December 2006 Golf Committee Minutes

DECEMBER 2006 GOLF COMMITTEE MEETING

Meeting called to order on December 1, 2006, at 9:00 a.m. by Chairman, Bob Peet.

Followed by Pledge of Allegiance.

Committee Members Present: Chairman: Bob Peet; Members: Tom Guinther, Hugh Murphy and Jeanne Osborne. Excused absence: Suzanne Peterson.

Also Present: Pro Shop Manager, Sandy Lobello. Course Director of Golf, Jim Kormondy is out of town. Superintendant, Mike Henderson is unable to attend.

Guests in attendance: Richard Bleau, liaison member from the District Board, John Couch, Al Glashauser, Neil Reardon, John Hall and Beth Gillette, President of the Ladies 18 Hole Golf Association.

The minutes of the January 2006, meeting were approved as submitted.

Correspondence: None.

Unfinished Business: Member, Tom Guinther asked about the status of the equipment tent, and the time line for the building of the equipment barn. Member, Jeanne Osborne reported that the tent was delivered, but when the Interim Manager got the call to schedule its installation, she decided that it was too expensive to install, and sent the tent back. Apparently, Mr. Hunt had ordered a larger tent than the 20 x 40 tent approved by the Board; and the larger size required a permit to install, while the originally approved size could have been installed without a permit. Guinther expressed concern that without the tent, the equipment, which the tent was intended to protect from deterioration, would continue to deteriorate even further. Chairman Peet asked that Liaison, Richard Bleau carry the word back to the Interim Manager that the Golf Committee is "terribly upset" that this decision was made without consulting the Committee, or the District Board which had approved the purchase and construction of the tent. Liaison Bleau said that two bids had been received for the equipment barn construction. Member Osborne added that all the permits for the construction have been obtained.

New Business: Chairman Peet announced that three people had submitted their names to fill the three vacancies on the Golf Committee. Those are: Jeanne Osborne, Bob Peet and Tony Pitrulle. There being no other nominations, Chairman Peet directed the Secretary to enter a unanimous ballot for all three. The new members will take their places on the Committee at the January 2007 meeting, Also, at the January meeting a new Chairman and Secretary will need to be elected by the Committee. Peet thanked the members of the Committee and the staff for their support during his two year tenure as Chairman.

Chairman Peet, expressed his and the Committee's regret, that member, Hugh Murphy's two year term of office is ended; and thanked Murphy for his dedication and service. Member Murphy said that he regretted that during his tenure the Committee was not able to get more done. He went on to say that he felt frustration at the lack of attention paid by the District Board, the Golf Superintendant and the Director of Golf to concerns expressed by the Committee. Murphy said that he felt that with all the Committee's hard work and dedication, nothing ever gets changed. The Chairman agreed that the Committee has no real authority. Member Osborne said that Murphy made a good point. She offered that the problem may be that the Committee has not followed its own By-Laws, which direct the Committee to make its recommendations at the beginning of each year to the Community Manager, and that the Manager, in turn take the recommendations to the Board of Trustees. She suggested that we make the Committee recommendations in January 2007, per the By-Laws. Then, if the recommendations are not followed, we can stand up and say "Hey, we did our job, now you need to do yours."

Report from Pro Shop Manager, Sandy Lobello: Annual, single memberships stand at 274; annual, family memberships 250; semi-annual (October 1 through March 31), single memberships 7; semi-annual family memberships 6; non-resident, single memberships 14; non-resident, family memberships 4; for a total membership of 524.

Tournament proceeds through 2006 have been as follows:

January, Veterans Council - approximately $ 3,000

February, Men's Club Arnie's Army Tournament - approximately $ 1,000

February, Ladies 9 Hole Association Cancer Tournament - approximately $ 850

March, Lions Club Tournament - approximately $ 200

March, VNA Tournament was cancelled due to non-participation

June, Devereaux Childrens Hospital (new) Tournament - approximately $ 5,000

November, Sadie Hawkins Tournament - approximately $ 1,000 (for trees on the golf course)

Total of $ 11,000 raised for benefits.

2007 Tournament schedule is now available at the Pro Shop front desk.

Members need to spend chits earned (prior to October31) in the Pro Shop by December 31, 2006.

The course was re-rated in November. The old course rating and slope were 58.2/91. The new course rating and slope are 60.3/111. The rating and slope have been changed in the computer. As a result, members may see changes in their handicaps.

The Veterans Council Tournament is going to be on January 13, 2007. Sign-ups will begin on December 13, 2006 so that people who usually leave for Christmas will have the opportunity to sign up before they leave. It will be a low-net tournament.

General Discussion: There was discussion about whether or not the cart lease should be renewed. At the November Golf Committee meeting the Interim Manager had said, that we owned the carts, so no lease was necessary. It was her opinion that we just needed to keep the carts in good repair. The issue was that the Committee was not consulted prior to making the decision to sign or not sign the lease.

There was concern about the reported loss of revenue by the 19th Hole. It was the belief that the 19th Hole should be at least breaking even. Member Osborne pointed out that until there are charges levied for all activities in the Bay (not just golf), it is hard to make an assessment of what services are or should be breaking even.

Liaison Bleau reported that he had received a call from a resident on the 7th fairway complaining about water leakage from the course on to his property. The resident said that he cannot begin the skirting on his new home until the leak is fixed. Tony Pitrulle said that the problem is a drain that is not working.

There was discussion about the sand trap edging. Grass is growing into the traps. The wind is blowing sand out of the traps. The crew is supposed to be delineating the edges.

Tony Pitrulle thanked the Committee for voting him into its membership.

Neil Reardon expressed dissatisfaction about the way that holes are cut and replaced. Member Guinther said that the Committee will take Superintendent Henderson out on the course to show him the problem so that we can work together with him to fix the problem.

Beth Gillette said that during the Ladies 18 Hole and 9 Hole combined tournament, in which 78 women played, the grounds crew continued to work on traps

and on fairways while the women were playing, driving equipment across fairways as golfers approached. She asked that the crew be instructed to move out of the way and stop work as players are approaching the crew's work area.

Al Glashauser expressed concern about people running their carts up to the edge of the green, doing considerable damage. The consensus was that marshalls should warn those offenders. Even those golfers with handicap flags have a responsibility to stay 10 feet away from the green, respect the course rules and the course. It was suggested that stakes and ropes be put up in places where damage can be done. Member Guinther suggested that Jim Kormondy work with the marshalls clarifying their authority.

There was a concern about the hazard presented by the old fencing around the back of the 1st tee box All the pieces are sharp and sticking up. It needs to be fixed before someone gets cut, trips or falls.

Beth Gillette said that the 9 and 18 Hole Ladies Association had already paid Jim Kormondy months ago to replace the signs for the donations of the flowers on the 15th tee. She asked when we could expect those new signs. Sandy Lobello said that she would remind Kormondy.

John Couch said that he will be asking the Men's League to purchase a couple of six and eight foot bag racks. The current racks are unsightly and too small to accomodate many bags.

Upon a motion by Osborne, seconded by Guinther, the meeting was adjourned at 9:55 a.m.