Golf Board TYPE OF MEETING (REGULAR) December 12, 2018 6:00 PM 413 South Bryan Avenue 1. CALL TO ORDER 2. ROLL CALL Kathy Meyer called the meeting to order at 6:00 PM Board Members Present o Michael Hardisty o Kathy Meyer o Bob Pawlikowski o James Penland o Tom Rock o Jon Schmunk Board Members Absent o Ross Liggett Staff Members Present o Mike Calhoon o Emily Frare o John Litel o Dawn Worth 3. AGENDA REVIEW 4. CITIZEN PARTICIPATION No citizen participation 5. APPROVAL OF MINUTES On a motion by James Penland, seconded by Bob Pawlikowski, the Board voted (6:0) to approve the November 14, 2018 minutes. 6. UNFINISHED BUSINESS Cell Tower at SouthRidge Golf Course Mike updated the Board on the meeting regarding the installation of a cell tower at SouthRidge Golf Course. He informed the Board that this would just be an extension of an existing pole in the netting. Mike said they would also construct a 10x15 building that would match the existing buildings at SouthRidge. Around 50 neighbors attended the 11/14/2018 MINUTES Page 1
meeting, which was less than the number present during the previous meetings in 2010 and 2015. Mike said there were individuals expressing their concerns regarding potential health issues. He informed the Board that the City is not allowed to consider these concerns per Federal rules. Mike said there were also individuals concerned with this having a negative effect on the value of their home. However; one of the neighbors mentioned that a fellow neighbor of his told him that he would not have purchased his home had he known of these issues. Verizon had an three Engineers present to answer questions and to explain that they did explore other areas. They found that those areas wouldn t provide the necessary coverage, which is why they came back to SouthRidge. There were also representatives from Poudre Fire Authority, Fort Collins Police and Emergency Response Personnel explaining their concerns regarding dropped calls in the area. There was an individual there that was present during the 911 attack on the Pentagon. He was discussing the importance of having proper cell coverage because you never know when you re going to need it. Mike stated that the Golf Division could utilize the funds from Verizon; however, our first concern is getting the neighborhood proper cell coverage for safety reasons. Kathy mentioned that they would implement cell towers at the properties she managed, and Verizon would provide speaking points for them. Mike stated that we are just providing the land, so we have left the speaking to the Verizon representatives, other than any information or questions specific to the course. He also mentioned that the Emergency Response Personnel stated that they have Verizon as their cell provider because they have the best range of service. Bob asked if golfers would be liable if they were to hit and damage the tower. Mike explained that it would be difficult for that to occur with the height and location, but we would need to cover that possibility. He said some neighbors stated that they would raise the funds needed for a new irrigation system, but like he mentioned earlier, that is not our primary concern with this. Mike will continue to update the Board throughout the process. 7. NEW BUSINESS RFP Update We received 4 applications for the City Park Nine Golf Professional position. Mike informed the Board that Rick Fry, a former employee of City Park Nine. Peter Ivy, Assistant to Doug Perry, and Matt Magley, Assistant Golf Professional, at SouthRidge were among the applicants. He reminded the Board that Kathy & Ross were on the interview panel. Kathy mentioned that the criteria was the same for all the applicants. She said that both Matt and Peter did well. Kathy stated that Matt had some creative ideas. Mike informed the Board that the offer isn t final until Purchasing finalizes the contract. He said the panel was in line with their ratings, which makes the decision easier. Mike is currently working with Doug on purchasing the range equipment. Michael asked if we would then backfill Matt s position. Mike explained that filling a Pro 12/12/2018 MINUTES Page 2
Staff position would be up to the Golf Professional. Mike mentioned that Vince Buelk will start his position as the Collindale Golf Professional on January 1, 2019. He mentioned that Vince is a Class A Golf Professional with a Business degree. Mike is requiring Vince to utilize the online tee sheets, rather than the paper sheets, to be in line with the other two courses. He also reminded the Board that the janitorial services will be taken over by the City. Our Operation Services Department will take the lead on this. Mike said he wants the course staff to focus on what they are good at and it just makes more sense to have a janitorial service come in for the cleaning. He explained that Matt and Vince are aware that they are expected to provide exceptional service and to do their part to grow the game. James asked what Vince s plans were for the Golf Academy. Mike said he has hired Earl to be his lead instructor. He also informed the Board that Dale will be working with Vince for a while to assure a smooth transition. 2018 Marketing Review & 2019 Marketing Proposal John Litel mentioned that John Litel, Parks & Recreation Public Relation Supervisor, introduced himself and Emily Frare, Publicity & Marketing Tech. John informed the Board that Emily has taken the lead on the Golf Social Media campaign. He informed the Board that his responsibilities include Marketing and Public Outreach for Recreation, Parks and he also assists Park Planning. He will be covering the Survey Results, Review the 2018 Marketing Projects and ideas for 2019. John mentioned that 577 golfers were surveyed, which is an increase from the last survey. Of those golfers 13% were female and 84% were male. Most of the ratings were for SouthRidge at 38%, 37% for Collindale and 26% for city Park Nine. John informed the Board that majority of the responders were in the 60-69 age range. He mentioned that the overall experience was at a very satisfied rating. Jon asked if we strive for ratings of good or excellent. Mike explained that with our Core Surveys we strive for a combo or Excellent and good. John then reviewed the 2018 Marketing Projects. We continued to research opportunities for partnerships between Loveland, Greeley and Fort Collins. John informed the Board that they met with the new Golf Manager in Loveland and he has expressed his interest in forming a partnership. He agrees that this could be a great opportunity to help grow the game. In an effort to create consistent social media messaging and to assure that Golf is following the City of Fort Collins social media policies; marketing staff met with Pro staff to create a social media plan. The marketing team worked with IT to reform the City s golf page This includes better navigation, mobile friendly as well. Staff photos were updated and there was more focus on Junior Golf. James mentioned that he reviewed the photos and didn t see many female or junior golfers. John said they will take a look and try to add more. 12/12/2018 MINUTES Page 3
All wayfinding signs for the courses were updated. The directional street signs were installed on major streets in Fort Collins. The aerial drone footage has been completed. The footage was utilized through the year on social media. John informed the Board that they utilize the footage for their favorite hole Friday. We partnered with CSU again in 2018. This partnership provides increased marketing exposure at CSU football, volleyball and basketball games. We also did outdoor and transit advertising on 10 bus shelters and 11 bus ads, which totaled 3,407,044 total campaign impressions. He explained that this is based on Lamar Outdoor Traffic Counts. John said they also had an online and mobile presence with BizWest and the Coloradoan. This year we continued the 5 th graders golf for free program. This allows a 5 th grader to play for free with a paying adult, who is actively playing a round with the child. We continued to promote the Premier Card and will do so more during this month with the holiday season approaching. Kathy feels that the Gimme ads are still confusing. Her concern is that the course name isn t included, only the logo. She understands the concept, but she doesn t feel that people are familiar enough with the logo for it to work that way. John mentioned that the names were added to the outdoor advertising due to her suggestion last year. Michael suggested that they promote the Premier Card yearround. John stated that they do; however, it s more so around the holidays. Michael suggested that we also focus on the beginning of the season. He also suggested they include marketing the Annual Pass. Mike explained that we are encouraging more Premier Card purchases with the initial discount and the flexibility of the card. Dawn mentioned that we also no longer have an expiration date for the Premier Card. Jon stated that you have to play a lot to breakeven with the Annual Pass. He mentioned that the Premier Card is very popular with the leagues. The demographics of the NPR listeners match those of golfers, so we felt it would be beneficial to advertise with NPR again this year. John reviewed the radio ads for each course. He mentioned that they also refer their listeners to our website. He mentioned that our social media audiences have increased, and he reviewed the number of followers for Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. John said Mike would like to assure that we are ready for the season by the time that the Masters Tournament rolls around so that is the target date. Tom asked what our target areas are and whether we advertise in Wyoming. John reviewed the target areas and mentioned that we did advertise in Cheyenne, but that we didn t receive much interest. He was also wondering how we reach those who aren t into Social Media. He stated that print is actually declining and digital is increasing; however, we do advertise in the Coloradoan. John explained that he has to be strategic with his funds and since we haven t received much interest from areas outside of our targeted areas, he doesn t feel it s beneficial at this time to market there. Emily said she could run a report to show the demographics of our Social Media followers. John is hoping to reach other areas as we start increasing our marketing partnerships. 12/12/2018 MINUTES Page 4
2018 Annual Report The Board reviewed the 2018 Annual Report. Mike explained that this is a standard report that the City Clerk s Office submits to City Council. He asked that the Board provide final input and approval at the January 9 th meeting. Financials Mike reviewed the rounds report. Our rounds are down from this time last year, but that is due to the good weather we had last year. Mike then reviewed the Financial Report. He mentioned that there is a savings reflecting vacant positions throughout the year. Our debt service payments are higher due to increased bond payments and purchasing additional carts. He explained that the negative amount in the premier card account reflects the discount earned when using the premier cards over the value of the cards purchased for the year. The discount is then allocated at the end of the year to green fees, carts and driving range based on the usage of the cards. 8. BOARD MEMBER REPORTS 9. OTHER BUSINESS Jon was wondering if we track employee hours. Mike explained our tracking system and mentioned that every Park s staff employee is required to submit a timesheet that has codes to show where their time is distributed to. Jon expressed his concern regarding the possible revenue loss with the Maintenance staff aft City Park Nine not clearing the greens. He wasn t sure what they were working on instead. Mike stated that there must have been a reason for this and during the off season they devote a lot of their time maintaining equipment or assisting with snow removal. Michael mentioned the importance of the Superintendents having more standardized policies. Mike said he agrees to a point; however, each course is different therefore at times they require different procedures. Kathy feels this is something the new Manager can address. Mike stated that we strive for consistency and we understand the importance of it. There are just situations, especially in maintenance, that require us to make adjustments. Mike informed the Board that we are hoping to have the Golf Manager position filled by March 1 st. Michael asked if Mike had the job description in place. Mike mentioned that he has the current description; however, he plans to update it. He stated that he has a copy of the job description from the City of Loveland. Mike said he will be gathering job descriptions from other areas as well as a reference. Michael expressed the importance of long-term planning and that he hopes this is something the new Manager will implement. Mike said he will update the Board throughout this process. 12/12/2018 MINUTES Page 5
10. ADJOURNMENT On a motion by Tom Rock, seconded by James Penland, the Board adjourned at 7:50. 12/12/2018 MINUTES Page 6