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Home My WebLink AboutCity Council Committees - Parks and Human Services Committee - 06/15/2017P a g e | 1 Parks and Human Services Committee Meeting M inutes June 15, 2017 Kent, Washington Approved Date: June 15, 2017 Time: 6:00 p.m. Place: Council Chambers East Attending: Chair Brenda Fincher, Councilmembers Dennis Higgins, Tina Budell Agenda: 1. Call to Order The meeting was called to order at 5:02 p.m., with Committee Chair Fincher presiding. 2. Roll Call All committee members were present. 3. Changes to the Agenda Chair Fincher indicated there were no changes to the agenda. 4. Approval of Minutes dated May 18, 2017 Councilmember Budell moved to approve the minutes dated May 18, 2017 and Councilmember Higgins seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously by a vote of 3-0. 5. Tobacco Ordinance Branding - Information Only As part of the implementation plan for the ordinance banning tobacco, smoke and vape products in the parks, Parks Director Julie Parascondola introduced the committee to a variety of design and tag line options in order to get feedback for designing the brand when marketing the new code. The committee voiced their preferences for tag lines and poster composition based on the samples of designs that were provided at the meeting (see attachment). Favorite tag likes were Breathe in the Fun, Enjoy the Air and Spare the Air - including the no smoking cannabis-warning symbol. The most popular poster by all three councilmembers for either design and/or tagline was poster #2 - "Spare the Air." P a g e | 2 The final design on information cards, signage and posters will be determined by feedback from staff, policy leaders, park commissioners and residents. Posters will be customized for each park location using different configurations and photos that relate to the park or trail activity. 6. Riverbend Golf Complex Business Plan Update - Information Only Parks Director Parascondola introduced Leon Younger, founder and owner of PROS Consulting. Mr. Younger is a nationally recognized leader in the management of park and recreation systems and golf business planning. Younger presented a draft overview of the Riverbend Golf Complex Business Plan that he, along with Pete Petersen and Julie Parascondola, are working on collaboratively. They are currently involved in the collecting and analyzing phase of the plan. Mr Younger provided his initial findings and feedback from the focus group meeting, the online survey results, the market and demographics, and an assessment of the four cost centers. The cost centers include Clubhouse and Driving Range, Golf Course Programs and Events, Operations and Maintenance, as well as Marketing and Business Development. The assessment of each cost center is summarized by the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) associated with the golf course (see attached PowerPoint or click on the link to view the meeting presentation at Riverbend Business Plan PPT) Based on the 929 responses from the on-line survey, the analysis revealed Riverbend's customer base, golfer statistics, playable days, days of rain, average playable days by month, customer preferences for on-line tee times and the 18- hole food and beverage provision. Discussion involved revenue versus enterprise fund, the long-term viability of all golf courses, reinvesting back into the golf course, a learning center contrasted by the cost benefit, municipal comps, on-line booking and potential food service. The final Sustainable Business Plan for Riverbend is not ready for recommended strategies or forecasting yet. The final plan will be presented to City Council at the workshop on September 5. 7. Director's Report - Information Only Summer Playground Program is Monday through Thursday from June 28 through August 11, 10:30 - 4:30 p.m. with free sack lunches at West Fenwick, Morrill Meadows, Chestnut Ridge, and Kiwanis 1 and 2. The 10th Annual Music and Art Showcase is June 29 from 4:30 - 8:00 p.m. at the Senior Center. Kent Cornucopia Days 5K Fun Run/Walk is on Saturday, July 15. P a g e | 3 Summer Concert Series begins July 12 and runs through August 17. The series includes Take Out Tuesdays 12-1 p.m. at Kent Station Plaza; Wednesday Picnic Performances 12-1 p.m. at Town Square Plaza; Wednesday Date Night at Kent Station Plaza 6-8 p.m. and Thursday evenings at Lake Meridian from 7-8:30 p.m. The performance line up and schedule is on the city's website at kentwa.gov. Fourth of July Splash event at Lake Meridian starts at noon with fireworks at dusk. The ribbon cutting ceremony for the new dock is at 11:30 a.m. The committee reminded the audience that fireworks are illegal within the City of Kent limits. Report any violations to the non-emergency Police telephone number: 253-856-2121. At 5:55 p.m., Committee Chair Fincher declared the meeting adjourned. Teri Petrole Teri Petrole Parks and Human Services Committee Secretary Inspiring communities to lead forward Riverbend Golf Complex Business Plan Kent Parks, Recreation & Community Services Agenda • SWOT Analysis • Market Analysis • Community On-Line Survey SWOT ANALYSIS OVERVIEW S W O T S W O T STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES OPPORTUNITIES THREATS Internal - You can control Internal - You can control External - You may not be able to control External - You may not be able to control Club House & Driving Range Facilities STRENGTHS • Large restaurant space for potential restaurant or expanded clubhouse • Clubhouse is very large and does a good level of resale volume • Driving range is large and has expansion opportunities and is lighted • Excellent staff on site with a great teaching background • 80% of play comes from outside the city •The golf course has 570 men’s club members & 100 women club members • Staff does a good job with dynamic pricing • Golf course price is very fair for the experience •The course receives 42k from the utility tax to support high school golf play •Par 3 clubhouse is nice for a par 3 but it will be eliminated with the sale of the golf course •Host and supports four high school golf programs •Partnership with the Kent School District T.O.P. (The Outreach Program) Club House & Driving Range Facilities WEAKNESSES • Driving range needs to be updated with carpet on the range itself, updated range cover, new ball washer is needed and ball dispenser, as well as the facility itself • No restaurant in place now and have had poor operators • Restrooms need to be improved • The majority of the golf course assets are below 50% of their useful life • Overhead costs for IT, Fleet Charges, Finance Charges, HR and Legal costs are high at $250,000 • The golf course does not have a true set of unit costs to operate all costs centers • The Department does not have a formal pricing policy in place • The department spends less than 1% on marketing and the city charges the golf course marketing costs regardless if they use it or not • The golf course does not charge a convenience fee W Club House & Driving Range Facilities OPPORTUNTIES • The department can eliminate the negative balance within the golf enterprise fund with the 10.5-million-dollar sale of the executive nine • Need to rethink the restaurant on site and the cost benefit of the space • Consider moving the retail operations across the street to where the restaurant use to be and creating better concession operations only, then use the existing retail center for golf simulators tied into the driving range facility • Redevelop areas of the golf course with some of the money from the sale of the nine-hole golf course to be the premier golf course in the Seattle area again • A total rebranding of the golf course is needed including color scheme • Evaluate banqueting opportunities versus a restaurant on site Club House & Driving Range Facilities THREATS • The overhead allocation is too simple and it is inconsistent across the city • Establish three alternatives for the existing clubhouse and restaurant area with pros and cons as part of the business plan • If the update of the facility and golf course itself does not occur it can really hurt the golf course and some major improvements need to be made as quickly as possible • Need to have a better Enterprise Policy Golf Programs & Events STRENGTHS • The golf course sets itself up for many programming options with a driving range, 18 hole and 9 hole golf course • Fair amount of golf tournaments are held on site • Good teaching opportunities exist at the driving range Golf Programs & Events WEAKNESSES • The golf course has not classified golf programs as core essential, important and value added to create the correct pricing policy • The staff doesn’t program the golf course as strong as they use to due to reduced staffing levels • The golf course has some golf programs that fall short of cost recovery, these programs need to be evaluated as part of the business plan • Some golf programs are subsidized and need to be reconsidered W Golf Programs & Events OPPORTUNITIES • Consider driving range and golf simulator leagues • Consider more specialty tournaments such as the Mayor’s Cup tournament or the Kent Public Open for Men’s and Women’s golfers in the city • Repurpose the miniature golf course that can produce a higher level of revenue for the site • Set up a apartment league for the new people that will be living in the development on the nine hole golf course • Consider a Ryder Cup format for teams to play in a golf tournament over the course of the summer • Establish a Millennial Golf Open to encourage young adults to experience the golf tournament • Need to establish direction for Jr. Golf and High School Golf for the future Golf Programs & Events THREATS • Evaluate existing programs to ensure that a well-balanced set of programs are offered across all age groups designed to welcome new golfers and encourage more play • Not having programs for young adults will eliminate their recognition and value for the golf course as a home course for them • Need to engage elected officials into what goes on at the golf course and how it operates as a public attraction so they can get behind the business plan Golf Course Operations & Maintenance STRENGTHS • Strong staff on site with a lot of great experience and very dedicated • Nice golf course layout and picturesque golf holes along the river • One of the most played golf courses in the state of Washington • One of the largest Men’s Clubs in the state of Washington Golf Course Operations & Maintenance WEAKNESSES • The golf course has been losing money for the last ten years • The Enterprise Fund is down 4 million dollars • The golf staff operate out of two maintenance areas • The golf equipment average age is 17 years old and needs to be turned over • Many of the equipment parts staff have to buy off of eBay • The golf course needs a updated irrigation system • Golf course does not have restrooms on the golf course which lowers the number of women players • The golf course needs a updated brand and color scheme • Walker, cars and jogger safety along the golf course needs to be improved W Golf Course Operations & Maintenance OPPORTUNITIES • Establish a capital improvement plan for the golf course based on return on investment • Establish a golf concession around what the golfer wants versus the restaurant operator • Incorporate better customer service signage on the golf course • Create a wider appeal of golfer age groups through effective marketing and programming • Develop a concession and restaurant strategy to benefit the bottom line of the golf course • Consider a sports bar/food environment in the restaurant • Consider a breakfast and lunch only menu for the golf course • Consider establish a revenue fund for the golf course versus a enterprise fund • Consider developing a earned income strategy for the golf course via sponsorships, partnerships and new earned income opportunities Golf Course Operations & Maintenance THREATS • Not setting up a cost of service assessment for each cost center will continue to be harmful for the golf course • Not finding the right balance of full-time and part-time golf employees will continue to keep the golf course in the red Marketing & Business Development STRENGTHS • The golf course has strong brand awareness outside of the city with 80% of play coming from outside of the city • The golf course has five costs centers that can generate money for the golf course if operated correctly • The first golf course in the area to offer and market early morning discounts • The only golf course in the area that offers and markets Doppler Deals which discounts green fees during the winter months based on the percent chance of rain • The first golf course in the area to offer dynamic pricing during the prime season based on the demand and time of day Marketing & Business Development WEAKNESSES • This is the first formal business plan for the golf course • Developing unit costs will help to determine what elements stay and which ones should be removed from the operations • Not having a effective marketing budget makes it difficult to attract new customers • Not having online tee times hurts the golf course • Need to have more local players playing the golf course W Marketing & Business Development OPPORTUNITIES • Establish an on-line tee time system • Establish video boards on what is occurring a the golf course, up to date information on clinics, leagues, training, tournaments etc. • Have a daily web site announcement on what is going on at the golf course • Encourage more use of volunteers to help staff the golf course Marketing & Business Development THREATS • Not having one person that is dedicated to business development needs to be addressed • The golf course is tired and needs to be updated • A marketing strategy that comes with the business plan needs to a strong focus and not implementing it could be a slow death for the golf course • Not having a dedicated capital fund for the golf course could be a big problem for the golf course in the long term MARKET ANALYSIS Riverbend Customer Base Riverbend Golfer Statistics Golf Playable Days Golf Playable Day (GPD) is defined as a day when the maximum heat index (a combination of temperature and humidity) is below 97 and above 45, and there are less than 0.20 inches of rainfall. Days of Rain Average Golf Playable Days By Month Community On-Line Survey Overview Administered through SurveyMonkey Survey made available to public on June 1st 925 Responses Date to be closed with goal of 1,000 Survey Results 78% of respondents who filled out the survey are male – 22% are female Majority of respondents are not a member of Riverbend Golf Survey Results Thirty percent (53%) of respondents play more than 20 rounds of golf each year •21% play 11-20 rounds •13% play less than 5 rounds Thirty percent of respondents play golf at 4-7 different golf courses each year •21% play 1-3 golf courses •20% play 8-11 golf courses Survey Results • One-third of respondents play 2-5 rounds of golf at Riverbend in the past 12 months • 42% played 6 or more rounds Survey Results 45% of respondents feel that food and beverage service is extremely or very important 66% of respondents would prefer a bar & grill or sports bar if Riverbend provided a restaurant 66% 45% Survey Results 76% of respondents would like to be able to make on-line tee time reservations Top three factors when selecting a golf course are: 1.Price 89% 2.Course Condition 72% 3.Tee Time Availability 70% Price 89% Course Condition 72% Tee Time Availability 70% Proximity to Home/Work 55% Pace of Play 54% Discounted Tee Times 52% Course Layout 41% Clubhouse/Restaurant 37% Customer Service 35% Beverage Cart Service 25% Social Connections 10% What factors do you consider when you are selecting a golf course to play? 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