2015-12-08CITY OF BEVERLY
MEETING NOTES
Board:
Golf and Tennis Commission
Date:
December 8, 2015
Location:
Beverly Golf and Tennis Clubhouse, Fireplace room
Members Present:
Chair William Lowd, Doug Richardson, Martin Lawler,
Kevin Ascolillo, Gary Lambert
Others Present:
GFMI Staff -Chris Carter, Burt Page, Brian McHugh,
Dave Dionne
Recorder:
Aileen O'Rourke
Mr. Lowd called the meeting to order at 7:05pm.
Mr. Lowd read an email addressed to the Commission from John Aucone's daughter, Adriane,
expressing her gratitude for the memorial bench now that's it's installed and the family has had a
chance to spend time there.
Members review the Nov 10, 2015 meeting minutes. Mr. Lawler makes a motion to approve the
minutes with minor edits. Mr. Ascolillo seconds, all in favor and the motion carries (4 -0).
McHugh will wait for ground to freeze to take out the tree on #4 fairway.
Mr. Lowd goes through a list of invoices from recent jobs previously approved for payment.
Mr. Lambert enters the meeting
Financial update
Mr. Lawler reviews the budget report for the Commission. The $25K Porch insurance deductible
may have been already accounted for in the report and $1200 in bills paid so far. There may be
some boiler issues that may come up over the winter. $17K for tennis court preparation in the
Spring and $3500 for tree removal will come up in the budget.
Project updates
Porch Collapse
The existing conditions and measurements were completed by the architect with a cost of $4K.
The invoice will be paid by BG &T until the insurance company provides a reimbursement check.
The bid proposal for the porch collapse has been signed by Mayor Cahill, it now has to go to
Mass Historic society then Beverly Historic society for approval to insure the porch will be up to
present code. Mr. Lowd will research if the City can give some or all of the $25k deductible back
to the BG &T budget assuming the insurance company will pay for the work to be done. Lawler
makes a motion to authorize $4K payment for the existing conditions for Gienapp. Lambert
2nds. All in favor (5 -0). The Commission hopes the work will be completed during Spring
2016..
Mr. Carter
Mr. Carter distributes the rounds and revenue report. There were 1935 starts for November,
playable days actually went up 50% making this the best November yet for GFMI. It should be a
strong December as well. Starts will be over 32,747 for 2015. Mr. McHugh has done a great job
keeping the course in good shape. Once the temp drops, will take care of last of maintenance.
The golf club will be open until Dec 24 t ''. Mr.Carter will be sending about $30 -40K to the City
after the pro shop closes. For the month of November there was just under $62K in revenue.
Mr. Carter would like to keep membership rates the same for next year. Maybe go up by $1 for
greens fees, which haven't increased for 3 -4 years. At the end of next season, he will evaluate
and possibly look to raise membership rates if the numbers look strong. The membership referral
program was recently launched which offers $250 discount to the new referred member and $250
bonus for the existing member, continuing from last year with the goal of recruiting the buddies
of existing members who play golf nearly every weekend. Mr.Carter would also like to increase
the green fee prices during the peak times before loam on weekends and holidays. Saturday and
Sunday average price is $45 -48, we plan to bring up to $55 -58 to play during these peak high
demand times. This would put a premium on these times which is not uncommon at other
facilities and also may encourage new memberships. This will be discussed in more detail at the
Jan meeting. Richardson advises to push public folks to play in the expected time and rush along
if needed.
Mr. Carter will prepare a letter to the Mayor, for City Council approval to keep the 2016
membership rates the same. Public rates are on par with area golf courses at the resident rate.
Preparation for the liquor license inspection has been completed, all inspections passed. The Fire
retardant treatment for the curtains was completed and is good for 3 years.
CPC update
Approval of the BG &T application was signed off by City Council and the MOU has been
drafted. The Committee should review the MOU and provide comments to Mr. Lowd. He
already caught a few glaring mistakes, item #12 releasing the city from liability should be
removed as the Club house is a city owned property also there is no reason to have a federal ID
number on there. Once the drawings are completed, they will need to be sent to the Historic
District Commission for approval.
Mr. Lowd reports that the ADA updated report is complete thru 2014 and signs are up. The
downstairs bathrooms will now need to be compliant by 2018, switching with the upstairs
bathroom as part of the CPC funding. Mr. Lowd will apply for additional funding through the
"out of cycle application process" to update the railings, make improvements to the roof, and
paint the remaining side of the building.
Adjournment
Lawler motions to adjourn the Beverly Golf and Tennis Commission meeting. Seconded
byAscolillo.All in favor, motion passes unanimously (5 -0). Meeting adjourned at 8:09pm.
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