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Members Present: Matthew Havens, Paul Casey, Kerry Ryan, Kathleen Curley and William Friend
Others Attending: Jay McGrail, interim director of operations of the SSCC.
With a quorum present, the meeting was called to order at 6:35 pm.
Matt Havens, chairman of the committee, opened the meeting by calling for questions or comments with regard to the minutes of the December 15, 2008 meeting. After discussion, on motion duly made and seconded, the minutes of the December 15, 2008 meeting were unanimously approved, subject to such minor corrections subsequently reported to or deemed necessary by the secretary of the meeting.
The Chairman then referred the committee members to the second matter on the meeting agenda and asked Kerry Ryan and Jay McGrail to review the Food and Beverage Information Packet they prepared for presentation to prospective lessees of the SSCC’s food and beverage facilities. As part of this review, the committee discussed the content of the Information Packet, the individuals and organizations the committee would approach to operate the SSCC’s food and beverage facilities and the hiring of a consultant to assist the committee with its search for a food and beverage operator.
Kathleen Curley then reported to the committee on her discussion with a potential food and beverage operator, noting his interest and commenting on his background and experience.
The discussion continued with a review, by Jay McGrail, of recent meetings with Susan Sullivan of STB Solutions. Mr. McGrail advised the committee of Susan Sullivan’s willingness to assist the committee with its efforts to improve SSCC’s food and beverage operations and provided the committee with a copy of a Proposal prepared by Ms Sullivan to document this arrangement. After a general discussion of the consultant services needed by the committee and the financial terms and wording of the Proposal, William Friend offered to modify the Proposal, to reflect the comments of the committee members. The committee then agreed to accept the Proposal, as revised. Thereafter, on motion duly made and seconded, the committee voted, with Kerry Ryan abstaining, to authorize Jay McGrail and/ or William Friend to sign the revised Proposal on behalf of the SSCC and the committee.
Jay McGrail then informed the committee that he and William Friend had met with Paul Hart, the current operator of the food and beverage facilities to discuss the committee’s concerns with regard to the food and beverage operations and the delinquent restaurant tax bill. He further advised the committee that the deadline for payment of the tax bill was explained and that Mr. Hart had agreed to attend the committee’s next meeting to discuss the food and beverage operations. Jay McGrail confirmed to the committee that Mr. Hart expressed interest in continuing to run the food and beverage operation beyond the initial lease term and appeared willing to explore alternatives for improving the operation with the committee.
The committee then discussed the recent change in state laws pertaining to the sale of liquor on municipal golf courses. Jay McGrail explained that the liquor license was still in the name of SSCC’s former director of operations and that this needed to be corrected. Mr. McGrail also advised the committee that the food and beverage operator provides the liquor liability insurance coverage. Mr. McGrail was asked to obtain information on the town’s liability insurance coverage and to request a copy of the current food and beverage operator’s liquor liability insurance policy to determine if the expanded liquor sales opportunity created by the new law would be covered.
Following the review of the restaurant situation, the chairman asked Jay McGrail to update the committee on other recent business developments at the SSCC. In response to this request, Mr. McGrail updated the committee on his recent meeting with the town’s conservation commission, explaining that this meeting had gone very well and that the commission had approved the three year land - management plan he had submitted to them for review. He also advised the committee that, to generate new business at the SSCC, he had placed a series of advertisements with the Patriot Ledger promoting the SSCC’s membership and golf outing opportunities, he was considering opening a booth at the New England Golf Expo and, as requested by the selectmen, he had scheduled a preliminary meeting with a marketing firm to discuss public relations alternatives for the SSCC. He concluded with a report on his ideas for painting and/or minor improvements to the SSCC’s pro shop and office area.
Upon conclusion of the committee’s discussion of Mr. McGrail’s report, Matthew Havens, the committee’s chairman, addressed the committee on the resignation letter he had submitted to the committee members prior to the meeting. Following Mr. Haven’s comments, the committee members expressed their understanding and sadness with regard to his resignation and thanked Mr. Havens for his three year’s of exceptional service to the committee and the SSCC.
After a short discussion, the committee decided to delay its election of a replacement for the chairmanship position until its next meeting. This lead to a discussion of the interim director of operations title that was implemented as a temporary fix last year when the last SSCC director of operations resigned unexpectedly. It was generally agreed that the continuing use of this title creates issues that can be corrected with the elimination of “interim” and the creation of a revised job description that accurately reflects the director of operations and golf course superintendent duties currently being performed by Jay McGrail.
The committee agreed to address the “ interim” title and the revised job description at its net meeting, set the date for its next meeting (Tuesday January 27, 2009) and then, on motion duly made and seconded, the committee unanimously agreed to adjourn.
Respectfully submitted,
William Friend