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Minutes - 01/19/2023 - Sports Core Advisory Committee Sports Core Advisory Committee Meeting January 19, 2023, 6:30pm Call to Order The January 19, 2023 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, Lara Barber, Kathy Miller and Mike Stevens ABSENT: Mike Jerich IN ATTENDANCE: Village Manager, Greg Summers, Executive Assistant, Connie Reid, Trustees Michael Manzo, Larry Herman and Asif Yusuf, Village President Gopal Lalmalani, Director of Public Works Rick Valent, Assistant Village Manager Jessica Spencer, Finance Director Marilyn Fumero, Head Golf Professional Jeff Kawucha and Elaine Zannis Approval of Minutes Motion to approve the December 1, 2022 meeting minutes made by Melissa Martin seconded by Kathy Miller. All in favor, no one opposes. Minutes approved. Public Comments There are no public comments at this time. Active Business a. B&T Fees AVM Spencer begins by passing out a spreadsheet summarizing the membership fees from 2022 versus 2023 and goes through the analysis showing the proposed increases for 2023. She also shares that guest passes will increase to $15 and a 10 pack will be offered for $125. VM Summers adds that each member will only be allowed to bring one guest at a time. Trustee Herman states that the $10 guest fee makes it more attractive for someone to tag along as guest rather than to purchase their own membership. Greg Summers addresses the issue from the 2022 season of the check in desk not charging guest fees on a regular basis, stating that the new management company will have dedicated managers at the check in desk ensuring that guest fees are charged. Lara Barber states her hesitation to raise resident rate. Trustee Herman shares that he did some research on historical rates at the B&T and found that when it opened a family membership was $450, and with an inflation adjustment, that same membership would over $2,000, so the proposed $900 is still a very good deal. Conversation ensues regarding rates and incentives, the desire to attract more Oak Brook residents, pool capacity and the need for more space. It is mentioned that the furniture is larger than most clubs and it could be scaled down to allow for more chairs. Conversation shifts to options for making more space outside the gated area or in the grassy area and the cost involved. The committee speaks about how to ensure that non-residents and corporate residents are paying for the correct membership type and the need to verify that. . MINUTES OF THE JANUARY 19, 2023 MEETING OF THE SPORTS CORE ADVISORY COMMITTEE OF THE VILLAGE OF OAK BROOK HELD IN THE UPPER LEVEL CONFERENCE ROOM OF VILLAGE HALL APPROVED AS WRITTEN OR AMENDED ON JUNE 27, 2023. The committee continues discussing the various categories, pricing and the reasoning behind the increases or lack of increase and the total increase to the budget. VM Summers asks for a consensus on the rates. Before a vote is done Chairman Anos invites Elaine Zannis to speak since she joined the meeting after the public comment section. Ms. Zannis asks what the utilization is per family. Trustee Herman shares that the eSoft system can produce reports showing how many people have checked in, there are a couple of issues with that system, one being that kids on swim team and their parents don’t check in before practice but would just stay after practice and enjoy the pool, causing the number of people at the pool to be under reported, another issue is that people don’t check out. The committee talks about capacity and when the pool is busiest. Elaine Zannis asks how many memberships are needed to make the Club solvent. Trustee Herman retorts that the Club is solvent now, he continues saying that there is an operating profit but the problem is that there needs to be extra money to be used for capital. Conversation goes back to the rates, AVM Spencer asks for clarification on what rates the committee would like to adjust. It is verified that the only change to the new membership rates the committee wants to make is to raise the Resident Senior Couple to $750, which is what it was last season. Mike Stevens quickly goes through the tennis memberships and agrees with the increases. Frank Scarpiniti makes a motion to approve the rates as they are for pool and tennis, except for raising the Resident Senior Couple to $750, seconded by Jim DePhillips all in favor no one opposed. b. Golf Fees Jeff Kawucha begins by saying that he has been in communication with John Anos, Jim DePhillips, Frank Scarpiniti, Sean Creed looking at strengths and weaknesses in an attempt to find ways to maximize revenue while trying to retain the loyalty and satisfaction of the members and customers. It was decided that all golf memberships will increase by $200 for residents and $250 for non-residents, which is a 10 to 12% increase. Jeff goes on to say that this is a little more aggressive than the tempo of the soft increases of the pool membership. He goes on to share one of the challenges the Club has is weekend play. Traditionally at other courses the seniors play Monday through Thursday with no senior rate on weekends, at OBCG almost all of the permanent tee times on the weekend mornings are held by seniors who pay a senior rate which is grossly undervalued. To rectify this the senior rate is being raised by 20%, or about $8 to $10 which is still under market value. Conversation ensues regarding justification for the increase, rates at neighboring Clubs, and membership utilization. Jeff Kawucha explains the membership types, demographics and permanent tee times. The committee debates the benefit of having more memberships vs opening their tee times to non-members. Melissa Martin asks about allowing kids on the course and it is explained that it’s not a kid friendly course and there is probably not a good time for them to be there. Trustee Manzo asks Jeff is he is comfortable with the rate increases, he answers that he realizes that there will be a lot of push back from golfers but the increases are fair. John Anos goes through some of the reasoning for the large increases, from the cost of fertilizer to the labor issues. John Anos makes a motion to approve the recommended rates, Lara Barber seconds, all in favor no one opposed. Frank Scarpiniti asks about the Banquet Facility. VM Summers explains that all 2023 events will be honored. He explains that Marianne Long, the full time employee is no longer working and the events will be handled by part timers which is a substantial savings. John Anos asks about the bathrooms at the Golf Course. Jeff Kawucha explains that the contractor that originally was contacted has come back with an inflated price, so they are still looking for someone to do the work. Lara Barber asks about the pool contract. AVM Spencer explains that they are waiting on Chuck Genoar’s incorporation documents and his insurance. Conversation ensues regarding job postings for the lifeguards. VM Summers expounds on the Banquet Facility operations and explains they are in the process of drafting an RFP that will go out to the private sector asking what they would use the facility for and how much they are willing to pay. He continues by saying that the Village has just identified the areas that they will need to use exclusively and what areas would be shared areas and that there needs to be a couple walls and doors installed, adding the difficulty will be that they can’t separate utilities. If there are no RFP responses, the questions of how to repurpose the building will come back to the committee. Adjournment Motion to adjourn the January 19, 2023 meeting of the Sports Core Advisory Committee made by Melissa Martin seconded by John Anos, all in favor, no one opposed. ATTEST: ________________________ _____________________ Connie Reid Date Executive Assistant Village of Oak Brook