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Minutes 12-10-09 MINUTES OF THE GOLF COURSE ADVISORY COMMITTEE REGULAR MEETING HELD ON THURSDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2009 AT 4:00 P.M. CITY COMMISSION CHAMBERS, BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA Present: Herb Suss, Chair Sue Indilicato Arthur L. Matthews, Jr. Corrado P. Giangreco, City Alternate Frank Scicchitano, City Alternate Ron Levy, County Alternate Dan Hager, Manager of Golf Operations Scott Wahlin, Manager of Golf Maintenance Absent: Arthur Gabler Kurt Bressner, Non-Voting Member James Smith I. Openings A. Call to Order Chair Suss called the meeting to order at 4:00 p.m. Self-introductions were made. B. Agenda Approval 1. Additions, Deletions, Corrections There were no additions, deletions or corrections. 2. Adoption Motion Mr. Matthews moved approval of the agenda as presented. Mr. Levy seconded the motion that passed unanimously. C. Announcements Chair Suss announced Lynda Frederick stepped down from the Board and would be missed. He introduced Ms. Indilicato who would fill in for the remainder of Ms. Frederick's term. 1 Meeting Minutes Golf Course Advisory Committee Boynton Beach, FL December 10, 2009 II. Minutes A. Minutes of Golf Course Advisory Committee Meeting of January 8, 2009. Motion Mr. Matthews moved to accept the minutes as presented. Mr. Scicchitano seconded the motion that passed unanimously III. Reports A. Manager of Golf Maintenance Report 1. Championship Course Greens Resurfacing Update Scott Wahlin, Manager of Golf Maintenance, reviewed a PowerPoint presentation he had. The renovation of the championship course was completed at a cost of $220,000, which was $80,000 less than what was anticipated. They believe this was accomplished because it was aggressively bid. As the first step in the process, they determined the edges and the elevations. The second step was to remove the grass. The third step was to remove three-inches of top soil and then back-filled with four inches of sand. They rototilled the greens and sterilized the soil. The soil sterilization had environmental implications as to ozone, but it was not toxic to animals. The property was graded and they cut in sprigs certified by the State of Georgia. A sprig was a living piece of grass with a node and a stem. They would use the sprig to establish the grass. The grass was selected because it was genetically stable. The grass currently on the greens, when the course was built to USGA specifications, was the best available at the time, but it was not very good. This new grass was used on the greens at the course in High Ridge eight years ago. The greens were recently inspected and they looked good so it was thought the grass would do well at the Links. 2. Family Course Resurfacing Mr. Wahlin explained they would be resurfacing the Family Course Greens and they did not earn enough revenue from the course to justify spending $200,000 to improve the greens to the standard used on the Championship Course Greens. They would try to improve the Family Course, but it was not a good business decision to put a lot of money into the course. The greens were being resurfaced because there was a lot of contamination. There were many different types of grasses and they were hard to maintain because the 2 Meeting Minutes Golf Course Advisory Committee Boynton Beach, FL December 10, 2009 grasses had different maintenance requirements. Additionally, the grasses failed during the past two summers. They would be using a no-till procedure, which was low cost. Much of the monies to maintain the surface could be used to complete the project. They anticipated spending $11,400 for the nine greens on the Family Course, using the same grass used on the Championship Course. On June 1 st, they would spray the greens with Round-Up and again on June 8th. On June 15th they would close the greens and hoped to reopen them in September. 3. Cart Path Microsurfacing The cart paths at the golf course would be microsurfaced. There are about 25,000 square yards of asphalt on the golf course, and if they use this method, they anticipated they could resurface all the asphalt for $100,000. George Mantell of Public Works brought the method to Mr. Wahlin's attention, and the product was anticipated to last 15 years. They are awaiting a price and hoped to do all the resurfacing at the same time. 4. Audubon Recertified. Mr. Wahlin announced this summer, the Links was recertified in the Audobon Cooperative Sanctuary program. The inspection was performed by Jeff Klontz, who is a Certified Golf Club Superintendent at the Country Club of Florida, which was also a certified sanctuary. Mr. Klonz made some suggestions. For the next certification, they would need a project of some sort. He anticipated putting in a more extensive butterfly garden in front of the clubhouse and replacing it with a flagpole and annuals. They were also looking to install more extensive butterfly gardens behind Green 6 on the Championship course and to the left of Green 8 of the Family Course. Mr. Klonz suggested putting in Purple Martins. Staff would will try the plants and hoped to continue to supplement the program. It was noted the program was very successful at the Country Club of Florida. They would also like to aerify pond numbers 17 and 18 with a slight bubbling as opposed to a fountain. It was estimated the project would cost $1,500 and about $300 to power the pump per year. Mr. Wahlin explained there were different layers in the lakes. Some layers have oxygen and others did not. The oxygen is in the top layer of the lake where the fish can survive. When the cold water runoff or rain enters the lake, it causes the lake to invert and the oxygen levels in the lake drop to the point the fish cannot survive. The aerator removes those layers and helps to keep the fish alive. It would increase the number of fish in the lake thereby attracting more birds, such as Osprey. They will see how the procedure works and possibly expand it to other lakes. There were no significant problems with algae in the lakes and there was grass-eating Carp there. Due to the barrier they have around the lakes, almost all of the nutrients from the golf course are caught in the vegetation, and very little contamination enters 3 Meeting Minutes Golf Course Advisory Committee Boynton Beach, FL December 10, 2009 the lake. High phosphorus usually causes algae but the level at the Links was fairly low. Additionally, they check the water quality on a quarterly basis. There was an inquiry about how long it would take to resurface the golf paths. Mr. Wahlin thought it may be one week. There were no plans to add or extended the paths. Chair Suss thanked Mr. Wahlin for his efforts on the certifications as it was in keeping with the City's Green Theme and certifications. There was one alligator issue noted in the Family Green 7 area which they were watching. There were raccoons that would appear from time to time; however, traps would be used. Several raccoons were already removed from the property. Chair Suss asked Mr. Wahlin to relay the Board's appreciation and comments to the staff. He expressed both the Board and the public appreciated their efforts. Mr. Wahlin agreed the staff was excellent. B. Manager of Golf Operations Report 1 . Business Report Dan Hager, Manager Golf Course Operations Manager, reported the Links was named as "Florida's Best Municipal Golf Course" by Golf Digest for 2009. He advised the rating carried a lot of responsibility and they were proud and appreciative of the accolade. The award raised the bar for them. There was a new logo used at the Links designed by Administrative Assistant, Sam Reep, who has a degree in graphic design. The logo was being used on items such as cups, the Links Club Card, annual permit holders and on the signage when you entered the course. It was suggested the logo be used on both sides of the sign on Jog Road. Mr. Hager reviewed the rounds comparison and pointed out the greens resurfacing had shut the course down for a period of time. The Championship and Family Course rounds and starts in 2009 were 72,138 compared to 81,937 in 2008, which was a 12% reduction. Mr. Hager further broke down the figures, which are contained in the meeting backup. Mr. Hager was also unable to ascertain the increase in usage that resulted from receiving the "Florida's Best Municipal Golf Course" designation. He was certain it increased the course's usage but he expressed it was unquantifiable. The Annual Gap Survey, which was a survey they used that separated the difference between what a customer wanted and how they were accomplishing meeting that need was reviewed. This was important because it provided staff with direction regarding what areas should be improved and how to best utilize their funds. Mr. Hager was pleased with the results. Compared to 2008, the only area that showed a slight decline 4 Meeting Minutes Golf Course Advisory Committee Boynton Beach, FL December 10, 2009 was the cost value for the service provided, which reflected a decline from -.01 to -.02. Given the current economic environment, this was an area that would not receive a favorable report. The advertising budget was reduced and they eliminated their ad in the movie theater. Mr. Hager preferred to pinpoint the dollars so the ads would only be seen by golfers. They produced two new commercials at a cost of $670, which were aired. They were offered two 15-second spots instead of a 30-second spot, which would double their exposure. Mr. Hager reported they have received positive feedback. 2. Events held Events held at the course were the 2009 South Florida PGA Senior/Junior Pro Championship on April 30, 2009. There were 90 participants. Mr. Hager explained this was quite notable because the South Florida section was the largest PGA section in the country, and with all the great venues they had to chose from in South Florida to open their season, they selected a public municipal golf course. The 9th Annual Play for Pink, an event to raise breast cancer awareness, was held at the course. He reported participation was not as good as before, but they had 76 participants and raised $6,381. Mr. Hager advised his wife was doing well, after learning she had breast cancer, and he had a particular sensitivity to the cause. Mr. Tom Durick was the Chair of the event, and staff pitched in to make the event a success. The 5th Annual Park Vista Invitational was held on October 13, 2009. Seven schools were invited. They were able to award $1,000 in scholarships and the event received positive press coverage. The first place golfer received a voucher for $500, the second place - $300 and the third place golfer received $200. To date, each voucher was turned in, and all the recipient had to do was turn in their college schedule. The event was funded by the donation of golf clubs, which are resold and other donations they received. Mr. Hager reported they are the State site for qualifying for the United States Association Women's Amateur Public Link Championship. They were unable to participate in the event last year because of the resurfacing, but they were slated for next year. The event will take place May 23, 2010. An event with the Park Vista High School Autistic Unit to assist students was held. It teaches the students teamwork and discipline and helps them obtain a job in the workforce. Much of the event's success was due to two supervisors, Erica Ragnott and Bill Pickert. Each year before school ended in May, a celebration for them was held. Mr. Hager had photos of the youth, who assist with tasks such as picking up the range baskets, and they each receive a trophy. Mr. Hager reported whenever the youth are present, they brighten up the day for staff, and the students were wonderful. 5 Meeting Minutes Golf Course Advisory Committee Boynton Beach, FL December 10,2009 3. Junior Program The course held five schools this year, and they have a current database of juniors that are able to come and practice at the Links. Some of the juniors have graduated from the Links golf school, but their database contains the names of 369 junior golfers. The Junior Golf Academy has become very popular and Mr. Hager credited Rick Novak with its success. Mr. Novak also hosted 11 junior golf events with 108 participants. He was also planning a Junior Golf Champion event in May 2010 and would have a match play event. The ages of the junior golfers ranged from 7 to 17, but the majority of the youth were aged 9-13. It was noted that Matt Cahill, a graduate of the Links Junior Program recently qualified for the U.S. Amateur. 4. Pace of Play Report Mr. Hager reviewed the pace of play during the month of February, which was one of the busiest months at the Links. They had a 91 % success rate of moving golf groups that teed off prior to 8:00 a.m. out within a 3-hour and 50-minute maximum time frame. They had a 96% success rate of moving golfers who teed off between 8:00 and 12 noon out within a four-hour maximum window. CanAm, the Canadian players were participating in the course. Mr. Hager reported he was looking for an increase in revenues of $100,000. Effective January 18, 2009, they discounted their rates starting at 11 :00 a.m. The times the course was slower was when golfers teed off the back nine holes before 8:00 a.m. and the front nine after 3:00 p.m. They have special prices, and they marketed the changes, but it showed only a slight increase. It was still early in the year and Mr. Hager anticipated the category of teeing off after 11 :00 a.m. would increase thereby providing for an increase in revenues. The downside was while they picked up numbers in that timeframe, they were losing golfers before 8:00 a.m. who played 18 holes. He believed it was because the golfers that used to play those slots were no longer playing. Staff was watching this movement very closely, 5. Restaurant Report Mr. Hager thanked Chair Suss, Mr. Scicchitano and Ms. Indilicato for serving on the committee to select the concessionaire at the Links. On a different note, he also expressed during his 25 years of service to the City, the current City Manager was the best he's seen. He explained the City Manager stood in the gap between the employees and the City Commission to ensure no golf course employee would lose their job. Subsequently, four former employees of the Links were moved to jobs elsewhere in the City. Terry Foley, explained they started operations at the Links on September 30,2009 and his staff loves it. They also service Park Ridge, Okahelee golf courses, and instead of 6 Meeting Minutes Golf Course Advisory Committee Boynton Beach, FL December 10,2009 having to obtain new workers, some of their employees from their other restaurants wanted to work at the Links. They kept the name "Fresh Links" to keep the Links continuous and to indicate the restaurant was moving in a different direction. He reported they have more of a morning crowd than they do at their other locations and they were just about at the break-even point. The beverage cart sales were increasing, which they run on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. They have been in the business 16 years. He explained he has never seen a staff as responsive as the Boynton staff. Chair Suss wished Mr. Foley luck and complimented staff. Ms. Indilicato reported she was beginning to receive positive reports about the restaurant from women golfers. She pitched the restaurant to her group at their winter luncheon. Mr. Matthews requested bringing the beer mugs back. Mr. Foley reported the mugs were available and patrons just need to ask for them. Mr. Matthews also reported he plays at several different golf courses and he always feels at home at the Links. Mr. Scicchitano praised the staff. IV. New Business A. Golf Logix for golf carts. Mr. Hager reported Golf Logix approached the Links to install their GPS system on the carts. Mr. Hager explained they were considering using the device for the next year and they just installed two on a trial basis. Mr. Hager advised when golfers would call ahead to advise when their group would arrive, staff would put the carts aside. Afterward, the golfers would complete a short survey. Staff would then obtain feedback to determine if they should use the service. V. Old Business None. VI. Adjournment There being no further business to discuss, the meeting was adjourned at 5:06 p.m. CCLt/Li/~/~L (])JWuJ/ Catherine Cherry r Recording Secretary 011610 7