Amended TMGC Management Committee Minutes 13 Dec 23

1.   Welcome and Apologies. The meeting was opened by the President in the Chair at 1.30 pm. Attendees were Gerry Moloney, President; Kevin Arnold, Vice President; Ross Barnes, Treasurer; John de Jersey, Secretary; Kristo Bradley; and Katy Hewitt. An apology was received from Simon Briggs. Andrew Revie and Graeme Andrews attended for parts of the meeting.

2.   Professional’s Report. Andrew requested that space be made available for an extra buggy in his area of the shed. Kevin and Ross noted that this could be done easily and agreed to do the job. This would in turn release one of the buggy sheds for rental. 

The MC agreed that the Club would provide shirts for pennant players as required. 

Andrew noted that there had been ongoing issues with MiClub on Saturday. One solution suggested was to make our tee settings permanent, not temporary.

Kevin agreed to purchase some replacement smoke alarm batteries.

Andrew mentioned that a PGA professional living on the mountain wished to join the Club and had asked about a discount on membership. It was felt that his membership might be advantageous for the Club and it was agreed to offer him a 10% discount.

Andrew and Tina will be away from 28/12/23 till 2/1/24 and arrangements have been made for fill-in workers.

Andrew mentioned that he had ordered five new pull buggies for rental.

There has been a problem with the newly installed pump serving the clubhouse. Kevin will investigate, and also ask Maurie Payne about water overflow from the tank which is expected to overflow with water from the new roof.

After discussion, it was considered that purchasing a proposed advertising package from “Inside Golf” was unlikely to be cost effective in attracting new members and visiting golfers.

Gerry will discuss the subdivision of the telephone/internet bill with Andrew, seeking an amenable solution.

3.   Course Report. Graeme indicated that he had no immediate problems and that he was happy with the new tractor and spray unit. Gerry indicated that there were problems with filling the greens mowing roster. This led to a discussion about the possibility of employing an apprentice. Graeme indicated that in his experience, it would be difficult to find someone who would stick to the task. Doubts were also expressed about whether the Club could afford an apprentice (perhaps $50K p.a.). It was agreed to keep in mind the possibility of employing a person to do greens mowing and other tasks for a few hours a week, noting that for much of the year, greens need mowing almost every day.

4.   Minutes of Previous Meeting. The Minutes of the previous meeting were pre-circulated and were approved, moved Katie, seconded Kristo, carried unanimously.

5.   Business Arising. The sign stating the licensee details for the OLGR was taken down for the painting of the Clubhouse. The sign was found and Kevin agreed to put it up in the entrance. The unrequired advertising sign in Golf Course Road will be removed to allow for a new advertising sign. The requirement for a drainage hole in the kitchen was mentioned and it was agreed to postpone this job to a future meeting when the new front deck and roof were complete and drainage issues under the deck were resolved. Tim will be consulted about these issues. Buggy storage in the machinery shed will be consolidated to allow storage of more equipment inside.

As agreed at the previous meeting, Kevin was given approval to continue seeking quotes for construction of the front deck roof. Kevin reported that a suitable quote had been obtained within the funding limit set by the MC and that work on the roof should start on January 8, 2024. The decking and balustrading will then be installed, targeting late January. Further consideration of lighting was requested.

6.   New membership approvals. Ross circulated a list of new membership applications, as follows: Will Nicholson, Junior; Tina Kim, Francis Bergola and Chris Baker, Lifestyle; Steven Cheah, Country; and Ian Lee, Young Adult. All of the applicants were accepted unanimously. The membership total is now 274.

7.    Financial Report. Ross had pre-circulated the November financial report which showed a beginning credit balance of $174,961.15 and a closing balance of $130,135.51. The deficit on the month was due to payment for the new tractor and sprayer. The report was accepted unanimously.

The following motion was moved by Ross Barnes, seconded by Kristo Bradley and carried unanimously: to cancel the existing NAB Business Payment Card and to open a new account with NAB, providing a Business/Credit/Debit Card. The signatories on this new account/card will be Gerry Moloney (President), Ross Barnes (Treasurer) and Kevin Arnold (Vice President).

8.    Workplace health and Safety. A new light will be installed in front of the Cart Shed to assist Pro Shop staff.

9.    Competition Report. Simon had agreed to email MC members with the proposed competition program for 2024. Club members will be participating in the GCDGA Champion of Champions competition on December 17.

10.                        Correspondence in. Reply from Andrew Leventis (GA) with advice on making our 15^th hole a call-up hole. It was agreed to follow this advice in signage to members at both tee and green.

11.                       Correspondence out. Reply to Andrew Leventis.

12. Matters listed for consideration and General Business not discussed elsewhere.

·       It was agreed to increase Graeme Andrews’ salary by 5% (approximating the CPI increase) from January 1.

·       A grant application has been submitted to foster women and girls in golf. We are not eligible to apply for the First Aid grant mentioned at the previous meeting as we are not a registered charity.

·       In view of the recent fires involving self-propelled electric carts of the walk-behind type, Golf Australia has recommended that Clubs do not permit charging and storage of these carts on the Club premises. The MC agreed that no storage and charging will be provided for such golf carts and noted that we currently do not have any.

·       A further decision is that electric carts which are charged on the premises should be subject to compulsory testing and tagging as suggested by GA. More information will be obtained.

·       The MC strongly supported the name tagging of selected trees on the course, as suggested by Leon Radunz and Bruce Bartle.

·       Gerry and John are to review insurance cover for the Club, taking note of comments from our insurance broker Louise Nelson.

·       Gerry will attend a zoom meeting organized by Golf Australia about Risk Management for Golf Clubs, to be held on December 14.

·       Website review: To address the problem that some service providers have been regarding our website as insecure e.g. Telstra and not allowing access, .au has been added to our domain name, which should resolve the problem. Gerry will talk to Bjorn about adding a membership application/renewal form and updating the charges for visiting golfers.

14.                        Next meeting and closure. The next meeting will be held on Wednesday January 17, 2024. The president closed the meeting at 3.30 pm.

Minutes prepared by John de Jersey, Secretary, TMGC.