Greater Columbus Golf Authority
January 24, 2012
The meeting of the Greater Columbus Golf Authority was called to order by
President, Michael Silverstein at 4:05 p.m.
Those present: Jeff Blankenship, Carl Williams, Aubry Burt, Dan Culpepper,
Rhudine Nelson, Eddie Lindsay, Michael Silverstein and Ralph Huling.
Absent: Rudy Allen - unexcused
There was a motion made by Aubry Burt to accept the minutes from the October
2011 meeting; there was a second by Rhudine Nelson; the motion was unanimously
approved.
Guest Presentation:
Jack Langford, a Marshall who works on the driving range, was invited to speak
to the Authority by John Milam regarding Mr. Langford?s impending dismissal.
Mr. Milam had on several occasions asked Mr. Langford to please bring any
issues or concerns directly to him for resolution; given the fact that Mr.
Langford was not willing to follow a chain-of-command, Mr. Milam was
recommending his dismissal to the Authority. The genesis of the problem was
when Mr. Langford sent an email to Councilor Allen on November 22, 2011
regarding the condition at the golf course. Councilor Allen redirected the
email that same day to John Milam asking for clarification. John Milam
provided a response in a follow-up email on November 28th; the Authority was
copied on the correspondence. Michael Silverstein, Chairman, contacted Mr.
Langford to discuss Mr. Langford?s concerns on November 30th; Mr. Langford
returned his call on December 1st; Mr. Langford made it very clear that he had
no intention of discussing his concerns with Mr. Milam, Mr. Silverstein or the
Authority and that he did not have to follow a chain-of-command. Mr. Langford
was allowed to speak on his own behalf for twenty minutes.
New Business:
After Mr. Langford left the meeting the Authority discussed the issue and came
to the conclusion that in all likelihood Mr. Langford, based on his comments,
would continue to bypass John Milam and the Authority and go direct to Council,
the City Manager or the Mayor. However, before relieving him of his duties,
and in the interest of fairness, there was unanimous agreement between the
Authority and John Milam that he would speak with Mr. Langford and give him the
opportunity to continue as a Marshall with the understanding that he must
initially bring any issue to John Milam. And presuming he does not feel that
the issue has been appropriately addressed then to bring the issue to the
Authority for resolution. Presuming Mr. Langford could not agree to the terms
as outlined then his services would no longer be needed. John agreed to report
back to the Authority once he had been in contact with Mr. Langford.
A motion was made by Dan Culpepper to allow Congressman Sanford Bishop to play
golf without paying green fees at Bull Creek or at Oxbow Creek; however, any
accompanying guests would be required to pay full price. The motion was
seconded by Rhudine Nelson; there was discussion and the motion passed.
Michael Silverstein reported on the initial meeting that he and John Milam had
with Dr. Richard Baxter and Dr. Danna Gibson of CSU in November regarding their
involvement in developing a marketing blueprint for Bull Creek and Oxbow Creek.
On January 4th Michael Silverstein was introduced to Jack Brennan, President of
Paladin Marketing by John Milam. Jack has 27 years of golf marketing
experience; he agreed to not only provide assistance to The Golf Authority, but
to help coach Dr. Richard Baxter and his group at CSU. Jack is prepared to
provide the tools that will enable CSU to understand and determine latent golf
demand; how to conduct consumer based golf round demand analysis; how to
conduct facility reporting demand analysis and player surveys; how to do a SWAT
plus provide all the necessary forms. Jack offered his services at ?no expense?
to the Authority presuming that CSU could do the heavily lifting, which they
are prepared to do. CSU and Jack Brennan should have an initial outline for
the Authority?s consideration and review by the middle of February.
Michael presented the idea and concept and the potential value of adding Ex
Officio Members. After discussion the Authority agreed unanimously that adding
Ex Officio members would be beneficial. Several Authority members indicated
that they had recommendations of potential individuals. Michael asked the
members to submit the names; he would reach out to the individuals to initially
vet them along with individuals that he had in mind. He would bring back
specific recommendations before anyone was officially invited to join in an Ex
Officio capacity. There was a general consensus that Authority should focus on
identifying individuals with strong finance/accounting, marketing,
facilities/building, and/or general business experience.
John Milam reported that Don Smith is now head of the Marshall program and will
report to him. He also noted that Bull Creek and Oxbow Creek are now in
compliance with the ?Brown Bag? law. There will be a marketing piece produced
on Bull Creek and aired on the City?s Government Access Channel. Dan Trotter,
a former Harris County educator has taken on the volunteer role of calling on
companies and non-profits to solicit their hosting their respective golf
outings at Bull Creek.
John presented a Frequent Player?s Card that is being initiated to help drive
additional traffic and a built-in loyalty program, which has the concurrence of
the Authority.
There has been a recent issue with the ball washers on the golf carts and John
made the Authority aware of the issue and the fact that it is being addressed
Old Business:
John Milam reported that the County Extension has been doing projects around
the Clubhouse such as planting flowers and improving planting beds at no cost
to the Authority.
John reported that he met with representatives from the Hooters Tour and the
Columbus Sports Council about potentially using Bull Creek for one of their
tournaments in 2012. As a follow-up to the meeting The Sports Council had met
and indicated that they were not in a position financially to take on the level
of commitment that was needed. It was also noted that this is the final year
for the Hooters Tour.
Superintendent?s Report:
Greens - Weekly nutrients applications Low temperature of 17 on Jan. 4th
Fairways/tees rough- Delayed applications of herbicide due to green Bermuda
grass
Must be applied before green-up
Fertilizer for Fairways- No pre-booking due to rise in cost
Equipment- Greens mower lease over in May 2012 3 Mowers
Projects Removing dead trees /stumps
Edging bunkers and adding sand where needed
Clubhouse Landscaping- Jennifer Davidson, UGA Cooperative Extension
(Training classes for our inmate crews and Staff)
Godwin Creek:
No report
Director of Golf:
John provided a financial report on Bull Creek and Oxbow Creek for November,
December and year-to-date for January.
Bull Creek had a profit of $53,963.97 for the year
Oxbow Creek had a loss of $77,413.29
A motion was made to adjourn the meeting by Dan Culpepper and seconded by Carl
Williams. The meeting was adjourned at 5:30 p.m.
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