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Minutes - 01/19/2021 - Sports Core Advisory Committee Call to Order Meeting called to order by John Anos at 6:00 PRESENT: In Person - John Anos, Kathy Miller, Jim DePhillips, Melissa Martin; via Zoom – Lara Barber, Frank Scarpiniti, Mike Stevens IN ATTENDANCE: In Person – Village Manager, Rick Ginex, Executive Assistant, Connie Reid, Trustee John Baar, Finance Director Jason Paprocki. Via Zoom-Trustee Moin Saiyed, Village President, Gopal Lalmalani, Trustee Michael Manzo, Golf Course Superintendent Sean Creed, Event Coordinator Marianne Long Approval of Minutes Motion to approve minutes from the October 6, 2020 meeting made by Melissa Martin, seconded by James DePhillips Public Comments There are no public comments Active Business Golf: John Anos asks Sean Creed for an update. Sean starts by saying that the golf club in general had a very good year. COVID-19 was good for golf courses across the country. Rounds of golf were up 21%, cart fees and driving range were up 10% and pro shop sales were down because people were not coming into the pro shop. He goes on to say that the bar construction is completed and food sales were up 13% and beverage and liquor were up 43%. For 2021 the important project should be the lights in the parking lot. John Anos concurs and further says that something bad is going to happen because it is so dark in the parking lot, it is a real problem. Sean Creed shares that there is a project that is being done in conjunction with public works in early 2022 for the parking lot and the lights. Frank Scarpin1tti asks about the lights on the road going into the golf course parking lot. It is stated that those lights will be done at the same time. Sean Creed shares his thoughts on 2021, saying that he is confident that it will be as busy as 2020. Melissa Martin asks if events will take place inside the bar area once things do open up. Sean explains that the priority right now is the golfers and the outdoor activity, but in the near future they will entertain the idea of hosting events inside. Melissa then asks about polo and which driving range they will be using. Sean says that things will stay the same for 2021 with a possible change in 2022 but that will be up to the Board to decide. Frank Scarpiniti confirms that the Sports Core will not be funding polo. He then goes on to say that it is imperative that parking lot lights be installed not only so that SPORTS CORE ADVISORY COMMITTEE OF THE VILLAGE OF OAK BROOK APPROVED AS WRITTEN ON MARCH 25, 2021 the club is welcoming for patrons but also for safety. Sean Creed then shares that the rates will not be going up in 2021. Bath & Tennis Clubhouse The conversation begins by Jim DePhillips giving a short synopsis of the events from 2019. He shares that without a $285,000 transfer from the general fund the Clubhouse would show a loss of $132,000 for the year, even though the sales were up. He goes on to say that there were 88 events in 2019, which equates to a loss of $1,500 per event. He continues saying that there aren’t a lot of expenses so, there is very little that can be cut. In order to make a profit the room rental prices can be raised but that may not be enough, and then you have to worry that the facility is being priced too high for the market. It is noted that almost every weekend between April and November are full, so there aren’t more dates to rent out. A discussion begins regarding capital expenses and how they are reported and depreciated. Jason Paprocki explains the budget in regards to capital expenses and conversation ensues. Trustee John Baar explains that some of the recent expenses have been because the Clubhouse has been neglected for a long time. He justified the new generators by saying that the Clubhouse is used for an emergency warming and cooling center. He also states that even if there are no events, the Clubhouse will cost money. Trustee Saiyed asks the committee to make recommendations on what to do. Melissa Martin asks whether a facility such as the B&T, who doesn’t have in house catering, can make money. Marianne responds by saying that sales have gradually been increasing. If the B&T tried to bring food or beverage in house, she explains that the biggest hurdle is not having staffing. She is trying to bring in more revenue by charging for incidentals like chairs, linens, cleaning fee and ceremonies. She thinks if the venue rental rate goes up any more than it is she would lose business. She goes on to say that the B&T fees are where they should be for the market, she has researched comparable venues and believes fees are right where they should be. She recognizes that there are gaps that need to be filled with events. Jim DePhillips goes on to say that this is not an amenity, it’s a business and questions whether the Village should be in this business, since it’s competing with the hotels and whether they could make a profit. Conversation continues regarding in house catering, renting to a hotel or other options. Trustee Manzo states that if one of the hotels were to rent the facility the Village would be able to use money from the hotel/motel tax fund instead of the general fund for capital expenses. He goes on to say that what the board is looking for is for the committee to state whether the Village should stay in the catering business. Melissa Martin says that maybe they should look into renting it to hotel or other restaurant now, because venues are looking for outdoor space due to COVID-19. Lara Barber states that it’s not Marianne Long’s fault that the facility is not making money, Marianne does a great job, it’s the business model that is not working. She continues saying that Marianne could host some community events, perhaps a food truck festival. Trustee Baar brings up the awards that Marianne has won, and the rise in income that she caused. Frank Scarpiniti says that this is supposed to be a committee meeting and that it is turning into a Trustee meeting. He goes on to praise Marianne’s work but says that the venue does not make money in its current business model. He thinks there should be a change, he thinks the committee needs to discuss and make a decision on a change in policy. Kathy Miller brings up that in the past the B&T had Friday night dinners, she suggests bringing them back. Rick Ginex says the only issue with that is that we have no kitchen or staff. Melissa Martin asks if the Park District could utilize the space, Marianne says that they held one event last year but because of COVID nothing else was booked. Lara Barber suggests BBQs on the back patio of the B&T, or maybe food trucks. Melissa Martin observes that leaving it open gives a slight financial advantage versus closing it. She thinks the Village would be better served if they were to try to find new uses and sources of revenue for the venue in addition to the weddings, though she realizes that it will be difficult to do anything during the time of COVID. Jim DePhillips and John Anos bring up the fact that bringing in food trucks or other food options directly competes with the golf course patio and the pool side café. A discussion of Tasty Catering’s contract begins. John Anos states that the Village doesn’t make sales tax on Tasty’s sales because they are located in Elk Grove Village. John Anos’ opinion is that the Village shouldn’t be in the catering business especially since it is not making money, he would shut it down. He understands that if it closes the Village gets no money. He goes on to say that when the Tasty contract is up they need to modify it so that it is more favorable to the Village. Frank Scarpiniti asks what the terms of the contact are. Marianne Long says that the contract gives the Village 10% of sales, she goes on to say that the commission amount is added to the sales amount the customer pays and if the commission is raised the cost to the client would get raised and that may make it too expensive for customers to want to book. Frank Scarpiniti rebuts by saying that we’re not asking the people who are using it to pay more we’re asking the Village to pay more for every event, they are losing money on every event. It is asked what an average wedding costs, Marianne states that an average wedding for 150 people costs between $20,000 and $24,000 or around $130 and $145 per head, which includes the room rental fee and all other fees. Conversation changes to what the B&T’s competition is doing and prices. Marianne goes on to say that it benefits the Village to stay with Tasty because their prices are in the moderate, they have good staffing and they provide $10,000 worth of advertising and help with PR. Mike Stevens clarifies that on a $25,000 wedding, the B&T gets the room rental and incidental fees which are around $5,000 and Tasty gets $20,000. He believes that Tasty is making out better than the Village. He thinks the problem is with the catering contract. Conversation ensues regarding how much revenue would need to be increased in order to break even. It is decided that Tasty should pay 20% commission instead of 10%. Conversation continues regarding the price point that would make the B&T too expensive and what the different venues in the area offer. Jim DePhillips again states that the Village should not be in the catering business, he doesn’t think it should be shut down, but it should be repurposed. There can be senior activities, or be an extension of the library programming and events, or after polo. Mike Stevens suggests raising the venue rental fee by $2,000 and raise Tasty’s commission to 20%. Conversation shifts to the aftereffects of COVID and that restaurants are raising their prices. President Lalmalani starts by saying that this meeting has been a healthy conversation, he goes on to say that he likes Mike Stevens’ idea of raising prices and that the B&T loses money year after year and that something drastic needs to be done, he states that if you are losing money per event you cannot make that up with volume. The priority should be making the Village of Oak Brook is successful not Tasty Catering and that the B&T should be budget neutral. Marianne Long states that there are around 60 events booked for 2021 and 10 events for 2022 already on the books. John Anos asks when the Tasty contract is up. Frank Scarpiniti asks what the cancellation clause in the contract is. No one knows what is in the contract. The consensus is that the contract with Tasty should be renegotiated to provide for 20% commission to the Village. It’s talked about adding a $500 COVID service fee so that a higher room rental rate could be charged without actually raising the room rental fees. Trustee Manzo asks about sales tax; Jason Paprocki explains that the sales tax goes to where the contract is signed, Tasty would have to have an office in Oak Brook, or the B&T would have to collect the money from the client and then pay Tasty. Melissa Martin volunteered her husband to look into the tax code and options for Oak Brook to be able to collect. John Anos asks again about the lighting at the Golf course, he would like to see the schedule moved up. Manager Ginex explains that it’s not in the budget to do this year, there are no capital projects scheduled for the B&T or anywhere this year. A conversation continues regarding lighting and the safety issues that the lack of lighting causes. It is decided that to go out to bid for the lighting on the road so that the committee will have a dollar amount associated with it, in order for them to make a recommendation. Before the meeting closes Melissa Martin asks if the committee should be doing anything for the Park District in order for them to open the pool and tennis. Manager Ginex states that he has been in contact with Laure Kosey and that things seem to be moving forward. Adjournment Motion to adjourn by Melissa Martin seconded by James DePhillips. Meeting adjourned at 7:28pm ATTEST: ________________________ _____________________ Connie Reid Date Executive Assistant Village of Oak Brook