HomeMy Public PortalAboutGolf Commission -- 2022-10-11 MinutesTOWN OF BREWSTER
Brewster, Massachusetts 02631
(508) 896-3701
GOLF COMMISSION
Minutes of October 11'", 2022
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Commissioners Present: Arnie O'Connell (Chair), Andrea Johnson (Vice -Chair), Rob David, ,Wyn
Morton, Jeff Odell and David Valcourt (participating remotely).
Others Present: Jay Packett (Director of Operations), Colin Walsh (Superintendent,). Bill Meehan
(Liaison to Finance Committee, Dave Whitney (Liaison to the Selectboard) and Terry Ivester (Women's
18 -Hole Association) participated remotely,
THIS MEETING WAS HELD 1N PERSON WITH AUDIO AND VIDEO RECORDED. The meeting
may be viewed at: https•//reflect-brewster-ma cablecast tv/CablecastPublicSite/show/6206?channel=l
Anne O'Connell called the meeting to order at 4:00 pm after reading meeting guidelines and procedures.
Declaration of a Quorum - 6 Commissioners present and accounted for which constitutes a quorum.
Public Comment - No Public Comment
Superintendent's Report —Colin Walsh —Nitrogen Reduction Program —Reviewing how the progress
and the data now that we are one year into the project —this will happen with Horrisey and Whitten. They
will work with the Pump House Protection Plan as well. Colin Walsh and Jay Packett met with Laurie
Kennedy, and she will be coming for a site visit soon. The crew is working to keep the course clean of
leaves and doing some minor bunker work. They will be working to improve some bunker faces going
forward. Soon they will tackle some more of the sinkholes. They are in the early order season and trying
to take advantage of some good discounts. They are beginning to lay off some maintenance staff at this
time of year. There are 19 workers now and at the height of the season they had 25. They will prepare as
best as possible and dial in the course for the NEIGA Tournament upcoming.
Update Cart Path Repair —Met with Mike Nort
on of Laurence Lynch in early August and he took
measurements of cart path areas that will need to be repaired. Looking to widen and replace existing cart
paths but will not be extending them. The price quoted was around $99,500.00 and we have asked for
$120,000. There is some contingency on the price based on the subgrade material used in certain areas
that may need to be replaced. Laurence Lynch was the winning bidder for the County bid. Wyn Morton
asked when asphalt will be laid down? Colin noted the money is not approved till November so they will
contract with them after that date and set it up for when they will be opening in late March, early April.
The crew at Captains will do a lot of the prep work for the project before then, i.e., removing the old
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asphalt and preparing the areas. Anne O'Connell and Colin Walsh noted that Starboard would be the best
place to start for the forward tee project.
Director's Report — Jay Packett noted we are in line with last year with the percentage of budget spent at
this time of year. Operating and Wages are up slightly versus last year but are in a good spot overall.
Comparison Reports — overall bottom line we are $43,000 ahead of last year — attribute this to slight
increases in greens fees and increased revenue in cart fees. Driving range and pro shop sales are down
slightly in September versus last year. Pro shop has been dealing with some supply chain issues. For the
calendar year revenue, greens fees, and cart fees are up. Overall, for the calendar year the course is
$621,000.00 ahead of 2021. For the fiscal year we are $171,000 ahead of fiscal 2022. Play totals for the
month of September were 11,219 rounds - most in September since 2006. Play totals for the calendar
year of 2022 are slightly behind 2021, which was a record year itself. 2022 will be pushing the 90,000
total rounds played threshold by the end of the fiscal year. Huge kudos to Colin Walsh and his crew.
Projections - overall projecting about three times more than what was expected in fiscal 2023.
Course Operations Questions and Concerns - No questions or comments
MA Golf Senior 4 -Ball 2023 -Jay Packett reached out to Mass Golf as to what they would be providing
for Captains hosting the event. All participants will be required to ride and pay a full nonmember cart
fee to Captains. With a full field that is $16,000 revenue for the two-day tournament - but that is sign
up numbers dependent. For the time frame of the tournament Captains Course is averaging 5-6
thousand dollars in revenue per day. Mass Golf would be also doing a $1200 stipend for use of the
practice range. On day 1 they would be doing a lunch at approximately $20 per player that would
provide revenue to Freemans Grill. Also, when prizes are awarded, they are in pro shop credit - that
would be about $3000.00. The two days for the golf course operation side is $20-22 thousand dollars in
revenue. Revenue is good but must also speak on how it will affect the members. It is a two-day event
taking up both golf courses. There is an AM and PM wave of golfers - so there would be no access to the
courses until at least 4pm each day. At the very least one association would be affected by this event.
Jay asked for input to make sure they keep in mind membership access and what we are trying to offer
our membership with the last two years in mind. Discussion followed. Jay Packett will email Mass Golf
and state they have a tentative yes if the tournament is held on Monday/Tuesday May 22nd and 23rd.
Terry Ivester of the Ladies 1&Holers approved if the accommodation was made for the association to
play on Wednesday. Jeff Odell moved to approve the Senior 4 -Ball for those dates and was seconded by
Wynn Morton. Motion unanimously approved.
Sinkhole Update -Geotechnical Engineering firm that looked at the sinkholes in the cart barn finished
up last week -They need to physically probe the sink holes -Jay Packett hopes to have a report to have
more substantial information on how they will be moving forward in a few weeks.
Jay Packett announced Steve Knowles will be retiring next Thursday October 20th after 24 years at the
Golf Course. A big thanks to Steve Knowles for all his hard work. Jay Packett announced that Keith
Gagnon will be the new Head Professional/Pro Shop Manager at Captains Golf Course - he is coming to
Captains from Mass Golf.
Update FY23 HVAC Project (Jeff Odell) - No substantial changes since last meeting -the contractor
and rise engineering are working with suppliers on equipment specifications and availability. Waiting on
the November 14th meeting for the supplemental appropriations so the contract can be formalized on the
15th.
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Update FY23 Windows/Doors Project (Rob David) - The town is reevaluating the project and what the
next steps may be as the bid came in as about twice what was expected. The town is looking at options
and will have more information at the next meeting.
Other Strategic Planning Updates (Commission) - No other updates.
Discussion and possible vote on membership changes -Anne O'Connell noted the discussion will be
on what the 2023 golf season membership will look like. There has been a hold on new non-resident
members and a waiting list created. The packet has the updated membership totals. Discussion followed
on the topic and how to approach the 2023 membership season. Jay Packett and his staff will do a survey
regarding the current waiting list for nonresidents and see what interest remains and for what membership
types. Everyone was asked to think about the ideal number of members for the Captains Course and how
many to possibly let in from the waiting list based on attrition rates.
Questions and Comments from Associations and Liaisons:
Bill Meehan noted that he hopes the work on other sinkholes around the course will continue and not be
lost in the fixing of the cart barn sink holes. - Jay Packett acknowledged this and agreed with Bill
Meehan.
Review and Approve Minutes
9/13/22 - Minutes were unanimously approved as is.
9/27/22 - Minutes as corrected were unanimously approved.
Future 119 Items and meetings (10/25)
Anne O'Connell noted that the Tee Time Allocation process will need to be looked at during the next
meeting. There will also be an update on the windows and doors project as well as beginning discussions
on rates.
Wynn Morton noted that as a ranger he has accumulated a list of smaller repairs as they might not
each the level of a capital expenditure - Wynn Morton handed out the list he provided to the
commission, and it will be added to the agenda for next meeting.
Dave Valcourt - suggested adding a yearend review/put together an email to send out to the members to
the agenda.
Matters not anticipated by the Chair: None
A motion to adjourn was made by Jeff Odell, seconded by Wynn Morton, to adjourn the meeting.
Motion passed unanimously. The Meeting was adjourned at 5:20 pm.
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