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Minutes 05-22-08 MINUTES OF THE GOLF COURSE ADVISORY COMMITTEE REGULAR MEETING HELD ON THURSDAY, MAY 22, 2008 AT 3:00 P.M. IN THE CITY COMMISSION CHAMBERS, BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA Present: Herb Suss, Chair Lynda Frederick, Vice Chair Arthur Gabler James Smith Frank Scicchitano, City Alternate Ron Levy, County Alternate Dan Hager, Manager of Golf Operations Scott Wahlin, Manager of Golf Maintenance Absent: Corrado P. Giangreco Arthur L. Matthews, Jr. Kurt Bressner, Non-Voting Member I. Openings A. Call to Order Chair Suss called the meeting to order at 3:01 p.m. He inquired whether anyone in the audience had any comments. No one came forward. Self introductions were made by the board members. B. Agenda Approval 1. Additions, Deletions, Corrections There were no additions, deletions or corrections. 2. Adoption Motion Vice Chair Frederick moved approval of the agenda. Mr. Scicchitano seconded the motion that passed unanimously. C. Announcements Park Vista Ace's Team celebration, Thursday, May 29, 2008, 11:30 a.m. Meeting Minutes Golf Course Advisory Committee Boynton Beach, Florida May 22, 2008 Dan Hager, Manager of Golf Operations, announced a celebration for Park Vista High School's autistic unit would be held Thursday, May 29, 2008, at 11 :30 a.m. on the deck. Pizza and cake would be served and trophies would be awarded. The event would celebrate the success of the team and efforts of the supervisors, and for all the assistance the team provided to the golf course during the year. All were encouraged to attend. II. Minutes A. Minutes of Golf Course Advisory Committee Meeting of December 13, 2007 There were no corrections to the minutes. Motion Mr. Gabler moved to approve the minutes. Mr. Scicchitano seconded the motion that passed unanimously. III. Reports A. Manager of Golf Maintenance Report 1. Brownfield Status Scott Wahlin, Manager of Golf Maintenance, advised the final Phase II Environmental Site Assessment Report was received. The report indicated remediation was necessary if residential housing were to be built on the golf course property. Further assessments were necessary in order to determine the extent of the remediation. 2. Championship Course Greens Resurfacing Staff was in the process of developing specifications for the project which would be awarded following a formal bid process. Staff was looking at different grasses, primarily TifDwarf, which was beneficial for high play. One of the TifDwarf grasses being considered, Jones Dwarf, was specified by Ben Crenshaw. The Village Golf Club was in the process of being renovated and Jones Dwarf was used on their putting greens. Mr. Wahlin would visit Village Golf Club to inspect the grass. One of the benefits of TifDwarf versus Ultra Dwarf was that it recovered quickly from wear damage. The resurfacing would begin in mid-May 2009. 2 Meeting Minutes Golf Course Advisory Committee Boynton Beach, Florida May 22,2008 3. Gold Course Maintenance Guidelines The maintenance guidelines were presented to the board which provided information on mowing heights and frequencies, cultivation programs for putting surfaces, bunker and cart path maintenance, reshaping of tees and fairways, fertility, pesticide application and equipment maintenance. In June, staff would be verticutting rather than aerifying the greens on the Championship Course, which would provide a very playable surface. As the greens would be resurfaced next year, it was not staffs intent to do much in the way of improving the soil and ratios between organic matter and mineral constituents. Staff, however, would take measures to ensure a good putting surface through the remainder of the year. In August and September, staff would reevaluate whether aerification was needed on the Championship Course. As the greens on the Family Course were not going to be resurfaced during the ensuing year, they would be aerified and the holes would be backfilled with sand. It was staffs intent to begin resurfacing the golf course in mid-May, and Mr. Hager anticipated work would be completed by early September. Staff anticipated a revenue loss of $210,000 in cart and green fees while the golf course was partially closed. The driving range and family course would remain open, and temporary greens and putting surfaces would be provided for 18 holes. It was conservatively estimated the golf course would retrieve approximately $60,000 of the estimated $210,000 loss. Costs for permits would r~mge from $10 to $17. The cost to play 18 holes of golf on the Championship course while temporary greens are in use should range in price from $10 to $17. 4. Irrigation System/Water Shortage The new irrigation control system was approved, and staff sent an $87,000 purchase order to the company. It was intended the system, which would be radio and computer controlled, be installed in-house this summer. Adjustable heads would be replaced around the greens and if Phase III water restrictions were in effect in January, there would be an ample supply of water. With labor at $20,000, the cost of the program was estimated at $110,000. Chair Suss inquired about the lifespan of the underground Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC). Mr. Wahlin explained he was aware of incidents where the PVC remained in the ground for 40 years with no split pipes, while in other situations, pipes had split each year. If multiple incidents were observed in a year's time, staff would explore options. Staff would continue to fund the reserve accounts in the event main line replacement was necessary. With the design of the golf course, there were numerous main lines providing water, and the original pipe sizing on the property was designed to water the landfill as well. 3 Meeting Minutes Golf Course Advisory Committee Boynton Beach, Florida May 22,2008 Chair Suss complimented staff for their fine work on the Audubon sanctuary. Mr. Wahlin indicated in order to maintain the current certification, the area would be naturalized and would include flowers to be used as a nectar source for wasps that kill mole crickets. At the current time, the golf course was on a 30% water reduction, which provided an average of 390,000 gallons of water per day, half of the course's historical usage. It was estimated an inch of water was lost on dry, windy days. In order to keep up with the amount of water lost, approximately 800,000 gallons would have to be put down, which exceeded the course's capacity. As a result there were brown spots in the fairways. Weed control could be accomplished around the greens, but most of the herbicides used would cause minor stress to turf, even when the turf was healthy. Thus, during a drought period, staff could not aggressively control the weed problem. B. Manager of Golf Operations Report 1. Business Report Mr. Hager circulated the national averages reported by the National Golf Foundation for private and public courses. Public courses consisted of three classifications: premium (more than $70 per round for 18 holes), standard ($40-70) and value, (less than $40). The Links was in the standard category. The national averages from October 1, 2007 to the current period were down 3.4% on the standard and 6.8% on the value, and up 1.2% on the premium courses. The averages could be directly traced to the economy. When comparing starts for the same time period, the program was down 4.5%, which was attributable to the opening of another public golf course in the immediate area. Lower averages were also caused by 14 bad weather days in 2006/2007 and 24 in 2007/2008. The plans for next year's budget year were to move the 2:00 p.m. tee time holders to 1:00 p.m., the 3:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. and the nine-hole rounds to 2:00 p.m. Mr. Hager discussed the business relationship with a Canadian company, CanAm Group, which allowed the Links to fill "dead time" and provide a source of revenue. CanAm employed bilingual operators that booked the tee times and sent a good deal of business to the Links last year. CanAm had already contacted Mr. Hager with regard to next year. Chair Suss inquired into the feasibility of integrating the nine-hole course with the Championship course to create a 27-hole course in order to collect additional fees for rounds. Mr. Hager asserted this had been tested and did not produce the desired effect. Chair Suss inquired whether the City's brownfields could be integrated to enlarge the course. Mr. Hager explained it would not be financially feasible to bring in the brownfields. 4 Meeting Minutes Golf Course Advisory Committee Boynton Beach, Florida May 22, 2008 2. Events Held Since December 13, 2007 . The Play for Pink Event raised more than $9,500 for breast cancer research, and provided an opportunity to showcase the golf course as women-friendly. . Seventh Annual South Florida PGA Senior-Junior Pro Championship had 102 entries, and also presented an opportunity to showcase the golf course. Tom Durick was responsible for the course marking and set up, and was Mr. Hager's team partner. Out of 51 teams, Mr. Hager and Tom Durick finished in the top 50. The golf professionals were very impressed with the course and had already solidified a date of May 1st for next year. . Eighth Annual Adult-Child Championship had 64 participants. Ron Tapper ran the event and did an outstanding job. While participation dwindled each year, the event was beneficial to families. At this point, staff was not certain whether this event would be continued. . State Qualifier of the United States Golf Association, U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links was held for the past four years at the Links. Mr. Hager noted Tom Durick ran this event and he and the maintenance team should be commended for an outstanding job. 3. Junior Program Since the last meeting, a winter school was held in February, and the spring school for May was currently in session. Two schools were slated for the summer, and would be open for registration in June and July. Basic golf skills, rules history and etiquette were covered in the course. The current data base consisted of 396 junior players. Rick Novack took over the Junior Golf Academy this year. The difficulty with the Junior Golf program was there were not enough opportunities for casual players, who did not believe they could compete with the more skilled players. Several events were held monthly as an incentive to attract junior players. Chair Suss inquired whether there was a way for the members to transport the youngsters to the golf course without the threat of liability to the members or to the City. Risk Management advised there would be liability to the individuals. However, staff was exploring other options and was working with Recreation and Parks through their after-school programs. 5 Meeting Minutes Golf Course Advisory Committee Boynton Beach, Florida May 22, 2008 4. Pace of Play Report Mr. Hager reported on the success of the programs as follows: . In January, the program was 97% successful before 8:00 a.m., 96% between 8:00 and 12 noon, and 100% after 12 noon. . In February, 91% successful before 8:00 a.m.; 95% between 8:00 a.m. and 12 noon; and 99% after 12 noon. . In March, 91% successful before 8:00 a.m.; 97% from 8:00 a.m. to 12 noon, and 99% after 12 noon. . In April, 92% successful before 8:00 a.m.; 99% successful between 8:00 a.m. and 12 noon; and 91 % after 12 noon. 5. Restaurant Report Mr. Hager reported losses continued to grow each year, drawing on the entire operation. As such, a consultant visited the restaurant, and staff received a report late yesterday afternoon. It was likely the restaurant was going to be more of a snack bar. While food was an amenity, the greens are what attracted the players and provided the impetus for their return. Staff discussed streamlining the menu, repainting, and other enhancements. Suggestions from members included designing a drive-up window. This item would be revisited pending further discussions with the consultant. Mr. Hager would provide a copy of the consulting report to the members prior to the next meeting. IV. New Business 1. Pro Shop Renovation Mr. Hager had hoped to have the renovations completed in June, but was not sure this could be accomplished. The renovations included moving the counter out and building a horseshoe counter, assembling it in-house. Also included would be the repositioning of the handicap computer area and point-of-sale register, adding two register wells, and creating a dressing room, reservation and display area. 2. Credit Card Integration with POS Prior to the next season, Mr. Hager hoped to have credit card integration with a point- of-sale system. This would save time for purchasers in line and labor in transmitting 6 Meeting Minutes Golf Course Advisory Committee Boynton Beach, Florida May 22, 2008 information from the software to the City's Finance Department program entitled Golf Trac. 3. New Tee Signs This item was previously discussed. The vendors would offer tee signs at no cost. Their revenue would come from the advertising on the signs. At the conclusion of the first two years, the vendors would start sharing the revenues received. The revenue stream would be increased with each year. Staff solicited bids and the low bid came in under $7,000. The total cost for the project would be less than $9,000. It was anticipated the signs would be installed within the next two months. V. Old Business None VI. Adjournment Jker being no further business to discuss, the meeting adjourned at 4:00 p.m. ~ ~.Dt( '4~ , Stephanie D. Kahn Recording Secretary 070304 7