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CITY COUNCIL 2-2-09 council agendaTHE CITY OF LAKE FOREST COUNCIL AGENDA Monday, February 2, 2009 7:30 p.m. City Hall Council Chambers CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL 7:30 p.m. Honorable S. Michael Rummel, Mayor David D. Grumhaus, Jr., Alderman First Ward Thomas H. Morsch, Jr., Alderman Third Ward Kent E. Novit, Alderman First Ward Greg C. Hanrahan, Alderman Third Ward Stuart M. Widman, Alderman Second Ward John A. Looby III, Alderman Fourth Ward Renard Goltra, Alderman Second Ward Robert T. Palmer, Alderman Fourth Ward PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE REPORTS OF CITY OFFICERS 7:30 p.m. 1. Comments by Mayor A. Report on February 8th Preservation Program 2. Comments by City Manager 7:35 p.m. A. Community Spotlight – Lake Forest Symphony, presented by James Ritcher, Lake Forest Symphony Board President, and Jay Owen, Acting Executive Director B. Report on January 30 Ft. Sheridan Golf Course Meeting C. Report on Federal Stimulus Program, presented by David 7:45 p.m. Streicker, Holland and Knight 3. Comments by Council Members 4. Council Committee Reports 8:15 p.m. OPPORTUNITY FOR PUBLIC TO ADDRESS THE CITY COUNCIL ON NON-AGENDA ITEMS CONSENT AGENDA 8:20 p.m. 1. Approval of the January 20, 2008 Minutes of the Regular City Council Meetings A copy is attached beginning on page __. 2. Market Square 2000 Register In November 2002, The City of Lake Forest and Market Square 2000 entered into an agreement which provided for the transfer of the Market Square Funds to The City for the sole purpose of maintaining and improving the landscape and streetscape elements of Market Square. The agreement also requires that prior to the expenditure of any Market Square funds, The City will hold a public hearing and notify all persons listed on the registry of this hearing, so that they have an opportunity to review and comment on the expenditures. As required by The City’s agreement, The City has mailed letters to the individuals listed on the registry notifying them that The City is requesting $8,000 from the Market Square 2000 February 2, 2009 Agenda Page 2 Endowment to be set aside to cover costs associated with Market Square, including plant replacement, bollard and brick maintenance, irrigation repair, and other items. 3. Approval of Authorized Invoices and Payrolls During the month of January, the following amounts were disbursed from the Cashier’s Account: GENERAL FUND WATER TOTALS INVOICES $533,153.36 $85,159.00 $618,312.36 PAYROLL $1,195,554.12 $138,007.37 $1,333,561.49 TOTALS $1,728,707.48 $223,166.37 $1,951,873.85 The motion is for the approval of Authorized Invoices and Payrolls for January, 2009. 4. Authorization of Treasurer’s Warrants to Meet Expenses of February, 2009 The motion is to authorize the Mayor and City Clerk to sign such warrants as may be necessary to meet the February, 2009 audited accounts. Recommended Action: Approval of the Consent Agenda as presented. NEW BUSINESS 1. Consideration and Award of Contract for Deerpath Golf Course 8:30 p.m. Improvements PRESENTED BY DIRECTOR OF PARKS AND RECREATION MARY VAN ARSDALE (847) 615-4332 At the December 1, 2008 City Council meeting, staff presented the results of the Deerpath Golf Course Cost of Services study conducted by Edgehill Golf and Pellucid Corporation. The cost of services study showed that Deerpath is in a more favorable position than most municipal and private golf courses (locally and nationally) but will face some possible cash flow shortages in the coming years due to debt service requirements and capital needs. The report indicated that in order to remain as financially viable as possible and to position ourselves optimally for the immediate future the City should investigate three additional service improvements for Deerpath Golf Course: golf cart replacement, technology and marketing enhancements and adding a deep well. Additional research has been concluded on each of the items and staff seeks City Council approval to move forward with the purchasing of the golf carts in accordance with the City’s purchasing policies. The technology enhancements and deep well background is provided for informational purposes. Improvement #1: Golf Cart Replacement Deerpath Golf Course currently owns 46 E-Z-Go golf carts. The fleet was purchased in 2002. Golf carts are typically replaced on a five year schedule based upon condition and escalating maintenance costs. We have been fortunate to stretch our useful life to the seven year level but maintenance repairs have increased significantly in the past two years and the carts are in need of replacement in order to ensure consistent delivery of service. The carts are an essential component to financial success and cart revenues alone account for approximately $155,000 annually in the budget. Delaying cart replacement will result in additional spring February 2, 2009 Agenda Page 3 maintenance costs of approximately $15,000 and an overall decrease (4-7%) in the trade-in value of the fleet. Staff investigated lease, lease to own and outright purchase options from the three primary golf cart vendors in our area: E-Z-Go, Yamaha and Club Car. The proposals solicited were based upon 46 carts and the pricing is inclusive of the trade-in value of our current fleet. The guaranteed price proposals are summarized below: Cart Options E-Z-GO (Model TXT-PDS) YAMAHA (Model 48v- DrivePremium) CLUB CAR (Model Prec i2) Outright Purchase $128,000 $126,960 $144,900 5 Year Lease to Own $148,695 $168,360 $325,186 6 Year Lease to Own $153,262 Not an option $333,397 5 Year Lease Only $124,972 $124,000 Not an option 6 Year Lease Only $130,327 Not an option Not an option Golf cart vendors are sole distributors of their brand and have a regional sales representative for their product. With a limited number of golf cart vendors and the need to incorporate the trade-in value, staff solicited sole vendor proposals instead of a public bid process. Staff met with the sales representative of each company, verified that the cart specifications were comparable across the three vendors and provided the opportunity for the vendor to inspect Deerpath’s fleet to determine trade-in value. In addition, each vendor provided demonstration carts to the course this past season and members and staff were able to test ride the actual golf carts. Based upon this open process and the ensuing cart proposals, staff is recommending that the City outright purchase carts, Model TXT-PDS from E-Z-Go at the total price of $128,000 and to fund this purchase from the Deerpath Golf Course fund balance. Staff is not recommending a lease or lease-to-own option due to the added expense over the lease term. Currently, the Deerpath Golf Fund balance is $313,000 and outright purchasing would reduce the fund balance to $185,000. The fund balance would be slightly below the 15% target policy but does leave the golf course with a good fund balance for any emergency needs. Also, though slightly more expensive than Yamaha ($22 per car), E-Z-Go carts are well liked by our golfers and provide the best seating comfort, has a quality product as evidenced by our current fleet longevity and has provided Deerpath with outstanding service over the past seven years. Recommended Action: Waive the competitive bidding and award a contract for the purchase of 46 TXT-PDS golf carts to E-Z-Go Golf inclusive of the trade-in of the current golf cart fleet for a total purchase price of $128,000 to be funded from Deerpath Golf Course fund balance. Improvement #2: Technology and Marketing Enhancements In this competitive time and market, it is critical that Deerpath Golf Course invest in technology that provides greater access for the customer and creates critical customer demographics for the business operations of the course. Staff has researched three golf software vendors to provide a complete, integrated solution to allow our course to run more efficiently and be positioned for optimal revenue. Research of each of the companies included the analysis of applications in the following areas: fully integrated Tee Sheet, Customer Database, Point of February 2, 2009 Agenda Page 4 Sale, Inventory System, On-Line Tee Reservation System and Web Page Marketing Tools. A team of staff with representation from the City’s technology department, finance department, golf course operations and recreation department worked together to interview and research the services proposed by the following three software providers. 1) Active Network: Current software provider for Recreation department program and fitness memberships 2) Crescent Systems: Current software provider for the Deerpath Golf Course Pro Shop point of sale software 3) Fore! Reservations: Well-known golf course software and marketing vendor Live product demonstrations were held with each of the above vendors, marketing materials were reviewed, references contacted and pricing for software and hardware needs confirmed. Though each of the vendors offers various strengths within their software capabilities, staff recommends Crescent Systems as the best software vendor to meet our needs. Crescent software applications are well designed, easy to use, include staff training, allows for customization and has excellent references, including our own course. Since we already own the point of sale and membership software, the pricing was also advantageous to select Crescent Systems. An overview of costs for each vendor is outlined below: Crescent Systems Fore! Reservations Active Network Software and licenses $1,000 $1,500 $6,200 Hardware $2,653 $6,700 TBD Training Included in software cost $2,700 $4,800 Total Start-up Expense (not including web design) $3,653 $10,900 $11,000 Annual Maintenance $1,817 $1,500 $4,800 In addition to selecting the software vendor, the City also must create the web-site application to allow for the on-line tee time reservation payment to be processed. Staff purchased the domain name to Deerpathgolf.com ($115) and is finalizing the web-site integration needed. This may result in minor additional design expenses. Staff budgeted for this technology enhancement in the FY2009 golf operations budget with a not to exceed amount of $13,000. As you can see, the improvements and web design needs are within the available operating funds. With the selection of Crescent Systems, staff anticipates that the installation will be complete in March 2009 with on-line tee reservations available June 2009. Overall, adding the technology capabilities will also allow us to expand marketing capabilities through email and target marketing. These enhancements will expand our ability to serve and reach customers which in return will help drive golf sales and increase customer satisfaction. (No City Council Action Required) Improvement #3: Deep Well Installation Staff from the Office of the City Manager, Public Works/Water Department, Finance Department and Parks and Recreation Department met on December 15, 2008 to discuss the topic of a deep well installation at Deerpath Golf Course and the corresponding result of not being a water customer of the City. The three goals of the meeting were: 1. Identify the challenges and opportunities for the City that might occur if a deep well was installed at Deerpath Golf Course. Identify the corresponding impacts to the water fund. 2. Identify the additional research and deliverables needed in order to provide the necessary factual data to pursue a capital investment discussion. February 2, 2009 Agenda Page 5 3. Establish a timeline for completing the research and making a recommendation to City Council. It was determined by staff that the most ideal time to bring the information back to City Council would be in November 2009 in time to be included in the FY2011 comprehensive capital funding discussion. To achieve this budget deadline the following research and their completion benchmark dates were created: a. Research surrounding golf courses on current water source and potential cost savings. May 2009 b. Confirm specifications and actual installation cost for the deep well system at the golf course as well as ongoing maintenance and utility expenses for a deep well. July 2009 c. Identify impacts to City’s tank stabilization and potential to accommodate other water customers. July 2009 d. Update the water rate study to allow for a multi-year analysis that identifies impact to the water fund and possible rate adjustment scenarios. September- October 2009 e. Clarify financial impacts to operating budgets and capital funds as well as provide potential financing options. October 2009 f. Present findings and recommendation to City Council. November 2009 Staff will continue to research this golf course improvement over the next ten months. (No City Council Action Required) ADDITIONAL ITEMS FOR COUNCIL DISCUSSION ADJOURNMENT 8:50 p.m. Office of the City Manager January 29, 2009 The City of Lake Forest is subject to the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. Individuals with disabilities who plan to attend this meeting and who require certain accommodations in order to allow them to observe and/or participate in this meeting, or who have questions regarding the accessibility of the meeting or the facilities, are required to contact City Manager Robert R. Kiely, Jr., at (847) 234-2600 promptly to allow the City to make reasonable accommodations for those persons.