Cypress Lake Country Club Board of Directors Meeting Minutes

Transcription

1 Cypress Lake Country Club Board of Directors Meeting Minutes September 26, 2017 PRESENT: EX-OFFICIO: ABSENT: CALL TO ORDER: Scott, Fischer, Ralph Hutchins, Steve Weisberg, Steve Shimp, Cheryl Schramm, Gary Saft, Chris Black Ed Rodgers Paul Henderson, Elaine Teschner Meeting was called to order at 12:30. A Quorum was present. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: The minutes of the August Board of Directors meeting were distributed and reviewed. There were no changes. Motion: Mrs. Schramm moved to approve and Mr. Saft seconded. All in favor. Minutes approved. STRATEGIC PLAN UPDATE: There were several updates to the action items for the year. The latest update is as follows: MEMBERSHIP RETENTION, ATTRACTION AND MARKETING: The Club has experienced a decline in the number of Golf members over the last twelve months due in part to an aging membership and the planned golf course restoration. The Board has established a goal of retaining existing members and attracting new members to the Club. o Develop and implement a marketing plan to attract 20 new Golf members in the fiscal year: The Club has retained Priority Marketing to assist in the development and implementation of a marketing plan to achieve the goal. The plan has been developed and consists of three major strategies: (1) Utilize public relations, social media marketing and marketing, (2) Use limited advertising to target industry and consumer print publications, cable TV and direct mail marketing to golfers in key zip codes, and (3) Utilize digital marketing advertising to specific high-level targets. o Develop and implement a marketing plan to attract 20 new Sports members in the fiscal year: Priority Marketing will assist in the development of a plan to attract an additional 20 Sports members. A new brochure geared to tennis members is being finalized once we have updated photography of the facility. o Determine vetting requirements for potential members: No formal program has been developed at this point but all new Golf members are required to play a round of golf with either Membership Chair Gary Saft, GM Ed Rodgers, HP Jon Pazdera or Superintendent Bryce Koch. o Develop and implement a new member orientation program: A formal orientation program has been developed and was distributed to the Board for

2 review and comments. o Create a series of re-opening events: Opening event has been delayed by Hurricane Irma. Re-opening tentatively scheduled for Saturday, November 18 th. Bridge dedication still scheduled for Saturday, November 11 th. KEY LEADERSHIP RETENTION, RECRUITMENT & DEVELOPMENT: The Board recognizes the value of good leadership at all levels of the Club and the need to perpetuate that leadership moving forward. The Board has established recruitment and development of members and staff in leadership positions as a priority to maintain and enhance our current success as a Club. o Create, communicate and implement a Board Succession Plan: It was the consensus of the Board that this action item and the following item that creates a program to recruit and educate potential Board members should be combined into a single action item. Scott Fischer to summarize discussions and send to directors for final comments. o Develop a program to recruit and educate potential Board & Committee members: See above. o Research and develop an employee compensation / benefit plan to retain key staff: The Club industry in southwest Florida has recovered from the great recession and has become highly competitive for qualified talent. The goal of this initiative is assure that our Club remains competitive with wages and benefits to retain key staff and attract new staff when appropriate. o Improve employee training programs: The desire to deliver the best possible membership experience requires an investment is additional staff training and development. The Club s restaurant staff has secured a top quality training video and all service staff will be required to view it and pass the exam at the end. BRANDING & CULTURE: The last five years have seen our Club transition from a country club to a golf club. The course restoration provides an opportunity for the club to further that transition. o Develop and implement a Club culture statement: A preliminary draft of a Culture statement has been developed and distributed to the Board for review. It states We, the members of CLCC, are committed to the enjoyment and preservation of golf for golf s sake; to an unpretentiously world-class golf experience and to leaving our facility better than we find it; and to respecting each other s experiences and those devoted to delivering them. o Develop communication, education and enforcement program: No update on this item at the present time. o Re-brand Cypress Lake Country Club as Cypress Lake Golf Club and Cypress Lake Tennis Club: Marketing research performed by Priority Marketing clearly indicates our strength and Niche in the market is as a Golf club as opposed to a country club. The consensus of the Board was to retain Cypress Lake Country Club as the legal entity but DBA Cypress Lake Golf Club and Cypress Lake Tennis Club. It is also the consensus of the Board that this change would require a vote of the membership at the next Annual Meeting. o Further develop and enhance the new food and beverage program: Service

3 training video purchased and reviewed by all service staff. GENERAL MANAGERS REPORT: Ed Rodgers reported on operations. Hurricane Irma did significant damage to the course. Preliminary estimates reflect 180 trees down and there does not appear to be much chance to salvage them. There was minimal damage to turf but the loss of power to the pump station has slowed the growth of the new turf to the point that an opening on November 1 st is unlikely. Tress removal costs alone are estimated to be approximately $180K. Work has been initiated and is expected to take three weeks to complete. The Club has $400K in insurance coverage with a $150K deductible for wind and storm damage. Based on preliminary inspection, the claim is likely to exceed our coverage. The clubhouse came through the storm with minimal damage. There were a few leaks but there was no water damage and only the loss of some landscaping around the building. The tennis center also suffered minor damage with the canvas canopies lost and some flooding of the courts and loss of clay. The first two months of the fiscal year reflect that revenues are on budget and slightly higher than expected. The area of concern is membership dues revenues that are approximately $18K behind budget year-to-date. Expenses have exceeded budget by $34K with the majority of the overage ($22K) in our restaurant operations. The decision to remain open during the course closure has created a larger expense than anticipated. The Snack Bar upgrades are scheduled to take place over the next couple of weeks and should be finished by mid-november in time for the course reopening. Tennis upgrades are nearly complete. The facility is much improved with new restrooms and member area. Member response has been very positive. The work to repave the parking lot has been awarded to Tincher Concrete. The plan is to realign the front entrance to allow for better flow of traffic including truck traffic and deliveries and repave the entire lot. COMMITTEE REPORTS: Finance Committee: The Finance Committee met this month and reviewed the financials. The August financials and minutes were distributed prior to the meeting and reviewed by the Board. The second order of business from the Finance Committee was a discussion regarding the funding of the $150K deductible for the insurance claim related to Hurricane Irma. Two options were discussed: (1) utilize operational funds which would require borrowing on the Club s operational line of credit or (2) use funds from the long-term note related to the course restoration project. Using the operational $500K line of credit carries a higher interest rate and could adversely impact the Club if it were to need funds to bridge the gap between billings. The bank had previously approved the long-term loan for $2.8M but the course restoration project required only $2.7M. By using the additional $100K from the loan and $50K of capital funds, the Club could avoid using the operational line and the higher interest rate associated with that line. Motion: Mr. Shimp moves to use

4 the $100K from the long-term note plus $50K of capital funds to pay the $150K deductible. Mr. Hutchins seconded. All in favor. Motion passes. Membership totals at the end of the fiscal year have dipped to the lowest level since 2012 but remained constant for the last 30 days. We have 6 reservation pending for the re-opening but the Club has retained Priority Marketing to assist in the development and implementation of a marketing plan to add twenty new members in the coming year. Memberships / Players Update: As of: 6/01/2017 8/01/2017 9/01/2017 o Founder Family: o Founder Under 30: o Founder Under 40: o Founder Single: o Associate Family: o Associate Single: o Heritage: Total Players o Sports: o Social: Green Committee: No meeting this month. Golf Committee: No meeting this month. House Committee: No meeting this month. By-Laws/Long Range Planning Committee: No meeting this month. Tennis Committee: No meeting this month. Employee Relations: No meeting this month. OLD BUSINESS: There was no Old Business. NEW BUSINESS: There was no New Business MEETING ADJOURNED: Meeting adjourned at 1:45 pm.

5 EXECUTIVE SESSION: No Executive Session Next Board Meeting: The next Board of Directors Meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, October 24, 2017 at 12:30. Respectfully submitted by: Steve Weisberg, Secretary