Loading...
Minutes - 09/10/2020 - Sports Core Advisory Committee Call to Order September 10, 2020 Sports Core Advisory Meeting called to order by Chairman, John Anos at 7:00pm PRESENT: John Anos, James DePhillips, Kathy Miller, Melissa Martin, Frank Scarpiniti, by phone: Mike Jerich and Mike Stevens ABSENT: Lara Barber IN ATTENDANCE: Village Manager, Rick Ginex, Executive Assistant, Connie Reid, Trustee John Baar, Village President, Gopal Lalmalani, Golf Superintendent, Sean Creed, by phone: Head Golf Pro, Jeff Kawucha, Polo Director Dan O’Leary, Polo, Bob McMurtry and Trustee Michael Manzo (at 8:10) Approval of Minutes Frank Scarpiniti motioned to approve the minutes from the February 10, 2020 meeting, seconded by Melissa Martin. Public Comments No Public Comments President Lalmalani thanks John Anos and Frank Scarpiniti for stepping into the Chairman and Vice Chairman positions. He thanks Angie Lopez for her dedication leadership. Gopal asks that any future meetings not be held on Thursday evenings because Trustee Saiyed cannot attend. He goes on to say that Trustee Saiyed is very, very, very concerned about the partnership we have with the Park District and that it has not turned out how he anticipated. And that Trustee Saiyed apologizes for pushing the agreement through because now he believes that it may not have been the best decision. Gopal goes on to say that the committee and Rick have a lot of work ahead of them in order to undo the agreement, and come up with some other new creative ideas to make thing happen again. On behalf of Moin Saiyed, Gopal, shares the concern about the clients we have for the soccer fields being taken away by the Park District and several other issues. Gopal states that it is even more important moving forward that this committee continues, and he seeks the committee’s help and guidance and ideas. Rick Ginex shares that he spoke with Laure Kosey of the Park District and if there is a different direction that the Village is going in, the Park District needs to be notified by October 1, 2020 per the agreement. He goes on to say that the Village couldn’t get the construction on the pool finished and because of COVID-19 the soccer programs were not as usual and that this whole year was not as we thought it would be. Gopal takes a phone call from Trustee Manzo. Rick goes on to explain that the Park District was planning to move forward since this season was nonexistent. Rick was unaware that there were any issues. Trustee Baar states that this is the first he has heard of any issues and that if there is a problem we need to investigate it and have a conversation with the Park District. He goes on to say that the Park District was reluctant to take on the Sports Core because they were concerned about interference from the Village Board. Trustee Baar is worried that if the Village breaks the agreement the Park District will not be interested in managing the pool or supply guards at all and the Village does not have the resources to manage it in house. He stresses that this needs to be thought about in depth. Frank Scarpiniti voices that the Village Board needs to make the decision regarding the agreement and that the Committee isn’t recommending or suggesting anything. The Committee will follow the Board decision. Committee members ask what the issues are with the Park District. Rick was not informed of any issues and can’t understand how there could be any since there was really no MINUTES OF THE SEPTEMBER10, 2020 MEETING OF THE SPORTS CORE ADVISORY COMMITTEE OF THE VILLAGE OF OAK BROOK APPROVED AS WRITTEN OR AMDENDED ON OCTOBER 6, 2020. activity because of COVID. Rick goes on to explain that the pool could not be fixed because the department of health wouldn’t issue a permit for construction. He also states that Tennis and Soccer were extremely limited. Gopal says that Moin said that he was not happy with the Tennis program and that that the Park District is stealing the Village’s soccer clientele. Frank asks Gopal if this topic is something that the committee needs to decide or whether the Village Board needs to discuss and decide. Gopal said that it will be discussed at the next board meeting. Unfinished Business B&T Clubhouse Roof Replacement: Rick Ginex explains that the Board has approved a partial replacement/repair of the roof. Frank asks whether he is just giving an update to the committee. He is concerned that months down the road the Board is going to say that the Committee recommended the repairs, when in fact the decision was already made by the Board. Frank asks what the cost is, John Baar states that the cost is $150,000. It is clarified that this topic was strictly informational and it’s nothing the committee is involved in. Golf Course Update Golf Operations: Sean Creed gives a summary of the Golf season. Due to COVID-19 the course lost March, April and ¼ of May. He goes on to say that the course has been crazy busy. They are doing very well. Food & Beverage is only about $6,000 away from where they were for the whole season last year. The Patio is doing well. The newly renovated Bar and Lounge area turned out extremely. They are getting as much use as they can under the pandemic guidelines. He states that the revenue from rounds of golf is only short about $20,000 from all of 2019. There are many new faces. The golf range has already surpassed 2019. The only downturn has been in cart rentals, due to the COVID restrictions, two people golfing had each take separate carts. John Baar congratulates the golf team, he is keeping track of the Food & Beverage gross sales and states that year to date they are over $100,000 up from last season. He goes on to say that week after week sales are up over the same period last year. Other Business Polo: Bob McMurtry gives an update on Oak Brook Polo, explaining that Dan O’Leary went to great lengths to get state approval to hold matches with spectators amid the pandemic. He states that every Sunday event this year has been sold out, polo has been growing. Dan O’Leary goes through the process of getting approval for polo and that they have had a tremendous year. He then talks about their intention to transition from field 1 to field 2 (Butler Driving Range). He talks about the reasons. Safety is the number one issue, field 1 floods and becomes unsafe. Bob states that they have received from the USPA over $100,000 over the last two years in grants. He lobbies for the move to field 2 in order to continue to grow polo. He talks about safety and players playing more cautiously on field 1 because of poor conditions. He goes on to say that they will be receiving money to help promote the international tournament. Frank congratulates them on doing so well and goes on to ask if this means that they will not be needing financial assistance from the Sports Core anymore stating that not only is this a financial strain but also effects business on the range. Dan O’Leary says that polo does not make money. Frank asks if they would share their financials, since Bob just shared figures on all the money they are receiving. Dan says that the monies mentioned are going to all of the Chicagoland polo clubs and that Oak Brook polo actually gets a very small amount. Dan states that they would be open to sharing a summary financial statement with the Village providing that they have an NDA in place. He says that he gave a draft NDA to the Village attorneys for edit and have not received it back yet. Dan states that they would be willing to put some money into field 2. Bob said that they are looking to the committee for support. Rick Ginex explains that if Butler National has to give up days of use on the field that they rent from the Village they will expect to pay much less in rent. They Village is not interested in losing any revenue. Melissa Martin responds that the committee can’t give their support either way without getting all of the figures on what is being paid and what will be lost. John Baar talks about the advantage of having polo in Oak Brook, the branding, the revenue brought to Oak Brook establishments, value added to desirability Oak Brook. It isn’t just about money. Trustee Manzo joins the meeting at 8:10 he circles back to golf course operations saying that he’d like to see some actual numbers. He would like to see how much revenue has actually gone up. He continues with stating that Village revenues going into the next quarter will be dismal and going into the next year will still be down. There is a strong probability that the Village will have to tap into its reserves. Gopal asks Mike to update the committee on Trustee Saiyed’s concerns. Trustee Manzo states that the main concern are the expenses moving forward. Trustee Manzo would like to find a way to fund the Sports Core with Hotel/Motel Tax money. He says that there is a concern that the Park District is putting in new soccer fields that will compete with the Sports Core ones. Mike says that he only voted for the Park District deal because everyone else did. He said that he doesn’t think the agreement is working out, he was concerned with the soccer revenue from the beginning. Mike believes that Moin shares those concerns. Melissa Martin states that the Park District would be competing with the Sports Core no matter what, it has nothing to do with the agreement. John Baar explains that the Village was subsidizing the Pool operations $250,000 per year to run. For the Park District to take over the Village allowed them take over Soccer to offset the loss of running the pool, if they move the soccer to their fields they will no longer have the Sports Core soccer revenue to offset the pool loss. Conversation goes back and forth regarding expenses and revenues. Frank again says that this is not a committee topic. Melissa Martin stated that she thinks that the Sports Core could be run in house and the Park District is not needed. A conversation continues regarding the fact that the “numbers” are available to everyone. They are in the manager’s memo, Frank has gotten them from Jason Paprocki. Adjournment Motion to adjourn made by Frank Scarpiniti seconded by Melissa Martin meeting to adjourn. Meeting adjourned at 8:30pm. _____________________________ __________________________ Connie Reid Date Executive Assistant Village of Oak Brook