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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council Committees - Parks & Recreation Commission - 04/27/2017Special Parks and Recreation Commission Meeting Minutes April 27, 2017 Kent, Washington Approved Date: April 27, 2017 Time: 6:00 p.m. Place: Council Chambers East Attending: Chair Zandria Michaud, Co-chair Annie Sieger, Annette Bailes, Dan Barrett, Kalika Carver-Cox, Kari Hedrick, Richard Minutoli, Erika Overall, Jennifer Ritchie, Jaleen Roberts, Director Julie Parascondola, Green Kent Program Coordinator Desiree Kennedy, Recorder Teri Petrole 1. Call to Order/Roll Call: Commission Chair Zandria Michaud called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. Absent: Randy Furukawa, Kendrick Glover, Wayne Jensen, Lacey Seaton, Tye Whitfield Parks Director Julie Parascondola introduced the new high school commissioner Kalika Carver-Cox. 2. Changes to Agenda: There were no changes to the agenda. 3. Approve Minutes: The minutes dated March 28, 2017 were approved by unanimous vote. 4. Green Kent Program - Stewardship Green Kent Coordinator Desiree Kennedy explained that the Green Kent Partnership is between the City of Kent, Forterra and funded through a King Conservation District grant. Forterra founded the Green Cities network and Kent was the sixth city to join. Desiree described the principles of the Natural Areas Management Plan, which was adopted by City Council in 2009. She educated the commission on how invasives destroy the chance of sustainability in natural areas and how critical it is to manage them. Currently, there are thirty well-trained stewards They are required to host four clean-up events per year at any of the city's "prime" locations which include Clark Lake Park, Morrill Meadows, North Meridian, Lake Fenwick, Earthworks and Park Orchard. The stewards are responsible for executing the four phases of restoration; remove, replant, maintain and monitor. The program relies heavily on community partnerships including local schools whose teachers incorporate their studies into the program, and corporate groups such as Boeing, Target and Wells Fargo, who use park cleanups and planting parties as part of their team building efforts. Page | 2 Outreach is a huge component of the program, including school presentations and staffing booths at community events. In addition to 50+ steward-led work parties each year, the city coordinates five large community events each year including Earth Day, Arbor Day and Green Kent Day. In 2016, numerous volunteers invested over 4,000 hours into the park system; some of that time was used to plant approximately 22,000 plants grown in the city's nursery. The program is working at full capacity with work parties almost 52 weeks per year throughout the park system. The next park cleanup is on May 6 at Springwood Park, guided by Commission Chair and Green Kent Steward Zandria Michaud. 5. Approve Revised By-laws Julie made additions and deletions to the by-laws based on research and input from the commissioners at the March meeting. The commissioners reviewed the second draft of the by-laws and gave additional feedback that Julie will incorporate into the next draft to discuss with the assistant city attorney next week. The plan is to have a final draft distributed to the commissioners for review and adoption in May. 6. Riverbend Golf Course Business Planning Update For years, the debt balance has been rising at Riverbend, along with the need for capital reinvestment. In 2014, City Council authorized staff to surplus the Par 3 property for development in order to re-size the golf course operation, pay off the debt balance and reinvest the proceeds back into the complex. In March, the city hired PROS Consulting to conduct a best practices performance audit and sustainability model for the Riverbend Golf Complex including staffing framework, demographic and target market summaries. The plan includes a prioritized six-year capital improvement program with recommended lifecycle financial strategy and a six-year operating business model and financial pro forma, beginning January 2018. 7. Announcements The restaurant at Riverbend, Scotch and Vine, closed due to operational challenges after the departure of their general manager. Meeker Street Grill & Bar will handle the mobile concessions cart and the food service window at the 18-hole until a permanent restaurateur is hired. A list of approved caterers will be available for tournaments after the Request for Proposals (RFP) is advertised and the proposals are vetted. The purchase and sales agreement for selling the Par 3 property is going to City Council for approval on May 2. The development agreement will be ready in June. Page | 3 Interviews for the Youth Initiative Coordinator position are scheduled during the week of May 8. The position is responsible for the internal and external coordination and mapping of youth activities in the Kent community. Sound Transit announced a number of locations they are considering for additional parking in Kent, including Kaibara Park. For multiple reasons, the city determined Kaibara Park is not a good candidate for a parking garage site. J. Parascondola presented the tobacco free policy to the Parks and Human Services Committee in April, asking for their direction on specifics of the ordinance. The committee approved staff to initiate a completely tobacco-free ordinance that is park system-wide and includes a reasonable penalty. The Riverbend Golf Complex is not included in the new code because it is a different business model. Director Parascondola is prepping language for discussion with the City Attorney's office on the revised code and personnel policies, as well as working with multimedia on a visual campaign. She is looking for action from the committee in May and then on to council for approval in June or July. Director Parascondola presented "Why Parks - Investing in Kent's Quality of Life" to the Chamber of Commerce Board on April 25. Bill Boyce, Dana Ralph, Jim Berrios, Dennis Higgins, Derek Matheson and Aaron BeMiller also attended. The goal of the presentation was to inspire interest in capital funding and lobby for B&O revenue that is coming in at $10 Million per year. By Ordinance, B&O revenue is committed to street improvements at approximately $5 Million per year. Parks is asking for the excess B&O revenue over the $5 Million commitment. The presentation generated a lot of positive response from the group and the four councilmembers verbally committed to finding sustainable capital funding. The Chamber voiced their desire to be a partner in finding a solution to capital funding however, they are not in favor of committing all of the B&O revenue to parks. Director Parascondola and staff are presenting the "Why Parks" report to the full council at the workshop on May 2. The new synthetic turf on Field One at Hogan Park will double its capacity. The project budget total is $1.9 Million. Staff applied for and received a $750,000 grant from the Recreation and Conservation Office (RCO). Director Parascondola plans to review the return on investment with synthetic turf. The Kent Parks Foundation announced the "Give Big" promotion. "Give Big" is part of the Seattle Foundation one-day giving event. Donate at Kentparksfoundation.org to a specific program or park. The meeting concluded at 8:04 p.m. Teri Petrole Teri Petrole Parks and Recreation Commission Secretary 1 CITY OF KENT | DEPARTMENT OF PARKS, RECREATION AND COMMUNITY SERVICES RIVERBEND GOLF COMPLEX, OPERATIONAL AUDIT AND BUSINESS PLAN DEVELOPMENT SCOPE OF SERVICES MARCH 1, 2017 COURSE SUMMARY The Riverbend Golf Complex (RGC) is owned and operated by the City of Kent. The golf complex is a public facility and consists of a Championship 18 Hole Golf Course, 9 Hole Par 3 Golf Course, Driving Range, Miniature Golf and Golf Merchandise Retail Store. The Championship 18 Hole Golf Course opened in 1989 and has consistently been ranked as one of the busiest golf courses in the state for the past 16 years. The Golf Division, as part of the Parks, Recreation and Community Services Department has operated the facility since 2000. (www.riverbendgolfcomplex.com) The Riverbend Golf Complex is situated on 160 acres of former agricultural land adjacent to the Green River in the Kent Valley. The golf complex is bisected north and south by Meeker Street, with the Par 3 Golf Course and Driving Range facilities located on the south side and the 18 Hole Golf Course and main clubhouse located on the north side. In addition, the golf complex is bordered by the very popular and heavily used Green River Trail. The 18 Hole Golf Course is recognized as one of the busiest course in the state with 65,000 rounds annually, while the Par 3 Golf Course hosts an additional 25 ,000 rounds annually. The 18 Hole Golf Course is flat and easy to walk, yet offers a challenge to all skill levels of players with over 50 bunkers and three lakes. The Par 3 Golf Course is great for beginners and players looking to improve their skills and offers a flat, easy to walk, easy to play golfing experience. In addition to the two golf courses, the golf complex also has a 32 stall driving range, 18 holes of miniature golf and a full scale golf merchandise retail store. CHANGE IN BUSINESS MODEL Riverbend Golf Complex, like many municipal courses across the United States, for over a decade has operated in the negative due to many influencing factors, which contributed to a cumulative $3- million-dollar deficit within its enterprise fund. The course is aging and in dire need of capital re- investment in its equipment, assets and infrastructure in order to maintain its quality golf experience. In April 2014, the Kent City Council authorized staff to pursue surplussing the Par 3 property, which was later re-zoned for development. After a formal public process launched in 2016, a purchase and sale agreement was entered into with Landmark/FNW/HAL, who plans to develop the property in two phases, which will include mixed-use retail/multi-family residential community, with commercial/retail space and recreational elements built throughout. With the sale of the Par 3, the expectation is the proceeds from the property will be re-invested into the Riverbend Golf Complex, both to zero out negative working capital and to provide for capital re-investment of golf assets and infrastructure. 2 The course now needs to go through an extensive operational review and business planning process to address this reduction in its business model (with the loss of the Par 3) and to look at right-sizing the course operations for viable, long term sustainability. OPERATIONAL AUDIT AND BUSINESS PLAN SEGMENTS Below are segments the new business model needs to analyze, audit, address and answer. Questions and comments are meant as a guide to clarify expectations of deliverables and is not meant to be all inclusive. 1. GUIDING PRINCIPLES a. Need to determine how the course aligns with or contributes to the City of Kent’s values, vision and mission? b. Need to determine how the course aligns with or contributes to the Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Services values, vision and mission? c. Need to define Riverbend Golf Complex’s core, essential and discretionary services. d. Need to clarify policy expectations or form of governance to address the following questions: i. Is the Golf Enterprise Fund required to provide a golf experience to golfers at every level of playing ability or only those who are financially self-sustaining? ii. Should the Golf Enterprise Fund be obligated to make short-term investments in programs such as junior golf, in which the financial return is at best long-term and perhaps widely unknown? While the support of junior golf is a “feel-good-story,” it requires significant investment to serve a narrow customer niche, requiring the allocation of resources from a larger customer base whose financial support provides the economic sustainability for the overall Golf Enterprise Fund. iii. At what level should the Golf Enterprise Fund support functions and services provided by the City of Kent? What factors determine allocation approach? 2. GEOGRAPHIC, LOCAL MARKET ANALYSIS a. Need to determine if there is sufficient demand with appropriate demographics to meet the available golf supply? b. Need to determine if the age, income, ethnicity and population density is sufficient to sustain the golf course? c. Need to determine who the current Riverbend Golf customer is? d. Is the RGC a local facility or a regional facility? Need to determine RGC’s service area. e. What type of course brand or identity does RGC have? Is it for more advance golfers? Entry level golfers? f. How many golf courses are within RGC’s service area? What types? Focusing on municipal courses, how does the RGC compare via pricing and golf experience? g. Need to research demographic trends of the local golfer base, supply levels, mix, current supply/demand balance and the impact of historical supply dilution. 3. WEATHER IMPACT ANALYSIS a. Need to determine what impact Kent’s weather has historically played on rounds versus management policies? b. Assist in the development of assessing an estimated annual amount of playable days. c. Determine what is the viable operating season for RGC based on weather impacts and financial sustainability. 3 d. Assist in determining if the course’s operating schedule is consistent with the seasonal forecast and measuring utilization against capacity to determine if management is under or over-performing against the weather. 4. TECHNOLOGY a. Need to determine how effectively has an integrated golf management solution been deployed to create the aggregation of data required to properly manage? b. Need to determine what technology tools are currently used at RGC in order to operate, market and maintain operations? Are they effective? What are the identified ROIs? c. How are golf tee times scheduled? What system is used? Is it effective? 5. PERFORMANCE METRICS a. Need to determine how RGC’s operational performance compares to other similar size municipal golf courses, industry benchmarks? What are RGC strengths, weaknesses? b. Need to determine how RGC manages and tracks course performance? Is it effective in assisting in the decision making process? c. Determine Riverbend Golf Complex’s contribution to economic impact within the City of Kent. 6. GOLF OPERATION AND COURSE AGRONOMIC REVIEW a. Need to evaluate the golf course’s agronomic and turf practices and equipment levels against best practices? b. Does the course have a maintenance management program that correctly aligns with the financial limitations of the course? What adjustments should be made? c. Need to answer what tools are used by RGC staff in evaluating and measuring user acceptance/tolerance of course conditions? d. What staffing levels are appropriate for sustainable maintenance operations of the course. e. Need to develop a 6 year, prioritized capital improvement plan with a future lifecycle replacement program. 7. MANAGEMENT, MARKETING AND OPERATIONAL REVIEW a. Need to determine if the value provided to the golfer equal or exceed the associated fees? b. Need to determine if the proper operating procedures are consistently deployed through each step of the golf experience? c. Need to evaluate and compare RGC’s staffing, organizational structure, merchandising, food and beverage, advertising and marketing to industry best practices? d. Need to determine if the golf course has the appropriate organizational alignment. e. Audit and review RGC’s marketing collateral, website and social media for comparisons against best practices. 8. CUSTOMER PREFERENCES AND LOYALTY a. Need to identify who is the RGC’s core customers and how much do they spend? b. Need to identify what is the annual retention of golfers? c. Need to identify what are the barriers to increased play? d. Need to identify what is the golfer’s perceived value? e. Need to understand what is the primary reason golfer’s chose one course over another? f. Need to measure how loyal are RGC’s customers? 4 9. PROGRAMS AND EDUCATION a. Analyze the performance and financial sustainability of programs and provide strategies and recommendations for future sustainability. b. What are the current programming models at RGC? Are they cost recovering and meeting program maximums? c. What types of lesson programs are offered? At what price points? Do they cost recover? d. Need to identify what % of the course operating budget goes towards subsidized programming and/or youth/high school golf. e. What % of subsidized use is impacting high profit tee-time rounds? f. How are external partnership or facility uses impacting the course and/or contributing to the mission of the course? Are the partnerships equitable via ROI? g. Analyze and estimate the feasibility and long term sustainability of transitioning the previous miniature golf site to an upgraded training/learning center. h. Need to develop a business model and criteria of approach on subsidized programming that does not cost recover. How much can the profit areas of the course absorb? i. What is the course’s expectation, if any, to adhere and align with the Department’s Cost Recovery Program? 10. FINANCIAL MODELING / REVENUE MANAGEMENT a. Determine if course management has accurate financial models that support proactive decision making? b. Analyze the performance and financial sustainability of the following business units and provide strategies and recommendations for future sustainability: i. General Management 1. What are the policy expectations of the course to be self-sustainable? Is this all-inclusive? To include capital, debt service, contributions towards City overhead, facilities interfund charges, etc. If these operations were privatized, would the cost compare to the cost being charged by the City? 2. Recognize and identify the mandated policy changes to golf course operations that contributed to loss of sustainability within the last several years: City overhead, facilities interfund chargers, change in admission tax, etc. ii. Merchandise 1. Is the merchandise achieving its profit margins? 2. How are cost of goods sold determined? How many inventory turns annually? 3. What percentage of discounting of goods occurs annually? 4. Does the RGC provide packaging, train in upselling, etc. 5. How does the RGC know which product mix to offer as merchandise? Survey the customers? iii. Food and Beverage iv. Programs, Lessons and Partnerships 1. Analyze the performance and financial sustainability of programs and provide strategies and recommendations for future sustainability. 2. What are the current programming models at RGC? Are they cost recovering and meeting program maximums? 3. What types of lesson programs are offered? At what price points? Do they cost recover? 4. Need to identify what % of the course operating budget goes towards subsidized programming and/or youth/high school golf. 5. What % of subsidized use is impacting high profit tee-time rounds? 6. How are external partnership or facility uses impacting the course and/or contributing to the mission of the course? Are the partnerships equitable via ROI? 7. Need to develop a business model and criteria of approach on subsidized programming that does not cost recover. How much can the profit areas of the course absorb? 5 8. What is the course’s expectation, if any, to adhere and align with the Department’s Cost Recovery Program? v. Championship18 1. How is a ‘round’ determined? 3 hole? 9 hole? 18 hole? Did a golfer tee off on at least one hole? How is this determined? 2. How do RGC’s rounds compare to its service area competitors? To the regional average? 3. How are fees established? What is the fee structure? (time of day, day of the week, time of the year, etc) 4. How do RGC’s fees compare to its service area competitors? To the regional average? 5. Is RGC selling the right tee time to the right golfer at the right time at the right price? 6. Determine if there is a gap between the fees charged and the value experienced? 7. What is the average revenue per round? By type (adult, youth, senior, etc)? 8. Identify the changes in water/well operations impacting irrigation and operational savings. 9. Analyze the fees, approach and performance of golf leagues. 10. Analyze the fees, approach and performance of golf tournaments. vi. Driving Range 1. Determine if there is a gap between the fees charged and the value experienced? 2. What is the average revenue per experience? By type (a dult, youth, senior, etc)? 3. Analyze the fees, approach and performance of the driving range. KEY DELIVERABLES • Minimum of 3 in person meetings. Will include a minimum of at least one City Council presentation on findings and recommendations. • A comprehensive plan/report that: o Confirms the mission and vision of Riverbend Golf Course. o Outlines policy expectations and governing structure of the enterprise. o Identifies the course’s core, essential and discretionary services. o Summarizes the demographics and target market of Riverbend Golf Course. o Recommends an appropriate staffing framework to achieve sustainability. o Summarizes detailed findings and recommended strategies for sustainability attainment within the following areas: i. General Management ii. Merchandise iii. Food and Beverage iv. Programs, Lessons and Partnerships v. Championship18 vi. Driving Range vii. Marketing and Communication o A revised sustainable, six-year operating business model and financial proforma, beginning January 2018. (Should include 2018, 2019-2020, 2021-2022, 2023 – update planned in 2024) o A prioritized six-year capital improvement program with recommended lifecycle financial strategy. o Summary of industry trends, competition, comparable analysis. QUESTIONS OR CONTACT INFORMATION: Julie Parascondola, CPRP Director Administration | Parks, Recreation and Community Services Department 400 West Gowe Street, Kent, WA 98032 Phone 253-856-5007 | Fax 253-856-6050 jparascondola@KentWA.gov