THE VILLAGES GOLF AND COUNTRY CLUB BOARD OF DIRECTORS' STUDY SESSION MEETING

Transcription

1 THE VILLAGES GOLF AND COUNTRY CLUB BOARD OF DIRECTORS' STUDY SESSION MEETING April 14, 2015 A Study Session of the Board of Directors of The Villages Golf and Country Club was held on Tuesday, April 14, 2015, at 1:30 p.m. in the Foothill Center, 8776 Village View Drive, San Jose, CA The meeting was called to order by President William Bing. There were present: William Bing President and Director Wayne Weiler Vice President and Director William DeVincenzi Treasurer and Director Joe Civello Assistant Treasurer and Director Matthew Giordono Director Jerry Neece Director comprising a quorum of the Board. Absent: Also present: John Paquette Darren Shaw Julia Meadows Secretary and Director General Manager and Executive Secretary Assistant General Manager, Assistant Secretary-Treasurer, and Recording Secretary President William Bing welcomed everyone to the meeting and commended Treasurer William DeVincenzi for his development of the water report that identifies water usage of each building. COMMITTEE REPORTS Nominating Committee Report: Committee member Don Fernandez reported that the Nominating Committee is submitting Claude Ashen, Howie Blumstein, Debbie Champion, Mike Poellot and David Sear as its candidate nominations for the 2015 Election of Directors. Request for Utilities Cost Containment Committee (UCCC) Members: Vice President Wayne Weiler summarized the committee's charter and reported that the Board is looking for residents to volunteer to serve on the Utilities Cost Containment Committee.

2 Study Session Meeting - The Villages Golf and Country Club Board of Directors April 14, Page two Ad Hoc Policy Review Committee: Committee Chair Debbie Champion reported that the next meeting is scheduled for Monday, April 20 at 10:30 a.m. at Montgomery Center. ITEMS FOR STUDY AND DISCUSSION The Board reviewed and discussed the following items: 1. Artifact Diorama for Clubhouse Foyer: Annette Mach presented her design of the proposed artifact diorama cabinet. Consensus of the Board was to move forward with development of the project, and to include approval consideration on the April 28, 2015, monthly meeting agenda. 2. April 2015 Goal and Objectives Update: General Manager Darren explained that the following objectives on the Club's Three-Year Strategic Plan were targeted for April Objective Implement Community Service, Use, and Demographic Survey: General Manager Darren Shaw reported that the General Plan Committee (GPC) is in the process of reorganizing due to recent committee resignations and that the committee should have a recommendation soon regarding a third-party firm conducting the survey. It was noted that there was a GPC meeting later that afternoon to discuss a survey with a third-party firm. Objective Online Event Reservation Software (Mary Tatum to present): Director of Community Activities Mary Tatum presented the attached memorandum on online event registration software. (Attachment No. 1) It was decided to include on the April 28, 2015, monthly meeting agenda, approval consideration of a 90-day trial for a stand-alone software package. Objective Renovate Existing Fitness Center (Montgomery Center): General Manager Darren Shaw reported that this objective is on hold pending moving into the Fitness Center. 3. Annual Meeting Notice and Election Materials: It was decided to modify the title of the Resolution, Excess of Membership Income Over Membership Expenses to Excess of Membership income Over Membership Expenses Refunded to Members, adjust

3 Study Session Meeting - The Villages Golf and Country Club Board of Directors April 14, Page three font size of the candidates' names so the font is consistent, and include approval consideration of the Annual Meeting and Election Materials on the April 28, 2015, monthly meeting consent agenda subject to, that if additional candidates come forward with self-nomination petitions after approval and in compliance with Bylaws Section 6.1.3, the ballot and materials will be modified accordingly. The order of the candidates on the ballot will be determined by a random draw process conducted by the Inspectors of Election at the April 28 Board meeting. 4. Appointments to General plan Committee: President William Bing announced that committee appointments are discussed in executive session. 5. Community Open House for 2016: A petition was submitted by Donna Roberson to re-instate the Community Open House event. Discussion took place, with comments pro and con for the event. Vice President Wayne Weiler suggested that it be called a Community Celebration and Director Matthew Giordono suggested that consideration to re-instate the event should take place after the next Club Board's workshop (late summer) for the Three-Year Strategic Plan. By consensus the Board agreed to defer consideration to re-instate the event until after the Board's workshop. 6. Swimming Pools Openings Schedule: President William Bing reported that at the March meeting the Swimming Pools Advisory Committee requested that Montgomery and Foothill pools open on April 15 in unison with the opening of Cribari pool. It was announced that Cribari, Montgomery and Foothill pools will open on April Proposed Change to Rule E to Clarify Parking Adjacent to Fairways and Clubhouse: It was decided to include approval consideration to publish for 30-day notice the proposed change to Rule E on the April 28, 2015, monthly meeting agenda. ANNOUCEMENTS The following meetings were announced: FY 2015/2016 Operating and Reserve Budget Presentation Thursday, April 16, 2015; 2:00 p.m. Foothill Center April Monthly Meeting Tuesday, April 28, 2015; 1:30 p.m. Clubhouse

4 Study Session Meeting - The Villages Golf and Country Club Board of Directors April 14, Page four ANNOUCEMENTS cont. Volunteer Recognition Event "We Can't Spell Success Without U." Wednesday, April 29, 2015; 2:30 p.m. Clubhouse Candidates Night (Sponsored by Communications Advisory Committee) Thursday, May 7, 2015; 7:00 p.m. Cribari Auditorium May Study Session: Tuesday, May 12, 2015; 1:30 p.m. Foothill Center RESIDENTS FORUM Board. Time was set aside at this portion of the meeting for residents to address the ADJOURNMENT The study session adjourned at 2:45 p.m. APPROVED BY THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS Secretary Date Attachment

5 Attachment No. 1 Goals and Objectives Report Date: April 10, 2015 To: Darren Shaw, General Manager From: Mary Tatum, Director of Community Activities RE: Objective 3.4 Online Event Registration Software Objective 3.4 queries staff to evaluate online registration software that can be used to book community events, and make reservations for special events as well as the Clubhouse. Online class/event registration would be a convenience for those who are unable to, or prefer not to, register for classes and events in person. Using online registration requires a computer, tablet or smart phone. The process involves registering for an event or class and paying for it with PayPal or a credit card or installing software that integrates with The Villages point of sale software. It is currently unknown how many residents would be interested in, or actually use, online registration. The Villages currently offers online registration for golf tee times and Clubhouse Restaurant reservations. They are both well used options; however, neither involves a monetary commitment. Many vendors offer electronic online registration software. Among top picks used by the Park and Recreation industry are EMS, Events Management Software, and DASH Platform. There are also many software programs designed just for online registration such as Eventbrite and RegFox. Registration software used in the Parks and Recreation industry is bundled with other functions such as facility reservations. The Villages uses EMS, Event Management Software, for facility reservations. They offer an add-on software module (Regics) available for class/event registrations and surveys. The software is $10,000 (one time purchase) based on 5,000 annual projected registrations. The software cost is based on buying a bundle of registrations that is refilled annually. Additionally, there is an annual maintenance fee of about $1,600. DASH Platform is another recreation management software package. Besides managing facilities, it also handles club membership, rentals, invoicing, and point of sale and payment system in addition to class and event reservations and payments. Software costs run $5,000 to $20,000 depending on the management options desired plus 1-percent of the collected revenues. This platform is currently in use by some large mixed age HOA's. Unless The Villages wishes to change the platform we currently use for facility reservations, cost for the management software is excessive. Stand-alone event registration software is another option for providing online registration.

6 Online Event Reservation Summary Memorandum April 10, 2015 Page 2 Eventbrite is a popular and commonly used event registration software program. The software set-up is free and fees are based on a percentage of the ticket price and a transaction fee. The fee is 2.5 percent of the ticket price plus a $.99 transaction fee, plus a 3 percent payment processing fee. An example is; a $30 event would end up costing $32.64 using Eventbrite to register online. Event payment to The Villages is days. RegFox is another stand-alone event registration program. The software is rented for $19 or $29/mo depending on the option purchased and event transactions are $.89 or $.79 each plus $.02 for each reminder. This software pays directly to a merchant account, so there is no waiting for repayment. It may require integration with the Villages point of sale software. There are pros and cons for each type of online registration product. What they both have in common is there is an additional cost to provide registration service. It is either absorbed by The Villages as a business expense or passed on to the resident as a convenience fee. Bundled Software Costs - $10,000 and up plus annual maintenance fee and point of sale integration Pros Provides a wide range of options to manage recreational facilities and programs Regics software dovetails with current Villages EMS software Once the software is purchased and installed there are no recurring fees other than an annual maintenance fee (no fee for each transaction in most platforms) Payment portal is integrated to go to The Villages directly Cons Most expensive option for the business Staff must set-up double registration processes for each event/class and keep dual If you already are using software management program, limits options that are compatible unless buying an entire new bundle Stand Alone Registration Software Costs Depending on software selected, $29/mo for software plus transaction fees or just transaction fees based on percentage of event price and possible point of sale integration. Pros Little or no cost to The Villages to set-up Most or all fees are passed on to the user

7 Online Event Reservation Summary Memorandum April 10, 2015 Page 3 Cons Adds a convenience charge to any class or event, depending on the software used. This could include a percentage of the charge, transaction fee and credit card fee Must use a credit card or PayPal to pay for class/event Villages waits days for payment from third party to be reimbursed for the class or events Staff must set-up double registration processes for each event/class and keep dual Residents could be dealing with a third party for refunds and cancellations Staff randomly checked with other 55 plus communities in Northern California to find out how they handle online registrations. Rossmoor, Oakmont, Trilogy at Rio Vista, and Summerset, our closest competitors, do not offer online registration for classes and events. Rossmoor is considering offering online registration for events and classes in the next six months to a year. They plan to use Active Net, a bundled package which will be discontinuing some technical support of their class registration software in Those that do not, have chosen not to offer online registration as many within their community are not computer savvy and prefer personalized service. They also do not have the staff to offer technical support for the service. It is currently unknown how many Villagers would actually use online registration for classes and events if available. Currently the options for those unable to register in person are; 1) Having a friend or neighbor register on your behalf 2) After business hours, leaving a registration form in the Community Activities drop box for the resident to pick up, complete, and return 3) Sending the registration form via scanned or fax and having it returned electronically or by fax It isn't feasible, at this time, to expect all residents to register for events and classes online. Offering a dual system (Eventbrite and walk-in registration ) may be the best solution. Should the Club Board wish to proceed, staff recommends offering up to 25-percent of all registrations electronically using standalone registration software. It is anticipated most Villagers will continue using walk-in registration due to the anticipated price difference between walk-in and online registration. There would need to be a time limit for both walk-in registration and online registration so open slots could be transferred to one or the other to deal with a generated waiting list. With this option The Villages would not incur out any set-ups fees or engage in long term contracts. The resident using the online registration would be responsible for all transaction and convenience fees. As an example, a fitness class with 50 slots would have 12 of those slots available for electronic registration. The walk-in registration cost is $ The online registration could be $52.28.

8 PRODUCT COST PROS CONS EMS Regics (Bundled) $10,000 plus annual maintenance fee and point of sale integration Wide range of options to manage recreational facilities No recurring fees other than annual maintenance fee Payment portal is integrated to go to The Villages directly Most expensive option for the business Staff must have double registration processes for each event/class and keep dual DASH (Bundled) $10,000 plus one percent of annual sales as a maintenance fee plus point of sale integration Wide range of options to manage recreational facilities No recurring fees other than annual maintenance fee Payment portal is integrated to go to The Villages directly Most expensive option for the business Staff must have double registration processes for each event/class and keep dual Eventbrite (Stand-alone) No out of pocket costs No out of pocket costs or long term contracts All fees paid by user Adds a convenience charge to any class or event Must use credit card or PayPal to pay. Villages waits days to be reimbursed Residents would be dealing with a third party for refunds and cancellations Staff must have double registration processes for each event/class and keep dual RegFox (Stand-alone) Software rental $19 or $29/mo plus point of sale integration $19 x 12 = $228/yr $29 x 12 = $348/yr Low cost Software pays directly to merchant account if desired No waiting for reimbursement with merchant account Transaction fee of $.79 or $.89 per transaction plus $.02 for each Must use credit card if point of sale is not integrated Residents would be dealing with a third party for cancellations and refunds Staff must have double registration processes for each event/class and keep dual