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Minutes - 12/01/2022 - Sports Core Advisory CommitteeSports Core Advisory Committee Meeting December 1, 2022 6:30pm Call to Order The December 1, 2022 Sports Core Advisory Committee Meeting held in the Upper Level Conference Room of Village Hall, was called to order by John Anos at 6:30pm PRESENT: In Person - John Anos, Jim DePhillips, Melissa Martin, Christy Dolan, Frank Scarpiniti and Lara Barber ABSENT: Mike Jerich, Kathy Miller, Mike Stevens IN ATTENDANCE: Village Manager, Greg Summers, Executive Assistant, Connie Reid, Trustees Michael Manzo, Larry Herman and Jim Nagle, Village President Gopal Lalmalani, Director of Public Works Rick Valent, Assistant Village Manager Jessica Spencer Approval of Minutes July 6, 2022 Motion to approve the July 6, 2022 meeting minutes made by Frank Scarpiniti seconded by Melissa Martin. All in favor, no one opposes. Minutes approved Public Comments Don Adler states that he would like speak regarding the repurposing ideas for the Clubhouse during that portion of the meeting. Village Manger Summers asks if there would be any objections to moving the agenda items and starting with the Pool Management/Lifeguard Services. There are no objections. 2023 Pool Management/Lifeguard Services – Jessica Spencer Trustee Larry Herman gives a summary of the 2022 season. He touches upon the disparity in memberships between resident and non-resident. He shares that the Village did better financially this season due to collecting the membership revenue versus in past seasons when the Park District kept it. He adds that for the 2023 season a 10% hike in non-resident fees and a more MINUTES OF THE DECEMBER 1, 2022 MEETING OF THE SPORTS CORE ADVISORY COMMITTEE OF THE VILLAGE OF OAK BROOK HELD VIA ZOOM AND IN PERSON APPROVED AS WRITTEN ON JANUARY 19, 2023 modest increase in resident rates is being considered. He predicts a $380,000 profit this year and believes it can grow very quickly to $450,000. Trustee Herman suggests earmarking any profit from the pool and soccer operations for capital improvements to maintain the Club, which is something that has not been done before. He touches upon some of the challenges that the pool faced in 2022 and asks Jessica to begin her presentation. Frank Scarpiniti interjects with a suggestion to separate the pool and soccer revenue to keep a better picture of the financial health of both areas. Conversation shifts to pool deck space and trying to create other areas where a growing membership base will fit, while staying within the IDPH guidelines. AVM Spencer begins by sharing that at the end of the season staff met with Chicagoland Pool Management to recap the season. One of the main issues was not having a dedicated manager on site on a daily basis. The Village would like to have an actual manager on property, not just a head lifeguard. CPM indicated that their business model is to only have a manager on property if there is a problem. Their managers serve multiple pools. When signing the contract it was assumed that an adult experienced manager would be on site and not just the head lifeguard. Jessica Spencer continues by saying that the Village would like to hire a seasonal Sports Core Manager. Village Manager Summers elaborates by saying it would be someone who would be center point for the tennis, pool, soccer and parking issues. Jessica goes on to say that the committee recommended another pool management option, by way of Chuck Genoar. Mr. Genoar submitted a proposal based on the RFP that was presented to CPM. The biggest difference would be that the Village would employ the lifeguards, Mr. Genoar would do the vetting, assist with the onboarding, ensure proper training and do all of the scheduling. The hope is that he would encourage a culture that would foster a sense of ownership and inspire siblings and friends of the lifeguards to want to work at the B&T so that there would always be a pool of lifeguards to hire. The other big difference in Mr. Genoar’s proposal is that he is offering the Aquatics Manager position as part of his management fee. The Village would still be interested in hiring one manager who would work in cooperation with them. The Village position would probably be around 30 hours a week with evening and weekend hours, so that either Chuck’s manager or the Village’s manage are on property any time the pool is open. AVM Spencer goes through some of the programs that Mr. Genoar is planning to provide at the pool. Conversation continues regarding the programs that he runs, and how it would work at the B&T, lifeguard credentials, employee sharing, then shifts to the cost comparison between the proposals for CPM and Chuck Genoar and the advantages of going with Mr. Genoar. Questions are asked regarding the additional costs involved when having the Village do the hiring of the lifeguards including, drug tests, background checks and the additional administrative time. Discussion regarding solutions and ideas for cost and time savings, chemical costs, the benefits of going with Chuck Genoar including programming and events, and lifeguard pay ensues. A motion is made by Frank Scarpiniti to recommend using Chuck Genoar for the 2023 season, it is seconded by Melissa Martin, no one opposes. Referendum Outcome – Greg Summers a. Next Steps b. Repurposing Ideas for the Clubhouse VM Summers begins by saying that the official Referendum results came in with 32% in favor of continuing the B&T Banquet facilities operation and 68% opposed. He shares that there are 26 events booked at the Clubhouse for 2023, the last one being in December and that number represents about 1/3 of the usual bookings. There have already been discussions regarding how to stage down the operation and what he would like from this committee are ideas on alternative uses for the facility. The idea that staff has been entertaining is to do an RFP asking for entities interested in operating the facility as a turnkey operation, where they write the Village a monthly check and the Village would do nothing with the facility, putting the responsibility for capital improvements, operational costs, and day to day maintenance on them. Then see what types of organizations respond. Basically asking the private section what they would do with the building and how much are they willing to pay for it. Greg Summers then goes on to explain that the west end of the building houses the poolside café, locker rooms and offices, which would need to remain. The far, east end of the building has the coolers that are used for the grill, and the bathroom for the tennis courts, it could be opened up with new windows and doors to become the tennis pro shop. The Village would like to see the center section with the, bar, banquet room and kitchen repurposed before they would consider tearing it down. VM Summers then opens it up for discussion. The committee begins by asking about the cost to keep the facility open and the fact that hosting events covers some of the incurred expenses. It is asked whether the Village can legally cancel any of the events, since they have signed contracts for the room rental. Conversation continues regarding the pros and cons of cancelling all of the events or letting them happen, the costs involved, the bad public relations cancelling would cause and the ethical obligation to the customer. It is confirmed that there will be no bookings after 2023, and Marianne Long has been offered two weeks of severance pay for every year she has been with the Village, which at the end of 2023 will be 7 ½ years, if she stays until the last event is completed. Conversation shifts to the capital/maintenance issues that would need to be completed in the next year. It is confirmed that any big projects would be delayed until absolutely necessary. Jim DePhillips reminds the committee that the venue was offered to the local hotels to use as an outdoor venue and none of them were interested. Since there is only one event in December, it is asked whether it would be beneficial to buy out that one event and be able to close at the end of October. Don Adler suggests buying out all of the events, he begins his presentation by saying that whatever entity comes into the building they need to follow the ordinance and be self- sustaining. He continues by saying that they Board shouldn’t be afraid to tear the building down. It should be low in capital investment for the Village. Mr. Adler continues by saying that golf simulators are a great alternative for the building. Conversation ensues regarding golf simulators, costs and whether the Village should be involved or have a third party do it. Frank Scarpiniti suggests that no events be booked after October 30, 2023. Trustee Manzo would like to see the Sports Core use the building, soccer, golf, poolside café or programs. The committee talks about the likelihood of anyone wanting to utilize the building knowing that there are $2.8 million worth of maintenance and improvements that need to be done. Conversation shifts to tennis, the costs involved, the money it made this year and what its future might be. Melissa Martin asks if getting involved in commercial real estate is something that the Village wants to get involved in since that comes with its own set of issues. Trustee Manzo explains that even if the Village doesn’t accept any of the RFPs, the public will see that the Village has done its due diligence. Rick Valent clarifies that the $2.8 million is not confined to the center section, it encompasses the entire building. The committee discusses sending out the RFP for potential users at the same time as the RFP for a facility study for the demo. Frank Scarpiniti makes a motion to go out for RFP for the facility usage, to go out for RFP for the facility study and to stop taking B&T Clubhouse reservations after October 31, 2022. Jim DePhillips seconds. The committee unanimously agrees. John Anos asks about golf rates. Conversation ensues regarding membership rates. The value of the Oak Brook Golf Club memberships, and the need to adjust the nonresident rates to make it more equitable and the need for dynamic pricing. It’s decided to have a golf only Sports Core Advisory Committee in early January. Adjournment Motion to adjourn the December 1, 2022 meeting of the Sports Core Advisory Committee made by John Anos seconded by Melissa Martin. Meeting adjourned at 8:30pm ATTEST: ________________________ _____________________ Connie Reid Date Executive Assistant Village of Oak Brook