Commission Members in Attendance:
Brit Lawlor – Chairman
Ron Krawczyk – Deputy Chairman
Jeff Nagel – Membership/Capital Assessment
Joe Dabrowski – Greens
Kevin Lauretti – Handicap/Capital Assessment
Ryan Stanley – Tournament
Mike Mislin – Violations
Mike Cioffi – Men’s Locker Room & Beverage/Special Projects
Members in Attendance:
Pat Comiskey, Bob Scalia, Michael Dioguardo, Michael Auerbcach, Nick Fuccillo, Denny Brown, John Robilotta, Ralph Gallo, Mike Carey, Gabe Gallo
Others in Attendance:
Jim Von Eschen – Director of Golf John Mackie – Assistant Golf Pro
Chris Johnson – Golf Course Superintendent Nathan Rohrmeier – Village Trustee
Motion to accept the minuets by Jeff Nagel, 2nd by Ron Krawczyk. Brit welcomes everybody and the meeting officially starts at 6:00PM.
Violations Report, presented by Mike Mislin
Mr. Mislin begins by going back to the bathroom facilities mentioned at the last meeting. He states that while doing some research he thought it would cost somewhere between $30,000 and $50,000. After getting in touch with the company, having a 20-minute conversation and getting a quote, the real cost came in at $180,000 (not including the cleanings/emptying). With that being said, Mike says that conversation is over as it is obviously out of our price range.
Locker Room/Beverage/Special Projects Report, presented by Mike Cioffi
Mike starts by stating that the Village has all permits that are required for the stabilization and dredging of Howells Creek. Mr. Cioffi continues, saying that the plan is to begin dredging October 1st but nothing is finalized yet. In regard to the bridge permits, Mike says they are taking longer than expected but DEC is involved. Lastly, Mike has nothing to report on the grill room.
Tournament Report, presented by Ryan Stanley
Ryan states that this year’s Masters Tournament saw some terrible weather and only had 5 players involved because of it. Joe Dabrowski won the event with Dave McGrath Jr and Jim Sutherland rounding out the top 3. Mr. Stanley states that the Ryder Cup was cancelled due to the weather and due to the busy tournament schedule, we will not be making up the event. Those who signed up will be receiving refunds if they haven’t already.
The upcoming events are as follows:
Summer Match Play – Will run throughout June, July and August with no shots being given inside the fights. There will be both male and female flights.
President’s Cup – Will be held on Saturday, May 17th with the sign-up beginning this Friday. Ryan states that the event is an Individual Stableford with 100% handicap inside the flights as it is an individual event.
Team 4 Ball – This tournament will be held on Saturday, May 24th. It will be a 1 best ball of 4 with your group creating their own tee times. Both threesomes and foursomes will be responsible for the $40 entry fee.
Deputy Chairman Report, presented by Ron Krawczyk
Ron Krawczyk lets those who have not been out yet that the course is in great shape. He says that there was a lot of work done and he hopes for another great season. Ron also mentions that he would appreciate if the wind calmed down.
Greens/Course Assessment Report, presented by Joe Dabrowski
Joe begins his report talking about the bunker entrances/exits, letting the crowd know that they have been sodded and look good; they will play as GUR for the time being. He also mentions that tee boxes and approaches have been aerated and over-seeded. Besides general course maintenance, he says that the fescue areas are being prepped and will hopefully begin to show around middle of May.
Membership Report, presented by Jeff Nagel
Mr. Nagel states that we have 399 members, which is right where the club wants to be. He continues saying that we expect a couple more resident members to come in throughout the beginning of the season.
Handicap/Course Assessment Report, presented by Kevin Lauretti
Kevin states that all Course Assessment projects have been completed with roughly $4,000 left over from the original budget. Kevin mentions that the weather station on the 17th hole has to be fixed and that the remains could be used for that.
Director of Golf Report, presented by Jim Von Eschen
Jimmy starts by saying it is good to be back after missing the last meeting with the flu. He continues, saying that the weather has been miserably windy but we are actually up in rounds compared to April 2024. Mr. Von Eschen hopes that the weather clears up so that we can run some weekend events. Speaking of events, Jimmy says that Women’s/Men’s Tournament Days are starting, looking forward to getting those going. Lastly, Jimmy would like to thank both Chris’ and Jason Cranes crew for the work they did at the last second; they were up against time and were able to get it done and finished before the season started.
Superintendents Report, presented by Chris Johnson
Chris mentions that Joe got most of it, but the course is off and running. He says that his crew had been running around, getting a lot of little things done before the grass starts to grow.
Village Report, presented by Nathan Rohrmeier
Nothing to report.
Comments from the Crowd
Pat Comiskey – Pat says that the women are currently in the middle of their WMGA matches. She states that the matches that were held at BGC brought a great reaction from the other women that they competed against. Brit Lawlor says that Tara actually texted him and reiterated the same thing. He says that it is always good to hear.
Bob Scalia – Mr. Scalia reminds the board that we have spoke about the Bishop Ice House getting repainted. Additionally, he asks what is going on in regard to the Purple Horse report that was supposed to be finalized in December and the upstairs restaurant. Brit says that the mayor is in talks with the catering facility but he is not aware of anything. With Purple Horse, Brit has nothing to note but opens the question to Village Trustee, Nathan Rohrmeier. Nathan says that nothing has been finalized yet but he hopes to have something in May. Nathan continues saying that he can not speak directly on what is in the report, but he wants to create a hand for the membership as well as address the buildings and possibly some irrigation upgrades. Jimmy Von Eschen says that Jason Crane and his crew is aware about the Bishop Ice House and he will be getting to it. Jimmy mentions that currently, Jason and crew are extremely busy trying to finish up Ho Hum Beach before their season opens.
Denny Brown – Denny begins asking about allowing twosomes to play in the Summer Match Play Tournament. Jimmy says that you are allowed to play as a twosome, but twosomes will always be subject to the tee sheet and have the possibility of being paired up with another single or twosome. Jimmy also says that if you want to play as a twosome, he suggests trying later in the day but again, they can be paired up. Both Ryan and Jimmy reiterate the fact that we are all adults and should be able to figure this out without arguments. Denny also says that he believes all individuals should be playing the same set of tees in a given tournament. Mr. Von Eschen says that the handicap is adjusted from the set of tees that an individual plays and all flights are based off of handicap index, not course handicap. Both Denny and Joe Dabrowski believe that the entire flight in the Member/Member should be playing the same set of tees and therefore the same golf course. Mr. Von Eschen says that this would eliminate many individuals from each event that we play. Mike Mislin asks if a member can move up a set of tees in the Member/Member tournament. Jimmy says that they cannot; they must play the tees that they normally play, which is where their index is established from. He continues, saying that in the Summer Match Play tournament, the entire flight must play the same set of tees due to the format.
John Robilotta – Mr. Robilotta asks when the greens are being aerated to which Jimmy says that they were already done and will be aerated again on August 18th. John continues, asking about the status of the waiting list. Jeff Nagel says that although we had to call 100 people to get 22 in, some of those 78 asked to stay on the list (Christine Novelli will do for 1 year). Jeff continues, saying that the initiation fee plus the cost of the first year keeps some of those people away.
Mike Dioguardo – Michael talks about the tournament and wonders if there is a possibility to break up the flights by age rather than handicap as he believes the younger players have an advantage (regardless of handicap index) because they can hit it further. The commission unanimously agrees that handicap index does not have an age and does not play into a player’s ability. Your handicap index is your handicap index.
Michael Auerbach – Mike gives the board an update on the LI Mid-Am which had asked to come to BGC for the 2025 season; he mentions that they have found another place for this year but would like to come in the future. Additionally, he mentions that the NYSGA would like to hold a qualifier at Bellport for an event like they have done in the past.
Gabe Gallo – Gabe asks if we are trying to discourage walkers with the new cobblestone between the 18th green and the 9th tee; Mr. Gallo would like if the club put an entrance there. Joe Dabrowski repeats what was said at the year’s first meeting, stating that we do not want to wear out an area and putting an entrance there would do so. Additionally, Joe says that if you are walking 18 holes, you are roughly walking 5 miles – Joe says that walking an extra 70-100 feet by going around the pump house should not be an issue.
Mike Carey – Mr. Carey asks how come the guest passes do not carry over from year to year? Gabe Gallo quickly chimes in, saying that he does not see a difference between the pre-paid carts and the pre-paid guest fees. Brit Lawlor asks Jimmy to answer to which he says that the Village probably shouldn’t allow the carts to carry over on a yearly basis. The reason that they do is because in years past, cart prices were going up so incrementally (50 cents a year) that there was no reason to make a huge fight with the membership. Jimmy continues, stating that the pre-paid cart/guest fees were put in place because BGC does not have a “chit system” where the member signs for the cart and gets billed at the end of the month. This also allowed the members to not go into their wallet every time they came into the Pro Shop, which many of them appreciated. Mr. Von Eschen says that with the guest fees, every member who purchases one, has to fill out and sign paperwork that acknowledges both the price and the fact that they expire at the end of each season. Jeff Nagel says that the carts probably should expire. Kevin Lauretti and Ron Krawczyk both state that it is simply an accounting issue as Bellport Village is a municipality and it simply follows municipality law, which is different than public law. Jimmy actually says that the Village would make more money if we were to not sell the packages. Gabe Gallo disagrees and says that is why him and his group are walking more. John Robilotta says that some seasons, he rides more than others and likes the fact that they are there if he needs them. Jimmy reiterates that these packages are there to benefit the member.
Brit concludes the meeting at 6:34pm.