Commission Members in Attendance:
Brit Lawlor – Chairman
Ron Krawczyk – Deputy Chairman
Joe Dabrowski – Greens/Capital Assessment
Mike Mislin – Violations
Mike Cioffi – Men’s Locker Room & Beverage/Special Projects
Tara Ford – Women’s Locker Room & Beverage
Members in Attendance:
Bill Herrick, Ken Searles, Mike Dioguardo, Victor Cisario, Anthony Pepitone, Dennis Maguire, Wendy Foster, Michael Auerbach, Pat Comiskey, Bob Scalia
Others in Attendance:
Jim Von Eschen – Director of Golf Chris Johnson – Course Superintendent
John Mackie – Assistant Golf Pro Nathan Rohrmeier – Village Trustee
Motion to accept the minuets by Ron Krawczyk, 2nd by Joe Dabrowski. Brit welcomes everybody in attendance and the meeting officially starts at 6:02PM.
Men’s Locker Room & Beverage/Special Projects Report, presented by Mike Cioffi
Brit welcomes back Mike to the commission after being out with injury the last couple months. Mike begins, saying that he called Mayor Veitch for an update and has yet to speak with her. Mike says that he will come back next meeting with much more. Regarding the erosion, Mike says that we are waiting for permits.
Women’s Locker Room & Beverage Report, presented by Tara Ford
Nothing to report.
Violations Report, presented by Mike Mislin
Nothing to report.
Deputy Chairman Report, presented by Ron Krawczyk
Ron states that the yearly gratuity cards will be sent out within the next couple of weeks. Ron continues by thanking membership for past years gratuities and states that he knows membership will once again do the right thing.
Greens Report, presented by Joe Dabrowski
Joe begins by stating that the golf course needs some rain. He continues, stating that Chris Johnson got some seed into the ground with good germination results but will wait until the weather cooperates to put more seed down. Looking forward, Joe says that the fescue is starting to get cut down with leaf season upon us soon. Once that begins, Chris’ crew will get the golf course cut and then pick up leaves.
Handicap Report, presented by Kevin Lauretti
Kevin states that the Golf Commission has made their proposal to the Village Board regarding membership rates for the 2025 season. Kevin continues, saying that the commission landed on a $250 increase in membership for all membership classes. This increase would generate roughly 4.5% more in revenue. Kevin also states that the capital assessment was kept at $250.
Along with this, the commission suggested allowing 10 – 15 additional members off of the waiting list. Kevin states that doing so will allow the club get an idea of where our waitlist stands. Additionally, this will have more money flowing through the club for potential projects, not to mention the increase in overall revenue. Kevin says that daily rates also saw a small increase but nothing substantial. Kevin would like to remind everybody that this was strictly a proposal and the Village Board has final sign off.
Looking at the capital assessment money, Kevin says that the commission is trying to make improvements that can be seen visually from the membership.
Superintendent Report, presented by Chris Johnson
Chris states that Joe got most of it but to continue what Joe said, the new seeder that the Village has bought makes Chris very happy. He states that it is an “awesome machine”. He says that it will take time but they will continue to pound ground with seed when the weather will cooperate. Chris states that the Fall is the time to seed but we need the weather pattern to change. Lastly, Chris reminds the membership that grass takes 3 growing seasons (Spring, Fall, Spring or Fall, Spring, Fall) to really see change. Ultimately, Chris says that we need rain.
Director of Golf Report, presented by Jim Von Eschen
Recapping the last month’s tournaments on behalf of Ryan Stanley, Mr. Von Eschen says that tournament participation at the club has been up overall and the weather has cooperated, which is always nice. Jimmy thanks both his staff and Chris’ staff for all their hard work throughout the tournament season.
Summer Match Play Results:
Men’s Championship Flight – Tim Mirocco Women’s Championship Flight – Debbie Capozzi
Men’s A Flight – Joe Dabrowski Men’s B Flight – Mike Capozzi
Men’s C Flight – Mike Mislin Men’s D Flight – Bill Durcan
Men’s E Flight – Roberto Carreras Men’s F Flight – Bill Ayers
Men’s G Flight – Tony Paladino Men’s H Flight – Tom Curley
Men’s I Flight – Ralph Gallo
Member/Member Results:
Nicklaus Flight – Lee Stocker & Bill Hope – 36.5 Points
Woods Flight – Lou Stravinsky & Mike Mislin – 30.5 Points
Trevino Flight – Mark Miller & Will Newham – 39 Points
Watson Flight – Larry Ferrara & Bill Herrick – 40.0 Points
Snead Flight – Steve Clemente & Mike Mucci – 34.5 Points
Bishop Cup Results:
Women’s A Flight – Debbie Capozzi & Kathy Capozzi – 141
Men’s A Flight – Vic Cisario & Frank Lavacca – 144
Men’s B Flight – Brett Geiger & Bob Matus – 140
Men’s C Flight – Bill Ayers & John Gennusa – 148
Men’s D Flight – Tony Caggiano & Steve Trigg – 150
Looking forward, Jimmy says that we have the Women’s and Men’s Skins Game being held next week (playing in 12 events gets you in). Jimmy says that we will continue to have a couple more Women’s/Men’s Tournament Days until participation drops. In October, we will hold the End of the Year Ryder Cup on October 19th (sign ups will begin on October 4th). The course will be closed on Mondays for outings on October 7th (SCOVA) and October 21st (MacArthur Bussiness Alliance).
Trustee’s Report, presented by Nathan Rohrmeier
Mr. Rohrmeier states that he has nothing to report other than that rates are being looked at and the Village Board will come to a decision.
Comments From the Crowd
Wendy Foster – Wendy asks if there is a way that we can hold the capital assessment year after year so that the club can build a savings for larger projects. Brit explains that the purpose of that capital assessment is to make an impact that membership will see in the Spring. Additionally, Brit mentions that it is not a ton of money each year but we have been able to make a lot of improvements throughout the years. Brit ends by saying that at some point, maybe we will consider holding the capital assessment but we have projects that we have to get done right now.
Pat Comiskey – Pat makes a suggestion to fix the cart path near the 3rd green so that Chris’ crew has more room when leaving. Brit says that there is a plan for a general re-do of the cart path, but now is not the time for that project.
Ken Searles – Ken begins by thanking the commission members for their volunteer work that they do on behalf of the membership. As Ken’s children (as well as himself) begin to join different clubs around the country, all these clubs have done major improvements at a time where they are flushed with cash. Ken’s main concern is the overall lack of amenities; he brings up the lack of bathrooms on the course and suggests using a non-flush type of toilet, similar to a ski resort or a high-end port a potty. Ken would like to make it clear that these aren’t necessarily complaints but he does care about BGC and wants it to thrive for years and years to come. Brit says that geographically, it is tough as there is no plumbing but Brit also says that he understands the concern Ken is voicing. Kevin says that the commission has spent significant time thinking about ways to keep BGC sustainable and it is thought about with every decision that is made.
Mike Dioguardo – Mr. Dioguardo wasn’t able to make the last meeting but says that we did talk about dress code earlier in the season; Mike asks Brit if he has had the conversation with the said member. Brit says that he has not made contact yet and when asked if he plans to, Brit says that he will not make a phone call but he will get the point across. Moving forward, Mike asks if the course was rated with the fescue in mind; Brit responds yes. Additionally, Mike thinks that the fescue on tops/back of the bunkers should be cut down. Joe Dabrowski says that he and Chris Johnson talked about doing this in areas next year so Chris can control the weeds better.
Bob Scalia – Bob mentions that the Bishop Ice House, next to the 3rd green can use some TLC – specifically the façade. Brit mentions that he will contact Jason Crane.
Bill Herrick – Bill begins by mentioning the last meeting he attended and the issue he had with the bunkers at the time; Bill gives Chris and his crew kudos as he says there is much more sand in the bunkers now. When talking about capital improvements, he suggests that we replicate what we did to the 5th green complex on hole 11.
Regarding some tournaments, Bill says that for the last 10 years he has heard that more people will participate in the Member/Member tournament if it was not held all three days of Labor Day weekend. Bill views the Member/Member as a big event and would like the commission to reconsider the format as he believes this event should be a celebration of the membership. In regards to the Club Championship, he doesn’t agree with the new July date and compares it to holding the World Series at the All-Star Break. He understands that it was moved for weather and course condition reasons, but he thinks it should be moved back to September, especially as the field size seemed small in July.
Brit responds by saying that the club as a whole is predominantly a Memorial Day to Labor Day club and believes that the tournament schedule should reflect that.
Meeting officially concludes at 6:33PM