MINUTES

Park Lakes Tennis & Paddle Club

Board Meeting – January 21, 2010

Board Members Present: Marty Brown, Glen Cassella, Chas Champenois,

Rose Marie Groves, George Jackson, Jerry Neeff, Meg Richards

Board Members Absent: John Catlett (out of town on business), Nick Roccaforte

Club Members Present: Jesse Silva

Meeting was called to order by President Marty Brown at 7:35 p.m.

Minutes from the December 28, 2009 board meeting were approved. 

Jesse Silva stopped by to present a gift of thanks to Pat Kelleher for her many years of service as Secretary to the board.  Pat was unable to make the meeting and Meg Richards has the gift for Pat. 

Finance – Marty noted that George and Meg need to go to the bank with him in order get signature authority for the Park Lakes bank account.  There is approximately $8,000 in the account. 

          As treasurer, George will check the club’s post office box regularly, and will investigate the contents of the club’s safe deposit box. 

          Insurance – George reported that the insurance bill will be due in March and the amount is approximately $1,700.  He will investigate whether there may be a less expensive policy and what the club’s liability coverage entails. 

          Taxes – Annual tax bill is also coming due ($2,500-2,700)

          Court care – “Court Care” is the name of the company that prepares Park Lakes’ clay courts every spring.  Their fee is the same as last year and the bill for it has been received. 

House and Grounds – Discussion of snow removal – a neighborhood student is paid $60 to shovel the courts and the walkways after every snow.  Chas will look into getting new shovels as the current ones are worn out.  Only plastic shovels can be used on the courts. 

          Fans – Two new fans for the paddle heaters are in and will be installed by Chas this weekend.  He will look into whether the club has been billed for them yet.

          Lights – The left center light on court one is broken and will be replaced by Chas. 

          Restrooms – Jerry O is hired in the summers to do maintenance work at the club, but there is no one scheduled to clean the restrooms in the winter.  In addition, the restrooms are sometimes difficult to get to when there is a lot of snow.  It was suggested that we consider a port-a-potty located near the paddle courts.  Chas will look into the cost. 

          Driveway and parking lot – some of both areas have been repaved, but some are in need of paving.  Onorati does the work for us at very reasonable costs when they have left-over macadam.  Chas will talk with Jesse about who to contact and when they might be able to do more paving for the club. 

          Video monitors – Chas reported that he would like to see two additional monitors installed – one on the paddle court, one on the clay courts.  He will follow up with members Paul Grabow and Andy Bulfer regarding them.

Clay Court 5 – This court does not drain properly.  Last year, Chas placed bales of hay outside the court in order to redirect the water from running down into the buildings, walkways and paddle courts.  He will get together with Paul Grabow and talk with our service provider, Court Care, about what can be done to alleviate this problem. 

Members – It was reported that Jana Ourednik fell and broke her wrist while playing paddle tennis.  The board expressed sympathy and asked Meg to send a card to Jana from the club. 

Membership Dues – Park Lakes has not raised its dues for the past three years, but due to increasing costs, it was proposed that a slight increase be considered.  The following increases were approved by the board:

          Family Membership (including children)        from $945 to $975

          Single Membership                                       from $630 to $650

          Junior Intermediate Membership (18-24)        from $315 to $325

          Junior Membership (under age 18)                from $160 to $165

          Inactive Fee                                                 from $110 to $115

At the club’s current membership level, these increases will provide Park Lakes with nearly $2,000 to cover necessary maintenance and repairs. 

          The bills for membership dues will go out by the end of January and will be due by the end of February.  Meg will look through Pat Kelleher’s files for a copy of the email bill that was sent last year.  Marty will write the cover letter that will accompany the bills. 

Membership Drive & Incentive – The board approved the following: 

During the 2010 calendar year, Park Lakes members who bring a new member into the club will receive a $100 off one year’s membership dues AND the new member will receive a $100 off their first year’s dues. 

In addition, any Park Lakes member who currently holds a Single Membership and upgrades to a Family Membership, will receive $100 off one year’s annual membership dues. 

Membership/Advertising – In an effort to increase membership, there was discussion about ways to promote the club. 

- Currently, the club advertizes in the Mountain Lakes Bulletin which is published monthly and distributed to the entire community.  Meg reported that the cost was approximately $100 per month for a full page ad (the correct amount is actually $65) and George suggested that the club consider running the ads less frequently. 

- It was also suggested that the club look into advertizing through the HUB Lakes swim league and posting notices at the various clubhouses.

- Flyers/signs could also be posted in libraries, tennis shops and realtor offices.

- Another idea was to see if the vendors who advertize in our directory would be willing to post a Park Lakes flyer in their place of business. 

- Lastly, it was recommended that the club look into placing a sign near Route 46 and the Prudential Real Estate office.  This sign would have an arrow directing people to the club’s location. 

It was noted that Park Lakes offers an excellent value to its members.  Although Rockaway River C.C. and Lake Valhalla offer paddle and tennis, their fees are significantly higher.  Deer Lake has two paddle courts, but no league play and their membership is highly restricted. 

Paddle Balls – Many members have been asking to buy paddle balls.  There were three sleeves that Don Estler had bought for the club and had left in the clubhouse.  Meg took these to sell to the members.  Meg will follow up with Don and Jesse to see if there are more available and where we might purchase some in order to make them available to the membership. 

Saturday scrambles – Glen and Chas talked about the success of last Saturday’s scrambles.  It is open to all members and Meg will send an email to the membership about the scrambles.  Men’s play begins at 9am and Mixed at 11:30.  Food is often provided. 

Meeting adjourned at 9:05 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Meg Richards, Board Secretary

The next meeting is scheduled for Thursday, February 18 at 7:30 p.m. in the Clubhouse (aka Paddle Hut.)  Note:  Board meetings are normally held on the third Thursday of the month at 7:30 p.m. in the Clubhouse.  All Park Lakes members are welcome.