Tennis Draft Minutes - August 11, 2007

CHAIRPERSON:        Ben Long
CO-CHAIRPERSON:    Sue Hughes
SECRETARY:        Jean Long

In Attendance:
Members:  Pat Adler, Jerry Adler, Jean Hagmann, Sue Hughes, Jean Long, Ben Long, Virginia Sabia, Lynn Schaefer, Stan Schaefer, Fay Singer, Kristen Victory
Nonmember:  Bill Coderre, John Goldman, Nubia Malkin, Joe Fialko, Ken Brophy, Laura Alteri, Jim Donohue

Call to Order: The meeting was called to order at 9:05 a.m. by Ben Long.
Prior meeting minutes: Ben Long made a motion seconded by Lynn Schaefer that the minutes for the meeting on August 27, 2006 be approved.  Motion passed unanimously.
Old Business: none
New Business:  Expediting repair of North Rec. court.  Ben Long asked Nubia Malkin if the North Rec. left side tennis court would be ready to use for our next tournament, which starts on August 22nd.
  Nubia replied that the North Rec. courts were due to be ripped up in 2008 to repair the hydraulic problems caused by water in the ground under the courts.  So, she didn’t want to do major patchwork this year.  The hole that is currently being patched still has to be ground smooth and painted.  She said she couldn’t guarantee that the patch would be painted due to possible wet weather.  But she said that the concrete would at least be ground smooth so the court can be used for the next tournament.
Obtaining plans for new indoor tennis courts.  Ben Long asked if either the Board or management could share plans with the Committee for the new indoor tennis courts before the specifications were put out to bid.  He was particularly concerned about lighting.
  Joe Fialko said that T5 fluorescent strip lighting on the side is better than our current lighting.  He also said he did not favor indirect lighting.  He added that the interior should be white rather than green to improve lighting.
  Stan Schaefer said he would ask Jeff Sias, Public Works Director, to contact Joe Fialko before the specifications go out to bid.
  Fay Singer asked if we shouldn’t hire an expert familiar with tennis courts to design the new indoor courts. 
  Stan Schaefer replied that the people doing the job, along with help from Joe Fialko, would be sufficient.  The repairs consist of a new roof, new ventilation, new insulation, and new lighting.  Air conditioning is unlikely.
Ways to better schedule the Junior Tennis program.  Ben Long asked if the Junior Tennis program could start the week after the July 4th holiday. 
  Kristen Victory said that many students only played nine times over a seven week period due to two tennis camps, starting before the July 4th Holiday, and conflicts with a swimming meet.
  Ken Brophy said the Junior Tennis program advertises 15 sessions consisting of tennis three times a week for 5 weeks.  So, even though the five weeks are spread over seven weeks, the full 15 days advertised for the program are provided.  
  Sue Hughes said that, unlike many other sports, tennis requires continuous practice in order for the beginning students to progress.
  Ken replied that there is a wide range in the degree of progression, depending on the student.  He said that students who wish to continue practicing each week can sign up for the camps.
  Kristen said the Junior Tennis program ends early in August. 
  Ken said he would make Junior clinics available during the last three weeks of August for those students that want to continue working on their tennis game.
Discussion on whether the Committee is in favor of charging for outdoor hard court tennis reservations.  Virginia Sabia said she felt that the tennis courts would be maintained better if tennis players were charged an annual fee.
  Ben Long said that there is enough money in the budget to repair the North Rec. court without reservation fees, but it wasn’t done quickly.
  Stan Schaefer said that he golfs with a friend who constantly complains that it isn’t fair for the golfers to pay when there is no charge for the outdoor tennis courts.  Stan added that he believes there should be a fair subsidy for all of our amenities.
  Kristen Victory said that most communities provide free outdoor hard court tennis and free outdoor swimming pools.
  Sue Hughes said that our courts are too decentralized to charge a reservation fee for their use.
  Fay Singer said that if we had our courts in a centralized spot perhaps we could charge a fee for using those courts and have someone there to be sure they are used by reservation only.
  Jerry Adler thought there should be a tennis membership for players that use the tennis court during the prime time morning hours.
  Ben Long said we currently allow 8 week contracts for outdoor courts in May, June, September and October.  It is only during July and August that we don’t allow contracts.  And that is so vacationers have an equal chance to reserve the courts on a first come first serve basis.
Motion: Ben Long proposed a motion seconded by Virginia Sabia stating that the Tennis Committee does not favor the charging of a fee to reserve outdoor hard tennis courts for the following reasons:
•  Paying for court time is less equitable because it favors the rich more than rationing court time on a first come first served basis.
•  It also favors full-time residents more than vacationers.
•  Long term contracts are already available in May-June and September-October.
•  It is unenforceable.
This motion passed by a 9-2 vote.  Virginia Sabia and Stan Schaefer voted against it. 
Discussion on whether the Committee is in favor of replacing our two Fast Dry tennis courts with hard courts.  Ben Long said the soft courts were popular with our older tennis players because they were easier on the joints.  And since the volunteers had worked with the Recreation Department, they were playing better than ever.
  John Goldman said he has found that the better players feel that the courts are all right, but the newer players are less happy.  But, even when soft courts are perfectly maintained the ball will take a funny bounce if it hits a line or a footprint.  That is the nature of soft court tennis.
  Stan Schaefer said it costs $7,500 to maintain them at the beginning of each year, but less than that to just apply weed killer and have the courts maintained by volunteers.  However, if the courts are only used by a few people, perhaps the money could be better used.
  John Goldman asked if the courts have been used more this year due to the elimination of the $3 hourly court fee.
  Nubia Malkin said she only has figures through June 2007.  In June of 2006 there was no usage, and this June there were 8 reservations.
  John Goldman said this June’s numbers aren’t useful because during most of the month the courts were covered with weeds.
  Ben asked Stan if there was money available to convert the Fast Dry courts to hard courts.  He said that he didn’t believe that money would be available.
Motion: Ben Long made a motion seconded by Stan Schaefer stating that the Tennis Committee requests that the Board keeps the two Fast Dry Courts.
•  They are popular with our older tennis players because they create less stress on their hips and knees.
•  Many people prefer the differences in the way the game is played on soft courts.
•  The Hideout already has 10 other tennis courts that are hard courts.
This motion passed by a 9-2 vote.  Virginia Sabia and Sue Hughes voted against it.
Discussion on whether to start charging $4 an hour for Fast Dry court reservations.  Since the courts are being used more this year, the Committee decided not to ask Recreation to reinstate a reservation fee.
Discussions on ways to reduce damage to our tennis courts.
•  Locking the courts - Ben Long said that Security was supposed to lock the tennis courts at night and reopen them in the morning.  Several Committee members said that they are not unlocking the back gates, probably because they don’t want to have to walk to the far side of the courts to lock them again in the evening.
•  Education - The Committee was shown a diagram of a tennis net and posts.  The diagram showed that if just 35 pounds of force were to press down on the center of the tennis net, it would actually create a force of 1,000 additional pounds on both net posts.
  Ben Long said that he thought the net post at the Lodge court was probably bent because someone sat on the tennis net, not realizing the amount of damage that could be caused.  He suggested that each net have a crank to adjust the net.
  John Goldman said he did not believe the nets should have cranks because someone could crank the net too tightly and create the tremendous force shown in the diagram.
•  Ask Security at The Lodge Main Pool to help - Ben Long said that it would be easy for the security personnel at the Lodge pool to provide security for the Lodge tennis courts since they are stationed very near the courts.
  Jim Donohue said he was not sure if it would be a good idea for the yellow shirt pool security to secure the tennis courts.  He said his son was asked to show his badge a second time after he was on the beach. 
  Stan Schaefer said he didn’t feel that security personnel should ever be criticized for doing their job.  Stan suggested that Ben, as chairperson for the Tennis Committee, should meet with Joe Kozuch, Security Director to ask his department to help protect our tennis courts.  He suggested that Ralph Graf, Community Manager, should also be included in the meeting. 
Tennis program news.  Joe Fialko reported that one of his students, Jasmine Merali, has been accepted by the Rick Macy’s Academy as one of their feature players.  Due to the way she makes her tennis strokes, Joe was also offered a teaching position there.  However, he has declined their offer.  He said he prefers to stay where he is living now and continue working with The Hideout.
Discussion on whether tennis expenses should be split out from Recreation and ISC departments and shown as a separate cost center.  Ben Long asked if tennis revenue and expenses could be shown in the budget as a separate cost center so everyone would see how much revenue tennis generates.    Nubia Malkin said the ISC Department budget figures have all of the tennis revenue and expenses and only a few additional items are included with those figures.
  Stan Schaefer said he would also like to have tennis figures shown separately.
Adjournment:  A motion was made at 11:16 a.m. by Ben Long and seconded by Virginia Sabia to adjourn the meeting.  The motion passed unanimously.
Respectfully submitted,
Ben Long, Chairperson

Tennis Committee Minutes - August 27, 2006
CHAIRPERSON: Ben Long
CO-CHAIRPERSON: Sue Hughes
SECRETARY: Jean Long

In Attendance: Members:
Joan Hendon, Sue Hughes, Ben Long, Jean Long, Pat Adler, Lynn Schaefer, Stan Schaefer. Non-member: John Goldman

Called to Order: The meeting was called to order at 12:10 p.m. by Bennett Long.

New Business: Approval of Minutes

Discussion: There was discussion regarding two groups of four tennis players calling ahead on Saturday, August 26, to reserve court time for the following week. A motion allowing this to be done during July and August, as long as two hard courts remained available for the 10:00 am time slot, was approved at the August 12 meeting. It was reported, however, that each person was asked what group they belonged to when they attempted to make their reservations for the upcoming week. It was agreed that new tennis groups must be treated the same and did not need to belong to an established group.

Stan Schaefer said he felt the groups should be allowed to reserve for a month ahead rather than a week ahead. It was decided that this matter would be discussed again at our meeting next June.

Motion: A motion was made by Ben Long and seconded by Pat Adler that the
August 12, 2006 minutes be approved. Upon a show of hands, there were 6 for and 1 abstention. The motion carried.

Invitation to the annual committee appreciation party

Ben Long shared the invitation he had received from Jeannine Barnett asking him to poll the committee members to see who can attend the party on September 9th at 2 p.m. at the OSC. Jerry & Pat Adler and Stan & Lynn Schaefer said they planned on attending.

August 26 Board meeting to discuss the proposed ISC renovations

Discussion: Ben Long handed out a reserve projection sheet and said that if the dam must be repaired in 2008 at the projected cost of $2,000,000, there would be insufficient reserves for the project if $2.6 million was spent renovating the existing ISC in 2007. He also said that the Kimmel architect company engineers had stated there was no safety problem and the existing ISC could be repaired for approximately $70,000 to $100,000. Stan Schaefer stated that Ben Long could attend the September 8 Board Workshop and that he would make sure Ben could speak to the Board regarding the finances.

Sue Hughes offered a list of questions to ask the Board regarding how this project would effect the tennis program. It was agreed that Ben Long would give this list, with a cover letter, to the Board’s secretary, Jeannine Barnett, prior to the next Membership Review and Comments on the proposed project meeting to be held on September 2 at 10:00 am at the Clubhouse. Sue then agreed that she would attend the meeting to put forth these concerns to the Board.

It was agreed to put forth the following motion so that there would be no interruption to our youth and adult tennis programs.

Motion: A motion was made by Sue Hughes and seconded by Ben Long that, if the vote for the construction of the pool or gymnasium passes, the two existing lighted courts outside the ISC be moved to the area beside the two Har Tru courts, before the two courts outside the ISC are removed. The motion carried unanimously.

Sue Hughes stated that she would vote yes on the pool or gymnasium if she could be assured that the outside ISC courts would be moved beside the Har Tru courts before other construction began. Upon questioning, Stan Schaefer said he was only one Board member and could not make that assurance.

Tennis Committee Mission Statement

Ben Long read the following proposed mission statement:

The mission of the Tennis Committee is to:
Increase enjoyment and usage of our tennis facilities by promoting tournaments, working to ease scheduling of court time, and promoting social activities where tennis players can meet and make new friends.
Work to protect and enhancing our tennis facilities by reporting areas in need of repair to the Recreation Department and lobbying to the Recreation Department or the Board for additional needs on behalf of the tennis community.

Stay knowledgeable about any Hideout issues that could affect the tennis community and communicate issues of concern to the Recreation Department or the Board.

Motion: A motion was made by Joan Hendon and seconded by Sue Hughes to approve the Mission Statement. The motion carried unanimously.

Discussion: There was a discussion of the importance of everyone’s vote on the ISC referendum. Ben Long said it took just 10% of the votes to achieve a quorum. So, if 370 owners voted, as few as 186 votes could pass or defeat the referendum. Stan Schaefer said he expected the number of owners that voted to be large, but the referendum was a vote by ballot and not a proxy to attend a meeting. So, the decision would be made by the majority vote even if less than 10% of the owners voted.

Adjournment: A motion was made by Stan Schaefer and seconded by Jean Long to adjourn the meeting at 1:55 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Jean Long, Secretary

CHAIRPERSON: Ben Long
CO-CHAIRPERSON: Sue Hughes
SECRETARY: Jean Long

MINUTES OF MEETING
AUGUST 12, 2006
In Attendance:
Members:
Jean Hagmann, Joan Hendon, Ken Hendon, Sue Hughes, Ben Long, Jean Long, Sherri Pagnanelli, Virginia Sabia, Lynn Schaefer, Stan Schaefer
Nonmembers:
Nubia Malkin

Called to Order: The meeting was called to order at 12:00 p.m. by Bennett Long.

New Business:

Approval of Minutes

Motion: A motion was made by Lynn Schaefer and seconded by Virginia Sabia that the July 22, 2006 minutes be approved. The motion carried unanimously.

Discussion: There was discussion regarding the proposed ISC renovation plan. Stan Schaefer explained that, in addition to putting the swimming pool where the courts behind the ISC now exist, the Long Range Planning Committee is tentatively planning to put additional parking where the two courts now exist at North Rec., extend the beach where the two courts now exist at the Lodge, and move the ball field adjacent to the South Rec. courts to the campgrounds. He explained that this would make room at South Rec. for six more courts, which could constitute our tennis center. A suggestion was made that the Tennis Center should include a building for changing, bathroom facilities, and a place for a pro and pro shop. Stan recommended that we attend the next Long Range Planning Committee and ask them to adopt these recommendations for the Tennis Center at South Rec.

Ben Long stated that we should all attend the meeting that the Board is holding on August 26 at 10:00 a.m. at the Indoor Sports Center. The purpose is for review and comments related to the proposed ISC renovations.

Sue Hughes stated that on August 9, the day after a rain, a group of Buckhill tennis players came to play with our teams. She said that the Hartru courts had not been rolled and were not in good shape.

Ben Long noted that per a resolution passed at our July 22 meeting, fees were requested to be waived on these courts to promote usage. He asked whether this should be presented to the Recreation Committee. Stan said that this request should be presented directly to Nubia Malkin.

Replace sloped portions of walkway to the South Rec. tennis courts with steps

Motion: A motion was made by Joan Hendon and seconded by Bennett Long that the sloped walkway leading to the courts at South Rec. be replaced with steps and a railing for the safety of those entering the courts and to prevent skateboarders from using it as a ramp.

Discussion: Stan Shaefer stated that he thought this was a security issue. Ken Hendon said that this was an inexpensive item and that safety was the issue.

Upon a show of hands, there were 8 for and 2 against the motion. The motion carried.

Old Business:

Promote Tournaments

Discussion: Sue Hughes stated that many players reserve the weekends for family and that participation might be higher if tournaments were held on a weekday. Ben Long mentioned that they are often held in the middle of the day when it is too hot and that a change of time might be beneficial. Joan Hendon said that holding a luncheon after the final event would help bring the tennis community and their families together.

Motion: A motion was made by Ben Long and seconded by Ken Hendon that, in order to promote tennis tournaments, the finals should be held at 10:00 a.m. and that, following the final match, a social gathering should be held where food will be served to all attending for a nominal charge. The motion was carried unanimously.

Discussion: It was decided that the Over the Hill tournament scheduled for the end of August be renamed to Top of the Mountain and that this motion be in effect at that time.

Summer Tennis Contracts

Discussion: Since the same groups are calling for courts each day, it was discussed that allowing contracts during July and August would be more convenient for the tennis players and also reduce the work of the Recreation staff, as they would not have to answer all the phone calls at 7:45 a.m. each morning. It was mentioned that it was very important to call to cancel if you had a contract that you could not keep. Stan Shaefer suggested that a financial penalty could be imposed if you did not cancel. It was also suggested that Recreation keep a waiting list of those unable to get a court in case of a cancellation.

Motion: A motion was made by Ben Long and seconded by Ken Hendon to allow weekly contracts for July and August, as long as two hard courts remain available for the 10:00 a.m. time slot. Upon a show of hands, there were 9 for and 1 against the motion. The motion carried.

Next Meeting: Sunday, August 27 at noon at the ISC.
Adjournment: A motion was made by Joan Hendon and seconded by Jean Long to adjourn the meeting at 1:25 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,
Jean Long, Secretary

CHAIRPERSON: Ben Long
CO-CHAIRPERSON: Sue Hughes
SECRETARY: Jean Long

MINUTES OF MEETING
JULY 22.2006
In Attendance:
Members:
Jerry Adler, Pat Adler, Jean Hagmann, Marieanne Harris, Joan Hendon, Sue Hughes, Ben Long, Jean Long, Sherri Pagnanelli, Jackie Rogers, Virginia Sabia, Lynn Schaefer, Stan Schaefer
Nonmembers:
Beverly Coderre, Bill Coderre, John Goldman, Nubia Malkin

Called to Order: The meeting was called to order at 12:05 p.m. by Nubia Malkin..

Minutes:

The committee voted for Ben Long to be chairperson, Sue Hughes to be Co-chairperson and Jean Long to be Secretary.

Stan Schaefer described the ISC renovation plan to the committee. The plan includes three parts:
Rennovation of existing facilities, which does not need owner approval
Addition of a basketball court at the ISC, which does require owner approval.
Addition of both a basketball court, moving the fitness center to the ISC, and adding an indoor swimming pool to the ISC, which does require owner approval.
He said that if the indoor pool is approved it would be constructed where the two tennis courts behind the ISC are located.

Jackie Rogers proposed and Pat Adler seconded the motion to make the following recommendation to the Board, that the Board consider putting four tennis courts at the location of the Hartru courts, if the pool is approved, the surface of the courts to be determined at that time.

This motion to the Board would also be presented with the following rationale:
Adding the pool where two courts currently exist would reduce the number of tennis courts in the community by two. In addition, this would cause the community to no longer have four courts together and disrupt our tennis camps, clinics, and socials.

This motion was passed unanimously.

Joan Hendon asked that the sloped walkway leading to the courts at South Rec be replaced with steps. This was not on the agenda, so it was added as new business for the next committee meeting.

Ben Long made a motion to ask the Recreation Department to waive fees on the Hartru courts for a month in an effort to promote usage of these courts. The motion carried by a 10-0 vote.
The meeting adjourned at 1:40 p.m. The next meeting is scheduled for 12:00 noon on August 12, 2006.

Respectfully submitted,

Ben Long, Chairperson