. Mr. Hager 2 Meeting Minutes Golf Course Advisory Board Boynton Beach, Florida January 12, 2006 responded there had been an E-mail that Mr. Suss read pertaining to developers using some or part of the golf course. There was currently a feasibility study as to the status of the 40 acres located to the east of the third hole and second green of the championship course to see if it would be possible to build there. There was a meeting, with the approval of the City Manager, where the golf course staff met with one of the Commissioners, who were asking about feasibility of a joint venture that had some positives for both sides. The golf course personnel approached this by saying they would think about it. It was their job to take in the information and look at it. It was not a one-person decision. Ms. DeFosse affirmed there was nothing specific "on the fire" at this time. The only thing was the City Commission had approved a feasibility study concerning the soil on the 40 acres owned by the City. Mr. Giangreco asked who owned the land. Mr. Hager stated the County owned the land on which the golf course was sited. There were 150 acres including lakes. The course was built in late 1982-83 and opened in June of 1984 with the understanding the golf course would be owned and operated by the City of Boynton Beach. The terms were to lease the property from the County for $1 a year for 99 years with an option to renew at the end. It was a joint venture, but the City was solely responsible for the operation. The City built the buildings with a $4M bond issue that was paid off two years ago. Mr. Giangreco asked if the parties to the lease could change their minds. It did not seem the lease would allow someone to come in and develop part of the land. Mr. Hager thought this was a question for the Legal Department, but if two parties to a contract changed their minds, it might be possible. Mr. Suss stated the golf course was well run. However, Mr. Hager and Mr. Suss had a conversation a month ago about the issue of a Commissioner who wanted to use the 9 holes or the 40 acres of the golf course. During this conversation, Mr. Hager told him it would be nice if this were done. It would provide help towards the irrigation and a brand new clubhouse. They could reconfigure the golf course to have 18 holes. Mr. Suss interpreted that to mean they could lose 9 holes of the golf course. He indicated the feasibility money mentioned earlier had not been approved yet. Miami-Dade was spending $49M to fix up methane gas from something done using a landfill. In Delray Beach there was a sinkhole. If the development took place, he did not want to play golf on a reconfigured golf course with a sinkhole. Also, it was said by the Commissioner to be 500 units and now it was 1000 units. Also, if built, Mr. Suss understood the golfers and residents of the development would share the clubhouse. As a golfer and permit holder, he did not want to share this with anyone except other golfers. Mr. Suss mentioned all the development currently underway in Boynton Beach and questioned where the people would go to play golf. There were seniors who wanted to play the 9-hole course. Mr. Suss did not want to give an inch of the golf course up. Mr. Hager referred to the conversation, and did not recall saying, "Wouldn't it be nice" in reference to the development, but he had the courtesy to explain to Mr. Suss what the proposal was because it was not being kept in the dark. The City Manager had given his approval for Mr. Hager to talk to the Commissioner. What he was pointing out to Mr. Suss were the pluses of 3 Meeting Minutes Golf Course Advisory Board Boynton Beach, Florida January 12, 2006 the proposal. He felt in order to make good decisions, it was necessary to consider all available information. Mr. Hager did not know of any sinkholes on a golf course. He did recall in that conversation pointing out the five best courses in Maryland were built on a dumpsite, to give Mr. Suss the best information he could. Every sinkhole he had seen that was built on reclaimed land was because there was a big building sitting on it. That did not mean he was in favor of building on the land adjacent to the course. He was just trying to give Mr. Suss all the information he had. The clubhouse use could be a positive, but Mr. Hager had not decided one way or another. In any case, the clubhouse use was to be at night. He recalled Mr. Suss' statement that he did not want those people using his clubhouse. Mr. Hager said the land in question was the family course and not any nine holes. He believed his job was to take direction from his superiors and look at all facts as hard as possible, pluses and negatives included. The golf course had become successful by doing that. Mr. McCarty asked if Mr. Hager could be quoted as agreeing with Mr. Suss's recommendation in the first sentence of Mr. Suss's "Future of the Links" document. Mr. Hager said he was not capable of commenting on that since he was not on the Board. Mr. McCarty understood that but wondered if Mr. Hager agreed the Board should give that advice to the City Commission. Mr. Hager could not do so without fully researching everything on the table. Mr. Smith noted that was why the Board had asked for Mr. Hager's input - to gain more information. His general perception was anything involving disrupting the golf course and selling off any of the land would not be good. Once the door was open to development, there would be no turning back, he felt. Chair Matthews felt the recommendation should be passed on to the City Commission, believing they would make a wise decision on the matter. Anyone not agreeing with its decision could stand up and make their voice known. He was confident any decision made by the City Commission would be in the best interest of the golfers in the City. Mr. Smith wanted to discuss the rest of Mr. Suss's "Future of the Links" document. Chair Matthews indicated the motion was only covering the recommendation concerning not allowing the golf course to be used for anything other than golf and the motion had to be disposed of before discussing the rest of the document. The motion passed unanimously. Motion Mr. McCarty moved the Board consider the remaining data in Mr. Suss' "Future of the Links" document, reference it, get information to support or deny, and bring up a recommendation regarding Mr. Suss' comments at another meeting. After discussion, the Board decided to review Mr. Suss' document between this meeting and the next one. Mr. Giangreco seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. Chair Matthews differed in his idea of exclusivity for municipal facilities as expressed by Mr. Suss. Chair Matthews felt all municipal facilities should be used to the utmost possible extent. If 4 Meeting Minutes Golf Course Advisory Board Boynton Beach, Florida January 12, 2006 non-golfers could use the clubhouse in the evenings and were supervised, he saw no reason why it should not happen. Mr. Suss believed if they built 1000 units next to the golf course and the residents wanted to use the clubhouse at the same time as the golfers, it would create a big conflict. Chair Matthews felt the mutual use of the clubhouse would not happen without some sort of coordination to avoid such conflicts. Mr. Gabler left the meeting at 3.'36 p.m. to catch a plane. Mr. Hager was looking at Mr. Suss' comments in the "Future of the Links" document. He wondered how the Board would review the document and come to decisions based on what was in the document without referring to staff, who had 21 years of experience in running the golf course. Mr. Suss agreed that was a good point and suggested Mr. Hager take the document home and discuss it among the staff. Also, the Board members would look at it. There was no time limit on it. Mr. Suss felt the Board could not only be an Advisory Board to the City Commission, but to management. If any Board member wished to do so, they could come in and talk to Mr. Hager. Mr. Hager not only appreciated that, but also strongly encouraged the Board members to come see him and if he was not there, Ms. DeFosse could answer the same questions. He did not want to limit the Board members by making them accept staff's ideas. He simply felt they should get all the information they could and make decisions accordingly. His door was always open and he could be reached by telephone as well. Chair Matthews could not imagine anyone on the Board doing research and bypassing the professionals. II. Minutes Approval (Heard out of Order A. Minutes of Golf Course Advisory Committee Meeting of September 15, 2005 Motion Mr. McCarty moved to approve the minutes, seconded by Mr. Suss and passed unanimously. Announcements (Heard out of Order) Chair Matthews said he had not been able to playas often as he wanted to, but when he had been there, the course seemed to be having good play. He announced the course looked good and he praised staff for cleaning up after the hurricane and bring the course back into operation quickly. Mr. Suss concurred the golf course looked great and thanked staff for doing a magnificent job. 5 Meeting Minutes Golf Course Advisory Board Boynton Beach, Florida III. Reports January 12, 2006 A. Golf Operations Mr. Hager reported the course had been completely closed due to Hurricane Wilma on October 24, 2005. It was closed for 16 days until November 8. Nine holes of the championship course were open from November 9 through November 21. From November 22 to December 21, all 27 holes were open on the weekends, Tuesday, and Thursday. The course fully opened every day beginning December 22, 2006. They were $178K short of budget as of the fourth quarter of 2005. The good news was they were only fully operational for 14 of the 31 days, and revenues came in only $32K short for the month of December. December was very active. January was expected to produce revenues exceeding the budget by $24K. They were fully staffed in the administration office. Links Club Card sales were still selling, with a brisk 780 sold since October 1, 2005. There were 111 County and 83 City permit holders. Hurricane expenses to date were: · hurricane cleanup · netting replacement · fence repairs · wireless repair · roof repairs · temporary restrooms · rebuilding 3 relief stations and range building · fill in for holes from trees · temporary labor to date $145K $16,580 $5,200 $1,250 $50-75K (estimated) $3,000/month $110K (estimated) $2500 (estimated) $12,300 Mr. Hager related the golf course was searching for trees that could better withstand hurricanes. Some of the missing trees would be replaced with Florida native trees. Mr. Hager praised Ms. DeFosse on the fantastic job she had done on whittling the cost of the relief stations and range building down from close to $250K to around $llOK. She had worked very hard and diligently to do this, using resources on the Internet and elsewhere to achieve success. This was a shining example of stewardship of money. The structures would be cement and would not blow away with 150 mph winds. In addition to the temporary labor costs, 3,000 golf course crew hours had been used. That was in addition to mowing greens, changing cups, mowing fairways, and all the daily requirements of a golf course. He praised Mr. Wahlin and his crew for their outstanding contribution. It was very challenging to manage hurricane clean up in addition to the regular daily duties at the golf course. FEMA would be reimbursing the City for some of the costs mentioned above. They did not reimburse for lost income. The golf course was reimbursed last year, but he did not want to say it would definitely be replaced until the money was in hand. The previous year's reimbursement was 75% from FEMA and 12.5% from the State of Florida. 6 Meeting Minutes Golf Course Advisory Board Boynton Beach, Florida January 12, 2006 Chair Matthews asked the approximate total of hurricane-related damages, and ~"'r. Hager responded, it had been approximately $250K - $300K. Mr. Suss asked how soon the insurance settlements would be received from insurance the City carried on its grounds and/or buildings. Mr. Hager did not know. During last year, it took about ten months to get reimbursement, even though The Links were almost at the "head of the line" thanks to Scott Wahlin. The Links was the first stop in Palm Beach County for a debris specialist to visit. Mr. Hager reported 90 golf carts had been received to replace ones damaged during the hurricane. They were delivered on November 19 and 20, 2005. The service with Professional Golf Cart was dropped, to the extent they were using them, as a way to save money. The golf carts were under warranty for nearly three years. This represented a savings of $800 per month, and Professional Golf Cart had just given Mr. Hager a proposal to raise that to $950 per month. The golf course had plans to continue saving money by doing many things in house that were now subbed out. Several events were planned. There would be a Sweetheart Event on Valentine's Day, February 14, 2006. Sister Cities Night would take place March 10, 2006 and Mr. Hager asked the Board members to pass the word in order to encourage having a full field on that evening. Play for Pink Breast Cancer Tournament was being held on April 1, 2006. The golf course would host the South Florida Section PGA Senior/Junior Pro-Pro Championship on May 12, 2006. The course would be the only site in the State of Florida for the Women's Amateur United States Golf Association Pub Links Qualifying on May 21, 2006. Future tournaments would be the Adult/Child Championship and the MGA/LGA LGA Memorial Tournaments. Installation of the computerized tee-time was planned for the summer of 2006. The supplier had answered all their questions and they looked forward to having it. The eight-day in advance tee times had been well received, for the most part. Mr. Suss said it was even better than expected and he got a better response than he had previously. Mr. Hager reviewed advertising efforts. He explained they were against putting an ad in the paper for $600, since it would get buried on page 3 of the sports page. They had made an arrangement with a group called CanAm Golf. CanAm Golf provides a service for non-English speaking French Canadians who have a hard time making golfing arrangements due to the language barrier. The Links charges them $46 to play. They are allowed to call 7 days in advance, but were only permitted a tee time after 12:00 noon, which was not a peak time. CanAm guarantees payment, even if the golfers do not show up. Last year the French Canadians played 185,000 rounds in Broward and Palm Beach County through CanAm. The company made its money by a $5 return from the $46 fee. The rate being charged was equivalent to the Links Club Card rate after 12:00 p.m. Some of them were starting to come in. Mr. Hager referred to the movie theater on Old Boynton Road where they were doing some advertising and getting good feedback on it. For the price of $325 total for three months, the golf course was on the screen for 12 seconds. He saw it four times and the ad was beautiful. 7 Meeting Minutes Golf Course Advisory Board Boynton Beach, Florida January 12, 2006 The ad was being shown to 56K moviegoers per month. If only 10 per cent of them played golf, that would be 5,600 potential new players. Mr. Hager said the only thing they wanted people to expect at The Links was the unexpected, in regard to promotions. During December, they met their mission of growing the game by passing out free USGA (United States Golf Association) rulebooks, which The Links was able to obtain for 33 cents apiece. On the weekend before this meeting, free golf caps were given out on Saturday and Sunday to all golfers from the start of the day until noon. They thought this would be the best advertisement of all because people all over would see the caps and learn about The Links. Mr. Suss expressed appreciation for a 10-minute golf clinic he had enjoyed at The Links recently. He wondered if this would be done in the future. Mr. Hager indicated this would happen again through the PGA in May of this year. Staff wanted to do one even before that and was discussing it. Mr. Smith asked Mr. Hager if they had given any thought to a formalized, 2 to 3 day golf school for adults during the winter. Mr. Hager said they had talked about it. They did it with their juniors now and it was well received. Mr. Hager had other responsibilities and doing this himself would be difficult. Scheduling it would be difficult due to staff's rotation schedules, but he would bring it up for discussion again. It would be good and if nothing else, he hoped to be able to teach individuals how to be golfers. Other schools concentrated on the swing, and The Links prided itself on teaching people how to be golfers. They included the history of the game, heritage, rules, and all the things that made golf a special sport. Most people seemed to expect schools to be all about the swing. Mr. James commented that charging for the school would make it more valuable to the public. Mr. Suss asked Mr. Hager to bring the Board up to date on the program for autistic children from Park Vista High School. Mr. Hager said they had increased the number on the team, "the Golf Blazers," from six to eight, and they met on Monday mornings. They were doing a great job. Autistic children were often still in high school in their early twenties. Park Vista High School's team practices at The Links and they were not allowed to hang a banner in their new $62M school unless they had won District or State contests. They had one banner hanging in the gym and it was for golf. They gave The Links a nice plaque, thanking The Links for its cooperation and help. Of the ten boys on the team, there was only one that did not go through The Links' junior golfer program. Mr. Hager commented they planned to build a reserve fund for hurricanes into the budget, in light of the prognosis of having more hurricanes next year. Chair Matthews asked Mr. Hager about the financial health of the golf course. Mr. Hager responded they were debt free and had retained cash before the hurricane expenses in the amount of $600K. Also, they were taking their fiduciary responsibilities seriously. v. Old Business None 8 Meeting Minutes Golf Course Advisory Board Boynton Beach, Florida January 12, 2006 VI. Adjournment Motion Mr. Smith moved to adjourn the meeting at 4:05 p.m., seconded by Mr. Suss and unanimously carried. Respectfully submitted, ~~~, Susan Collins Recording Secretary (011306) 9