Fort Walton Beach Council agenda — 11-26-2007 special agenda — reading text

MECHANIC \I FULL TIME EQUIVALENT (FTE) TOTAL 1. 00 37. 56 1. 00 36. 36 1. 00 36. 56 1. 00 36. 56 1. 00 36. 56 I Alternative Services Delivery Study for Fort Walton Beach, Florida Page 8-2 I, 1  Golf Course f' IIIIII\ 8.2 Maior Policies and ODerationallssues Program Information: IIIIIt The land for the two golf courses ( 326 acres with only 200 improved) was donated to the City by the U. S. Air Force on the condition that the land only be used for W recreational purposes. The club gets its revenue from membership fees, driving range fees, cart fees, contractors who provided services to the Golf Club, and greens fees. The City Council decides on the fees, which are the lowest in the area. About 91, 000 people paid to pay golf last year. There is an Ad Hoc Committee of six ( 6) golfers that provides feedback and comments to the leadership of the Golf Club. Full time employees are City c; j S..";~ I" : employees with all the benefits of City employees plus the right to use the golf courses for free. There are only 20, 000 people in the City and therefore the snow bird clientele are r: significant as they comprise approximately 2/ 3 of the people who use the two courses. Costs to golfers are low: about $ 40 per round with a cart and $ 2 for the driving range. t: This compares with fees in the area that range from $ 45 to $ 100. The Golf Club 10 to 150/0 of sponsors about 48 tournaments a year, and this service constitutes about the total revenue. The yearly budget is about $ 2. 3 million which has been dropping at about the rate of 1 % per year. The City might be able to use some of the undeveloped land for other recreation I uses such as boat storage. However, the neighbors around the Golf Club are not likely to support such activities and the City Council has shown no interest in such ventures. I The Golf Club collects its own fees and deposits them once a day in the bank. It I also collects its own performance data and both are reported to the City Finance Department. I I Alternative Services Delivery Study for Fort Walton Beach, Florida Page 8-3 I  Golf Course I Management Capacity: iIIII The Maintenance unit as well as the whole Golf Club is extremely well managed. The golf course uses recycled water from the City sewer plant. Any repairs on buildings and structures are done by the City on an interagency agreement so that costs are W charged to the enterprise fund. The department uses a five- year replacement cycle contrasted to a three or four-year cycle for the more expensive golf courses in the area. The leadership of this unit is highly professional and does keep up with the latest trends I and improvements in the field of golf management. In addition, they appear to cooperate well with the recreation department by sharing equipment as needed. I The City is fortunate to have the current incumbent as the Club Administrator. He is a former retiree with experience in golf management. He runs a professional unit with I minimal costs and a high level of output. Thus, it is a highly efficient and effective public service. Facility and Equipment Issues: L Problems are minimal but they do exist. Occasionally, the Golf Club does run short on greens keepers. The Pine Course does need a new irrigation system and the L greens are not up to modern standards for growing turf. The department is slow in cart paths. The maintenance facility at the Oaks Course needs building new l- is stored outside and this reduces the life cycle of the improvement. Equipment I equipment. Chemical storage does not appear to meet standards and should be upgraded. I One of the most important reasons for creating a formal set of maintenance standards is to match golfer expectation levels with maintenance procedures. An issue that the golf I course superintendent might find important and devote a large amount of time and I money towards may not be as important to the golfers. Obviously, there is an inherent I Alternative Services Delivery Study for Fort Walton Beach, Florida Page 8-4 I  Golf Course PI hierarchy of golf course priorities that begins with putting greens, tees, fairways, and roughs that should not be compromised, but there are other areas of the golf course t: that require routine maintenance as well. Maintenance Standards Creating maintenance standards provides continuity in management goals from year to year. Maintenance standards impact upon staffing levels required for the I Department. During economically tight periods, standards are helpful for deciding Q where budget cuts can be made, while maintaining acceptable quality. Time/ motion data are an essential component of maintenance standards and can be calculated to track staffing needs and expenses for each part of the course. With these data, it is easier to see where appropriate cuts can be made - if the need arises. Representatives of the membership and the Golf Director should be responsible for establishing maintenance standards. It may be helpful to put together a Standards L Committee in order to formulate priorities and expectation levels. Maintenance standards should include a description of the desired level of quality and conditioning of all areas of the golf courses. L Time/ motion data are essential building blocks for establishing maintenance standards. This involves calculating the time necessary to complete each daily task. Data from time studies also can be grouped into sections that show percent resource I allocation for each area of the golf courses. In developing written maintenance standards, the need for long- range planning will become apparent. Mention should be I made that the standards are not intended to be a rigid set of guidelines but are flexible and should be adjusted depending on weather or turf health considerations. I I I Alternative Services Delivery Study for Fort Walton Beach, Florida Page 8-5 I  Golf Course IIIII\ Suggestions for determining time requirements, and ultimately staffing needs for golf course maintenance, are provided in various United States Golf Association ( USGA) publications. The following is a format that may be considered. c,<' .. 7:~ ir,.:. .',.; '.:'. h;'t>:. <," I' rcf.,~~'~';<:': s,;".;.; i.. .,,::.;~, cu '~:.::'" 0... .........', ...; ~ ,;;,: ie, c. ..:'....:."...~......;,. ii '."...' ...;.< Ii i... .. .,:.":' '. i.':[:....\'.:":.'...'..:. "".'~ ..- r' .:;':.~ <.,':,; 1., .~.:: C-:, ..: '