GOLF COURSE ADVISORY COMMITTEE

DRAFT
GOLF COURSE ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES
FEBRUARY 16, 2006
DAIRY CREEK GOLF COURSE

PRESENT: D. Clew, G. Lane, P. Ehda, S. Spisak, R. Sabersky
ABSENT: G. Broering, D. Pestrello, R.Pence
STAFF: P. Jenny, R. Festa, R. Comerford, J. Clay

Meeting called to order at 6:07 p.m.

Minutes from November 17, 2005 were approved as submitted.

PUBLIC COMMENTS: Nancy Brown inquired about a convex traffic mirror for the lower parking lot at MBGC. This was a continuation of a discussion from a past GCAC meeting relative to the hazard of exiting the lower parking lot onto Park View Drive. Ray Festa told the committee that he had met with a traffic engineer from County Public Works to discuss the issue and the engineer did not endorse the use of a traffic mirror. Mirrors are an unreliable solution for judging the distance of on-coming vehicles. The engineer did propose a number of remedies for slowing traffic on Park View Drive and increasing safety for golf patrons. Festa will meet with State Parks Superintendent to discuss these options. State Parks owns and controls Park View Drive, which bisects the golf course.

REPORTS:
CHALK MOUNTAIN GOLF COURSE (J. CLAY)
· Golf rounds since August 2005 have been up slightly. Despite this increase, most rounds are in discounted categories resulting in little increase in operating revenues.
· Turf damages resulting from irrigation system failures last summer have mostly healed. The golf course has gradually recovered. Some fairway drainage work has been undertaken this winter to improve playability.
· The Chalk Mountain Seniors Club is doing well and the Ladies Club membership has experienced an increase in membership in recent months.
· High School teams have begun their season with approximately 40 students using Chalk Mountain as part of their team play.
· The volunteer program at Chalk Mountain GC was temporarily suspended due to Workers Comp issues. The golf course is now required to pay Workers Comp for all volunteer help. The insurance problems have been resolved and a new volunteer program is being introduced for marshals and general volunteer positions.

MORRO BAY /DAIRY CREEK GOLF COURSES (R. Comerford)
· Golf Rounds are also up slightly for the past six months compared to previous years.
· New fleets of golf carts arrived for Morro Bay and Dairy Creek in December and the public seems to be very happy with the product.
· The Morro Bay Rotary Club has moved their weekly lunch meeting to the Morro Bay Clubhouse and reports are all favorable. This is a good new client for the facility.
· Finishing improvements are being done to the dining room at Morro Bay.
· Ryan is working on implementing systems and procedures to strengthen the core concession operations at MB and DC.

OLD BUSINESS
· Festa presented a report on 2006 annual card sales activities. In general, 2006 card sales are up versus same period in prior year. Through January 31, 2006 a total of 1,705 cards have been issued at the three county golf courses. That is an increase of 190 cards over the previous year. There have been a total of 163 Spouse/Partner cards issued at the three golf courses, of which 85 players are new to the county card system. It appears that the 2006 annual card program promotions have resulted in more total cards sold and a significant amount of new players entering the card program. All good signs for the golf program.
· Dave Clew led a discussion about how best to deal with "greens committee" type issues that are brought to the GCAC meetings. These are issues that pertain to daily operations at the three county golf courses. Staff discussed the approach of encouraging customers to make contact with the appropriate on-site managers to relay any concerns or questions they have. To this end, signs are posted in the pro shop and contact information for key staff members. The committee discussed ways in which the pro shop staff could relay customer concerns to the appropriate staff member, recognizing that the pro shop counter staff hears most of the customer comments. It was agreed that concerns about daily operations should not have to wait three months to be aired at the GCAC meetings nor should it be the focus of the Golf Course Advisory Committee.

NEW BUSINESS:
· Pete Jenny explained the need to begin channeling more resources towards Chalk Mountain Golf Course. When the Golf Course Development fund (surcharge) was instituted in the mid 1990s, the customers at Chalk Mountain were promised specific course improvements. Due primarily to the significant decline in golf rounds during the past 5 years at all three county courses, the funding for these improvements has not been available. Now conditions at Chalk Mountain have declined and course improvements are urgently needed. County Parks in looking for ways to partner with concessionaire to fund some improvement projects. One option being considered is to restructure the surcharge at Chalk Mountain by shifting one of the three dollars collected directly back into Chalk Mountain operating revenues to fund maintenance improvements. The highest priority project is to replace the existing irrigation control system, which is in very poor condition and subject to frequent failure. Efforts are currently underway to move forward with this project.
· The concession contracts for Morro Bay and Dairy Creek are being renewed for a new 5-year term. The renewal option exists in the current contracts. Negotiations are currently underway and new contracts should be in place by the end of March. The pro shop and food & beverage contracts will be combined into one master contract for each of the golf courses

NEXT MEETING - THURSDAY, MAY 18, 2006, 6:00 PM at MORRO BAY GOLF COURSE

GOLF COURSE ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES
NOVEMBER 17, 2005
CHALK MOUNTAIN GOLF COURSE

PRESENT: G. Lane, G. Broering, D. Pestrello, R. Sabersky, P. Ehda, R. Pence, S. Spisak
ABSENT: D. Clew
STAFF: P. Jenny, R. Festa, P. Comerford, R. Comerford, J. Clay

Meeting called to order at 6:10 p.m.

Minutes from August 18, 2005 were approved as submitted.

PUBLIC COMMENTS: None

REPORTS:
CHALK MOUNTAIN GOLF COURSE ( J. CLAY)
· Golf Course is steadily recovering from fungus disease that attacked the greens. The fungus was misdiagnosed and subsequent chemical treatments were ineffective in stopping the disease. Only after sending turf samples into the University of California Riverside Plant Pathology Department was the correct pathogen identified and the appropriate treatments put into place. The disease turned out to be a new fungus that is attacking putting greens in California.
· Superintendent Mark Weitz is working very hard to improve playing conditions and is doing a good job. He continues to learn more each passing month.
· A drainage project is underway on the number 1 fairway. This will improve the fairway landing area.
· The landscape around the restroom on hole 16 has been seeded.
· A contractor is putting a new roof on the clubhouse.
· City of Atascadero Fire Department has donated an Automatic External Defibrillator (AED) to the golf course for use in treating cardiac arrest victims. The Fire Department also provided training to five golf course staff members at no cost. The AED was purchased through a grant.

MORRO BAY /DAIRY CREEK GOLF COURSES (P. Comerford)
· Morro Bay head professional Dustin Davis has resigned his position and relocated to Phoenix. Dustin is pursuing his lifelong dream of playing golf professionally. He has found a sponsor and is currently competing in a mini-tour in Arizona. We wish Dustin the best of luck.
· To replace Dustin at Morro Bay, Cody Van Dorn has been promoted to the lead position. Cody is actively working towards PGA certification and has passed the PGA Players Aptitude Test.
· A new roof is being installed on the Morro Bay Clubhouse and should be completed by months end. The forest green color will blend in nicely with the surrounding landscape.
· New fleets of golf carts have been ordered for Morro Bay and Dairy Creek and should be arriving early in December.

FAIRWAYS RESTAURANT ( R. Comerford)
· Food and Beverage staff is gearing up for the busy holiday season.
· Nancy Garcia is now handling all the banquet bookings for both Fairways Restaurant and Morro Bay Clubhouse. She is doing a very good job and is becoming more involved with the local Chamber of Commerce.
· Gerry Lane commented that the food at the recent Morro Bay Senior dinner was excellent.

OLD BUSINESS
· Pete Jenny reported that the SLO County Parks Commission had approved the 2006 Golf Fee proposal submitted to them by the Golf Course Advisory Committee. The proposed fees now go to the Board of Supervisors for a public hearing on Tuesday November 22. The hearing item is C-1 on the agenda and should be heard around 9:30 a.m. Public comments are welcomed. The approved fees will go into effect on January 1, 2005.
· Patty Ehda submitted a proposal from Pat Baker as an alternative to the Spouse/Partner card in the 2006 fee proposal. In addition, Patty submitted a list of ideas that she had developed for fees and promotional programs and asked the Committee for their consideration. Upon review, staff and the Committee acknowledged that there were good ideas in these proposals but it was much too late in the process for make changes for 2006. Festa explained that the process of putting together a fee proposal begins in May with the appointment of an Ad Hoc Committee. Their recommendations are brought to the larger Golf Course Advisory Committee in both July and August for discussion and public input. The SLO County Parks Commission then holds a public hearing in September before forwarding their recommendation the Board of Supervisors. Since these recent ideas were presented less then a week before the Board of Supervisors fee hearing, it would be disservice to the process to make changes at this late of date. Festa suggested that these latest ideas be passed along to Committee Chair Dave Clew and considered by the 2007 Ad Hoc Committee, which will be appointed in May 2006.
· Festa reported that the customer surveys for Greens at Dairy Creek are having mixed success. The women that are participating in the survey are very diligent in filling out the forms but the men seemed to have lost interest in participating. To get an even sampling of satisfaction we need participation from both. Kent Lauble will continue to work on finding the right mix of players to participate.
· Culligan Water had been asked to propose a solution to improve the drinking water at Morro Bay and Chalk Mountain Golf Courses. Culligan recently installed filters at Morro Bay and the initial response from customers has been favorable. They are now working on a solution for Chalk Mountain.

NEW BUSINESS:
· The SLO County Auditors Office has recently completed routine audits of Chalk Mountain Golf Course and Fairways Restaurant. Jenny explained that these audits are scheduled every two years by the Auditor and are not indicative of an inherent problem in operations. They are a normal course of the County Auditor's operation and meant to keep County staff and concessionaires on their toes. The audits are very in-depth and cover not only financial matter but operational procedures as well. The costs of the audits are charged against the golf programs operations budget.

NEXT MEETING - THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2006 AT DAIRY CREEK A 6:00 P.M.

GOLF COURSE ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES
AUGUST 18, 2005
MORRO BAY GOLF COURSE

PRESENT: G. Lane, G. Broering, D. Pestrello, R. Sabersky, P. Ehda, R. Pence, S. Spisak
ABSENT: D. Clew
STAFF: P. Jenny, R. Festa, J. Clay

Meeting called to order at 6:10 p.m.

Minutes from July 21, 2005 were approved as submitted.

PUBLIC COMMENTS: Golfers in attendance presented several comments regarding golf course operations. Comments included:
· The idea of putting a traffic mirror opposite the lower parking lot exit at MB Golf Course to allow exiting cars to better view on-coming traffic.
· Remodel work in MB Ladies locker room remains unfinished. Wall finish has not been completed and wooden locker needs to be moved against the wall. Also paper dispensers in the ladies room are broken.
· Drinking water at CM Golf Course tastes bad. Suggestion was to investigate installation of reverse osmosis filters on drinking water system.
· Ladies Club members at CM Golf Course are complaining about the turf conditions on the course. Complaints are mainly relative to irrigation practices.

REPORTS:
CHALK MOUNTAIN GOLF COURSE ( J. CLAY)
· The extreme heat wave from late July through mid August has taken a toll on the golf course. Before the heat wave, the irrigation pump station had developed problems and was shutting down during irrigation cycles. Once the pump station was repaired, the heat wave hit and set the golf course back even more. The course has experienced turf-loss and staff is now working on a recovery plan. The combinations of having new maintenance staff members on a steep learning curve, irrigation hardware problems and historic heat levels have resulted in turf declines in some areas.
· Staff continues to hear complaints about the condition of the CM Clubhouse and the need for a new facility. Course patrons are wondering when CM will be getting some infrastructure improvements.
· Ground squirrels populations have exploded this summer and staff is doing the best they can to control the outbreak.
· All of the above items are difficult, if not impossible, to correct with golf rounds and revenues being at historic lows. The facility is barely generating enough revenue to pay the basic bills let alone support badly needed facility improvements.
· A new shingle roof is being schedule for the clubhouse.

MORRO BAY /DAIRY CREEK GOLF COURSES (P. JENNY, R. FESTA)
· A new shingle roof (green) will be installed on the clubhouse in September. This project is being funded out of operating revenues from MBGC. The roof is in poor condition and leaked significantly during the past winter.
· Ryan Comerford was involved in a very serious automobile accident on August 9. He is slowly recovering from his injuries and we send our best wishes out to him. In the interim, Pat Comerford is managing both pro shops and Food & Beverage operations at MB and DC. This additional challenge comes in the middle of our busy summer season so we ask for your patience and understanding if things are not running as normal.

OLD BUSINESS
· The Committee discussed the proposed 2006 Golf Fee Schedule, which had been posted at the clubhouses for the past month. Jenny outlined the extensive development, review and approval processes for golf course fees. Public comments were received regarding the proposed Spouse Annual Pass ($50.00) and revisions to the Annual Card Rewards program. Steve Spisak moved to recommend the proposed 2006 fees schedule on to the County Park Commission. The motion received a second from Patty Ehda. Robin Sabersky asked for continued discussion on the increases in golf cart rentals. Staff explained the justification for the increases in cart fees citing escalating fuel costs at CM (gas carts) and the future lease payments on new cart fleets for MB/DC. Chairman Gerry Lane called for a vote. Motion was passed unanimously.
· The 2006 Fee recommendation now goes on to the County Parks Commission for review and approval at their September 29, 2005 meeting. Public input is welcomed. The meeting will begin at 6:00 p.m. in the SLO Veterans Memorial Building on Grand Ave.
· Festa handed out a Greens Survey sheet that is being used at DC Golf Course. He explained the issue of greens speed at DC had been discussed at a previous GCAC meeting and this survey was an attempt to determine which conditions are of greatest concern. Staff has selected 6 individuals to participate in this continuous survey. Four more players will be added to the survey pool, which is comprised of men and women of varying handicaps.

NEW BUSINESS:
· Gerry Lane's term as Committee Chair expired in July 2005. The Committee nominated Dave Clew (DC Men's Club) as Committee Chair and Robin Sabersky (CM Ladies Club) as Vice Chair for the next year. The nominations were unanimously approved.

NEXT MEETING - THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2005 AT CHALK MOUNTAIN GC AT 6:00 P.M.