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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1996-08-21 Packet - Special CITY OF UKIAH CITY COUNCIL MINUTES JOINT CITY COUNCIL/UKIAH GOLF COURSE COMMITTEE MEETING August 21, 1996 5:30 p.m. The City Council and the Ukiah Golf Course Committee convened in a joint meeting, of which the agenda was legally noticed and posted, at 5:32 p.m. in the Civic Center Council Chambers, 300 Seminary Avenue, Ukiah, California. The meeting was called to order by Mayor Schneiter. Roll was taken with the following Councilmembers present: Mastin, Malone, Shoemaker, and Mayor Schneiter. Absent: Councilmember Wattenburger. Golf Course Committee Members present: Crawford, Hefte, Nielson, and Chairman Ramsey. Absent: None. Staff present: Golf and Parks Superintendent Carpenter, Community Services Director DeKnoblough, Finance Director Elton, Assistant City Manager Harris, City Manager Horsley, Golf Pro McMillian, and City Clerk Giuntoli. I1. AUDIENCE COMMENTS ON NON-AGENDA ITEMS None III. NEW BUSINESS a. Discussion of Fiscal Year 1996/97 Budqet Mayor Schneiter explained a workshop format would be used for the meeting, thereby enabling each group to understand the issues before them. The Council would not be making decisions at this meeting, other than to provide a direction to staff to work on and bring back recommendations at another regularly scheduled meeting. City Manager Horsley explained that at budget time there was a $105,057 deficit in the Golf Enterprise Fund. She subsequently asked Community Services Director DeKnoblough to meet with the Golf Course Committee and discuss possible options for eliminating the deficit. Recommendations from both staff and the Committee will be presented for discussion. Community Services Director DeKnoblough presented a summary of the recommendations from the Golf Course Committee, including salary reductions, a split of the debt service between the General Fund and Golf Enterprise Fund, the sale of excess City properties with the monies applied to the outstanding debt, refinancing of the remaining balance, elimination of several line item expenditures, and a review of the support services provided to the Golf Course by other City Departments. He further advised that while the Committee's recommendations did resolve the current budget deficit, $38,500 of the cuts were to essential maintenance programs which, if carried over from year to year, would have a detrimental impact on the Course condition. He further advised that staff did not support recommendations which would eliminate essential programs, such as cart path improvements and deep core aerification, but would consider other options, including salary reductions, reducing the Committee's recommended cuts by 50%, the adoption of an additional $1 per round fee for private carts and memberships as identified in Member Crawford's August 8, 1996 letter, and the elimination of the $5 out-of-County fee. At this point, Mayor Schneiter relinquished the chair to Golf Course Committee Chairman Ramsey. Chairman Ramsey gave a brief history of the purchase of the Back Eight, and stated he believed that purchase to be the reason for the deficit position of the Golf Enterprise Fund. He further stated he felt a great deal of help was necessary from the City to reduce the debt service, and that he preferred not to "whittle away" at Course programs and maintenance. Member Crawford stated he had observed inconsistency in the treatment of the Golf Course by the City Council, staff, and management, but that the one thing that has remained consistent is the commitment the golfing community has made to the City of Ukiah in upgrading the Golf Course. He asked that the Council share that commitment. City Council/Ukiah Golf Course Committee Meeting August 21, 1996 Page 1 Member Nielson spoke to her concerns relative to senior citizens' ability to pay increased fees, and reviewed the budget figures, suggesting the City help with the $25,000 annual debt service payment. She stated she felt the condition of the Course made it unfeasible to raise fees at this time. Discussion followed relative to the purchase of the Back Eight, wherein the Council explained the rationale and circumstances surrounding the purchase, and reinforced their past and present commitment to the Course. Further discussion followed regarding potential fee increases, and the revenue and costs associated with the Todd Grove Room and Clubhouse remodel. Several members of the audience spoke to their concerns and offered suggestions relative to eliminating the budget deficit. Discussion followed regarding debt service, interest expense, and allocation costs. Further discussion followed regarding the possible sale of City property, with a description provided of the differences between General and Enterprise Funds. It was explained the City's General Fund supports, from different sources of revenue, Police, Fire, Ambulance, Planning, certain Public Works, and certain Recreational Facilities. Member Crawford stated that it would be difficult to encourage the Men's Club to spend money improving the City's facility if there was no visible compromise from the Council. He further stated that he felt whatever had been done with volunteer effort and money was being disregarded. Councilmember Malone replied that many recreational and organizational things in the community had been accomplished with volunteer effort; people pitch in and work together for good causes. He stated he was proud of the effort the golfing community had put forth; however, the effort was put forward on County property, and the City wanted control of one of its main assets. Mayor Schneiter stated the City cannot afford to let an asset that was created from bare ground turn into someone else's hands; the City bought the property. He further stated Council will ask staff to find ways to relieve the debt without any deterioration in maintenance or programs, and bring back solid proposals based on the evening's discussion and what the Committee brought to Council. Councilmember Malone stated he was committed to the maintenance of the Course, and would be open to reviewing salaries and restructuring the debt. He further stated Council was not doing the Course a favor by holding the line on golf fees, because at some point in the future costs will escalate. Ms. Horsley stated staff will meet with Finance Director Elton and the Golf Course Committee to explore options. Councilmember Shoemaker offered a personal comment, encouraging those present not to leave the meeting and tell other members of the community that Council has insulted the volunteers, thus doing both them and the Council a disservice. The staff and volunteer Councilmembers are a highly dedicated group of people, and none of them need to have their persons defamed or attacked about the efforts they have all put in on this. Member Crawford assured him that was not the case; he merely wanted recognition of the volunteer effort of the golfing community. There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 6:32 p.m. to the regular scheduled City Council Meeting of August 21, 1996. b:cc/ccgolfsp.mtg Marge Giuntoli, City Clerk City CouncillUkiah Golf Course Committee Meeting August 21, 1996 Page 2 CITY OF UKIAH CITY COUNCIL and UKIAH GOLF COURSE COMMITTEE SPECIAL JOINT MEETING UKIAH CIVIC CENTER City Council Chambers 300 Seminary Avenue Ukiah, California 95482 AUGUST 21, 1996 5:30 P.M. AGENDA CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL ao City Council Ukiah Golf Course Committee AUDIENCE COMMENTS ON NON-AGENDA ITEMS The City Council welcomes input from the audience. In order for everyone to be heard, please limit your comments to three (3) minutes per person and not more than 10 minutes per subject. The Brown Act regulations do not allow action to be taken on non-agenda items. NEW BUSINESS a. Discussion of Fiscal Year 1996/97 Budget IV. ADJOURNMENT TO RF~ULAR SCHEDULED CITY COUNCIL MEETING B:IK}C A~82196 AGENDA SUMMARY ITEM NO. Ilia, DATE: August 21; 1996 REPORT SUBJECT: Discussion Items for Joint Golf Committee and City Council Workshop These items are presented to the Council for the purpose of workshop discussion only and no action on any item is requested at this time. The proposed workshop was requested by the Golf Committee in order to discuss issues relating to the projected operating deficit of $105,057 for the Golf Enterprise Fund in the FY 96/97 budget. The Committee subsequently conducted a special meeting on August 12 to receive input from the golf community and formalize the proposals which are outlined in this report. The Committee received significant public testimony at that meeting and have considered that input in developing their recommendations. Attached are written submittals prepared by Golf Committee member Don Crawford and former member Don Rones. Both documents were reviewed and discussed at the August 12 meeting. The following recommendations were approved by the Committee by unanimous roll call vote. 1. Total salaries and benefits for the Golf Fund are projected at $229,848 which is approximately 41% of the total expenditures for the Course. The Committee felt that it would be necessary to significantly reduce this account in order for the Course to balance over the immediate term. The Committee has recommended the elimination of the position of Golf Superintendent and at least one seasonal employee. This would result in an annual reduction in salaries and benefits of: Superintendent Seasonal $62,260.23 $ 6,897.00 Total $69,157.23 The Committee further recommends that other positions within the Golf Fund be reviewed for conversion to 34 hour or seasonal employment. This process can significantly reduce the cost of each position. (Continued on Page 2) RECOMMENDED ACTION: No action is requested at this time. ALTERNATIVE COUNCIL POLICY OPTIONS: N/A Acct. No. (if NOT budgeted): N/A Acct. No.: N/A Appropriation Requested: N/A (if budgeted) Citizen Advised: N/A Requested by: Golf Committee Prepared by: Larry DeKnoblough, Community Services Director Coordinated with: Attachments: 1. August 8, 1996 Letter from Committee Member Crawford ~ 2. Subrm~a~from Don Rones APPROVED~:--~~ Candace Horsley, City I~ana~er 4:~c,c~asrgolf.doc Joint Golf Committee & City Council Workshop Page Two 2. The annual debt service on the Todd Grove Room and the purchase of the back eight holes is $117,587. The Committee recognizes the City is unable at this time to support the entire payment but has recommended some portion, perhaps 50%, be split between the General and Golf Enterprise Funds. 3. A second recommendation relating to the debt service issue was that perhaps the City may possess excess properties which could be sold and applied to the outstanding debt. They also recommended that the reduced debt then be reviewed for refinance, possibly through a local financial institution which may result in a lower annual debt service. The Committee's reasoning in providing this recommendation is related to past negotiations with the County of Mendocino in which the City included various properties as part of a trade for the back eight. 4. Various line item expenditures and program reductions were identified by the Committee for elimination from the budget. Those include: a. Reduce contractual services (250) in the amount of $10,000, reducing that account from $25,000 to $15,000. This would eliminate the deep core greens aedfication program as well as funds for emergency tree services. b. Elimination of the lease purchase (255) of the new fairway mower in the amount of $8,500. Reduce funds for equipment rental from other city departments (300) in the amount of $1,000, reducing that account from $3,500 to $2,500. This would result in a reduction of certain programs which require the use of equipment such as dump trucks, pavers, etc. d. Reduce Grounds Maintenance funds (305) $10,000 reducing that account from $23,800 to $13,800. This would eliminate the cart path improvement program. e, Reduce General Supplies (420) by $1,000, reducing that account from $5,000 to $4,000 and Special Supplies (690) by $8,000 reducing that account from $30,000 to $22,000. These reductions are consistent with the cutbacks in both the 300 and 305 accounts as the supply expenditures are correlated to improvements. 5. The Committee's final recommendation was to review the support services provided to the Golf Course by other City departments such as vehicle repair, purchasing and warehouse, telephone, etc. and determine if it is possible to outsource these services more efficiently. A summary of the reductions in expenditures recommended by the Committee is as follows: Salaries and Benefits Contractual Services Lease Purchase Equipment Rental Grounds Maintenance General Supplies Special Supplies $69,157.23 $1o,ooo.oo $ 8,500.00 $ 1,000.00 $1o,ooo.oo $1,ooo.oo $ 8,OOO.OO Total $107,657.23 Joint Golf Committee & City Council Workshop Page 3 While these recommendations do resolve the current budget deficit, $38,500 of these cuts are to essential maintenance programs which if carried over from year to year will have a detrimental impact on the course condition. , Staff concurs that a change in salaries and benefits has the greatest impact on reducing the deficit. It would, however, require a reorganization of the division as the Superintendent position would be eliminated. As to reductions in programs, staff would concur with the committee's recommendations for this fiscal year, however, we do not support any recommendations which would eliminate essential programs such as cart path improvement, and deep core aedfication, which would ultimately have a significant negative impact on the course. 0 An alternative recommendation may be to reduce the Committee's cuts to 50%. This will allow at least badly needed limited course improvements to occur while achieving a $19,250 reduction in program expenditures. Should the Council determine to reduce the $69,157.23 salaries and benefits as recommended, this would achieve an annual operating reduction of $88,407.23. The full savings would not be realized in 1996/97 as three month's expenditures of the current year have already occured. . Staff would then recommend the adoption of a $1.00 per round fee for memberships as identified in Committee Member Crawford's letter as well as a $1.00 per round fee for private carts. We believe this would generate $40,000 to $50,000. . In addition, staff recommends the elimination of the $5.00 out of County fee. The Golf Committee was unanimous in their support for repeal of this fee. This fee appears to be punitive to the out of area market which may be of significant economic benefit to the broader Ukiah area when they visit our course. The establishment of this fee has had a negative impact on course revenues as out of county play has dropped significantly since its inception. Eliminating this fee will also allow the course to advertise specials to out of area golfers and potentially increase our playership. These items are presented to the Council for the purpose of workshop discussion only and no action on any item is requested at this time. Staff is, however, seeking some direction from the Council, based upon the Council's discussions with the Committee, as to how the Council wishes to proceed with eliminating the Golf Fund deficit. 8 August 1996 Perry Ramsey, Chairman Ukiah Golf Course Committee Dear Mr. Chairman: I deeply regret not being able to attend our August, 12 meeting of the Ukiah Golf Course Committee. I tried very hard to make myself available for this meeting, as all other meetings, however the scheduling and rescheduling finally got me. I would add that it also caused me some embarrassment with members whom ,I urged to attend. I trust future meetings will be held on the consistent schedule we worked to establish last year. It is difficult to provide my input in writing, and I regret not being present to answer and ask questions as they arise. However, I would ask that you read this letter to the Committee and the City Staff as my contribution to your meeting. We have some suggestion forms submitted by our Men's Club members, but I will hold those and present them at the next Committee meeting. Before I address our golf course budget concerns, there are a couple of items that need attention. First, signs acknowledging our difficulties with #1 Green are now in place. The wording is perfect. Unfortunately, the signs are smaller than we anticipated and, as you all know, they were supposed to be in place several months ago. This delay has allowed thousands of rounds to be played by local, and, more importantly, visiting golfers with no visible acknowledgment of the substandard condition of this green. This has been an embarrassment for all Ukiah golfers, but it surely has been immeasurably embarrassing to the pro shop staff. When one realizes the exposure to player feedback of the pro shop staff, it is unfathomable that the head golf professional has so little authority in maintenance decisions on the gglf course. Second, I aSk the Greens Superintendent when he last fertilized the greens? If it was done anytime after the middle of June, did the fertilizer containers provide any recommendation as to the optimum temperature parameters for application? Fertilizing in the summer months in our climate can be risky, and if it is done in contradiction to instructions it would seem to be unacceptable negligence on the part of a greens superintendent. I am going t-~) make my input on the budget as brief as possible. As you know there are three red flags in the budget, and we have discussed them briefly at a previous meeting. They are: (1) An exorbitant payroll/benefit expense for the four regular members of the maintenance staff - $229,431. (2) A decrease in golf revenues due to a decrease of several thousand rounds per year for the last two fiscal years. This has been partially masked by increases in fees. (3) The granddaddy of them all, an annual debt service of $91,974 for the loan on the purchase of the back nine property. (1) There must be some manageable room in this $229,431 payroll/benefit package. If not, these employees are on their way to pricing the City of Ukiah out of the golf course maintenance business. (2) The reduction in rounds played at our course, and the resulting strain on revenues, is due to more than one factor. Wet winters and temporary greens discourage play. People naturally gravitate into and out of golf as a pastime. However, the inescapable primary factor in decreased play is directly related to the condition of the golf course. It was the sincere hope of many of us in the Ukiah golfing community that we could attain a "destination" golf facility that would entice players within a wide radius to come to Ukiah just to play our course. We sought a top rated golf pro and we were successful. The next obvious step, and we were thrilled that the City agreed, was to obtain an actual greens superintendent. This has unfortunately become one of our "flash" points. Our course has not become a destination golf course, and many feel that it is farther away than it used to be. There are countless reasons, some excuses and some not, and I have heard my share of them. I would say that we have made progress in some areas, tree plantings for instance, but we are sadly lacking in too many areas. I have tried to explain to some that a golf course is far too complicated to overhaul in a short year or two, or even three, but, frankly, the failures, the mistakes and the use of poor judgement by the individual entrusted with our golf course speak for themselves. An unfortunate dilemma we face closely tied to all this is the reconstruction of #1 Green. Due to a total lack of confidence in our current greens superintendent based on past experience, we are facing the unavoidable need of contracting a project manager to oversee the proper reconstruction of this green. The original reconstruction has become a haunting embarrassment to many of us. (3) The $91,974 annual debt service has put the golf course in a financial crisis. The fact that it was. precipitated by mistakes of financial judgement made by the City management over a decade ago doesn't relieve us of this ominous dilemma. We in the golf community will have to make concessions, but it is unreasonable to expect us to foot the entire burden. The obvious option facing us is a fee increase of one kind or another. Some fee options have been presented to us by the Staff. I believe that eliminating annual green fee payers is a mistake. As I have mentioned before, annual fees are the sole source of revenue in the winter when there are no daily fee payers. I would agree, as an annual fee payer, to a $1 dollar per round assessment during the prime playing season - 1 March to 31 October. We should have a seasonal rate for all play. If all rounds brought in an annual average of an additional $1 per round we could create $50,000 to $60,000 per year, provided the golf course were in somewhat better condition. One fee gap that I believe needs closing' is the discount given at our course for senior players. No one denies their privilege of discounted services, but if you analyze the per cent of the senior discount at our course you will find it to be close to or exceeding 30%. You will be hard pressed to find this in any other venue, golf or otherwise, anywhere else. I originally supported the current senior fee schedule not realizing the magnitude of the discount. We also need to recognize that senior golfers have access to and use our golf course more than anyone else. Along with this comes the added maintenance required. It is of the utmost importance that the City Council be made to realize our willingness to make our contributions in the support of the golf course. If everything worked out, we could reduce the projected deficit by one half or more. However, there is a portion of this deficit that rightfully belongs within City funding. I need not describe to you all the sixty years of contributions our golfing community has made to the City through upgrading their asset, the golf course. Money, materials and man-hours donated by our club over its existence far exceed the value of the back nine property. We should rightfully ask for some subsidy based on the fact that the golf course is a revenue producing green space, that it has far reaching revenue producing potential spreading to other areas of the community, and that it is, after all, a revenue producing sports facility. Its revenue potential is closely tied to its condition. We dare not allow it to degrade further, and, I would hope, the City Council will realize this. Thank you very much for your time. I am confidant that we share the same goal in wanting to pass on a positive golf legacy to others as it was passed on to us, and I hope the City Council will do their part. Sincerely, Don Crawford Member, Ukiah Golf Course Committee Member, Board of Directors & Chairman, Greens Committee Ukiah Men's Golf Club ¥~7, ~'~7