HomeMy Public PortalAboutGolf Commission -- 2023-01-24 Minutes_I
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TOWN OF BREWSTER
Brewster, Massachusetts 02631
(508) 896-3701
GOLF COMMISSION
Minutes of January 24"', 2023
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Commissioners Present: Andrea Johnson (Vice -Chair), Rob David, John Kissida, Wyn Morton, Jeff
Odell and David Valcourt.
Others Present: Jay Packett (Director of Operations), Colin Walsh (Superintendent,), Cindy Bingham
(Select Board), Rob Harris (CCMGA) Terry Ivester (Women's 18 Hole Association)
THIS MEETING WAS HELD REMOTELY WITH AUDIO AND VIDEO RECORDED. The meeting
may be viewed at: https•//reflect-brewster-ma.cablecast.tv/CablecastPublicSite/show/6351?channel=1
Andrea Johnson called the meeting to order at 4:00 pm after reading remote meeting guidelines and
procedures.
Declaration of a Quorum —Six Golf Commissioners present and accounted for which constitutes a
quorum.
Public Comment — No Public Comment
Superintendent's Report -Colin Walsh -Capital improvement projects on the cart paths near the first
tees and starboard have been started with the removal of trees and widening of the paths. The work was
done in-house with a borrowed truck from the DPW and was labor-intensive, requiring nearly full staff
for three weeks. Tree work was also carried out, and spring thaw will be used to plant seeds and bring it
back to the original state. The golf course is currently facing backlogs on equipment but is expecting the
delivery of a Kubota tractor and a secondhand roller from Hyannis Port. Three GPS sprayers have been
ordered, which are expected to be delivered in August or September and will bring significant savings on
chemicals and fertilizers. The next capital equipment purchase will be for the fairway mowers in fiscal
year 2023-24. The maintenance building study has been commissioned by Catalyst Architects of
Yarmouth and Kurt Raber will be visiting the site soon to tour the facility and provide options for the
building. The current building is undersized, unsafe, poorly ventilated, and poorly lit, and the
maintenance building project is considered the centerpiece of other projects. Work has been done on the
fairway bunkers and drainage projects throughout the course. The parking lot was repaired, and work is
being done on the sinkhole in the cart pen. There is a plan in place for traffic flow around the starter shack
with some details still to be worked out. There is a lot of preparation going on for the spring including
equipment training and purchasing contracts.
Director's Report — Jay Packett - See meeting packet - He summarized the budget and performance for
the end of December FY23 compared to the same period in FY22. The golf course has spent 46% of its
budget in the current fiscal year, which is not much different from the previous year. The revenue in the
month of December was lower due to the course being closed for 9 days, compared to only one day in the
previous year. However, for the whole calendar year, the golf course's revenue was higher, with a total of
$580,000, which is $130,000 more than the previous year. The total number of rounds played in the
calendar year 2022 was 89,756, which is 244 rounds less than the goal, but still the second-highest total
ever. The membership plays for the calendar year 2022 was 52%. The monthly budget projections for
December showed a loss of a little over $300,000, due to an increase in the expenses for wages and
payroll from three pay periods in the month, most will only carry two. Jay Packet noted changes that have
been done to the FY24 budget since January 3 when the budget was first presented to the golf
Commission. The changes include an increase in part-time seasonal wages to bring the golf operation
staff back to pre -pandemic levels, with two starters in the morning, one for each course. There was also a
difference in longevity due to Steve Knowles retirement, and a decrease in the transfer to the capital fund
stabilization due to increases in other expenses such as Medicare. The budget presented is in line with the
five-year financial forecast done by the financial team. The budget will be presented to the Select Board
and finance committee on February 8.
Review and Approve FY2024 Budget -Jeff Odell made a motion to approve the budget for presentation
- Rob David seconded the motion and it was unanimously approved.
Update FY23 HVAC Project (Jeff Odell) -The arrival of equipment for the building project is on
schedule, but the team has not been on site last week or this week. The equipment includes new piping
and a boiler installed in the basement. Jeff Odell noted Jay Packet may have further information.
Jay Packett - Stated the electrical person for the project was on site last week and has prepared a materials
list. The owner of the company confirmed that they will be on site next week with 4-6 people per day,
despite a recent COVID outbreak within the company. They will begin working on dismantling the old
units in the ceilings and bringing the new ones online.
Other Strategic Planning Updates (Commission) John Kissida -Colin Walsh is leading a project to
make improvements to the pathways at the first tee. The goal is to create a more organized and
straightforward layout, with larger pathways leading to the starter shack area. Some existing pathways are
being removed, while others are being left in place due to their frequent use.
Update Pump House Protection Study (Colin Walsh) -Lori Kennedy from Horsley Witten visited the
site to understand the source of water and the terrain. They used topographical maps and video of a
previous storm to understand the flow of water. There was a recent sinkhole that was filled near the
second hole on Port, but it is expected to be evaluated further in the coming months. There have been
issues in the past with sinkholes in that area, which is near the pump house number two. The area is
complicated as there is a power line/irrigation line running through it.
Other Strategic Planning Updates (Commission) -Wynn Mort
on - A request was received from the
town to put together the annual report which they would like to see by February 17th. Jay Packett and
Wynn Morton will be working on putting it together and will send it to the town after it is polished up by
the PR person.
Jay Packett noted they have a deadline of February 17th to submit the report. They will be putting
together the report and sending it to PR person Jen. They want to highlight the fact that they are now an
enterprise fund, meaning the money they bring in is what they spend and is not funded by the town. They
want to make this the primary focus of the report for the entire town to answer questions and avoid
confusion. Jay Packett is asking other Commissioners to send any additional information they want to
include in the report as soon as possible and wants to send a bullet point document to Jen by the end of
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the week for her to start working on it. Jay Packett will get their financial numbers together and send the
final report to town hall to tell their story for 2022 to the entire town.
John Kissida suggested that the nitrogen control and mitigation efforts of the captains should be a key
focus in the annual report for the town. John Kissida also noted this information must be included in
every report as they continue to make changes to their fertilizer inputs and control the amount of nitrogen
being used. Terry Ivester suggested including the solar panels and discussion followed. Dave Valcourt
and Jay Packett noted how the State of the Captains and the Annual Report from the town will run
parallel to each other - The State of the Captains reaching the golfing community and the Annual Report
reaching the non -golfers.
Update "State of the Captains" (Dave Valcourt) Spoke about "The State of the Captains" information
to be sent out. Dave Valcourt mentions the achievements of the club in the previous year and future plans,
including the use of enterprise funds for capital projects and the impact of supply chain delays. Dave
Valcourt also mentions the success of the club in terms of membership, tournament events, and revenue.
He noted the need to communicate this information to the membership and to provide links to relevant
documents and information. He also mentions the current status of membership and the decision to allow
25 new non-resident members. Dave Valcourt noted the capital improvements and purchases being made
by the club, including repairs and updates to the course and facilities. Dave Valcourt noted that links to
relevant information will be provided at the end of the presentation.
Jay Packett noted a link for paying for handicaps online will be updated on the website. The Captains
wants to highlight local charity events and notable tournaments hosted by the golf course, such as the US
Men's senior qualifier, local events like the turkey shoot, and a food drive. The five-year financial forecast
and capital improvements are still in the works, with a meeting scheduled soon to solidify the plans. Once
everything is finalized, The Captains Course will add a link on their website.
Jeff Odell noted that The Captain's contributes a significant amount to the local economy. They have
approved a budget of 1.7 million in wages and $300,000 to the general fund to offset town costs. The
facility, including the restaurant, is estimated to contribute about $2.25 million in wages to the local
economy. Jeff Odell suggests sending some of this information over to be included in the annual report
and mentions that the restaurant operation, which contributes over $70,000 in meal tax, should also be
included. Jay Packett agreed with this idea and suggested talking offline with Sean Sullivan.
John Kissida noted in the annual report of the captains, they will include information about the friends'
donations to the food bank and the capital project progress that has been made, including HVAC,
windows and doors, pump station protection, maintenance building improvement, pavilion work, cart
path work, and forward tees. They also plan to highlight the plan for the future, including the capital plan
and what they will be requesting this year. Additionally, they will mention the improvements made to
Freeman's grill, including the new appliances that were installed. The goal is to show that The Captains is
putting money back into the facilities and that the increase in fees are not being wasted.
Wynn Morton thinks that a newsletter is necessary to regularly disseminate information regarding the
state of the captains. He suggested that the newsletter should be published once every two months and
may even be more frequent. Wynn Morton will collate the information and run it by Jay Packett and then
send it to Jen to be written up in a more digestible fashion. The newsletter will be a continuous collection
of information throughout the year.
Jay Packett noted he is in favor of starting a regular newsletter to disseminate information about the
commission's projects and updates on changes at the golf course. The newsletter should be sent out bi-
monthly. The newsletter would also be featured on the website in a tab called "What's New." Jay Packett
noted he cannot take the lead on this project but is willing to contribute.
Wynn Morton noted the first edition, the "State of the Captains," will be sent out by March, and then there
will be five more newsletters throughout the year (April, June, August, October, and November). That
was how Wynn Morton saw the progression of the newsletter playing out. Dave Valcourt noted that he
has the lead on "The State of Captains" and it will involve input fi•om everyone. They will be sending
information over, and a draft will be created and reviewed before it will be sent out.
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Questions and Comments from Associations and Liaisons - Ross Gorman (Friends of Captains) -
noted that the clock at the golf course was taken down for repairs after a sprinkler head damaged it. The
food bank collected $750 in food and cash donations, with an additional $750 from the Friends group, for
a total of $1500 donated to the lower Cape outreach. The Friends will have events such as a closest to the
in contest, a putting contest, a food drive for veterans, a daffodil planting, divot filling days, a golf ball
picking event, and a golf clinic. The Friends of Captains are seeking volunteers for tournament director,
newsletter production, website help, and membership chair.
Jay Packett wanted to note he had a meeting with the Friends of Captains brainstorming ideas/solutions
for the upcoming season. He wanted to let everyone know how important The Friends of Captains is. It
is an organization that helps the golf course with projects that the normal operating budget does not cover,
like the clock, range markers, and daffodils. They need volunteers and their events typically last 2-2.5
hours. They encourage anyone interested to check out their website (friendswiththecaptains.com) and join
to help the facility. The events also tend to end at Freeman's grill for drinks and food and are a great time.
Review and Approve 12/13 Minutes -Minutes were approved with amendments -Motion made by John
Kissida, seconded by Wynn Morton, unanimously approved.
Tuture Agenda Items and Meetings (2/14, 2/28)
Matters not anticipated by the Chair:
Jay Packet looked to approve the GIFT Tour for golf tournament Thursday May 11 th - about 80-90
players with tee times running from 11 am to 3 pm. Jeff Odell moved to approve the event, it was
seconded by Kissida and unanimously approved.
A motion to adjourn was made by John Kissida, seconded by Dave Valcourt, to adjourn the
meeting. Motion passed unanimously. The Meeting was adjourned at 5:40 pm.
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