Executive Committee Meeting Minutes

A regular meeting of the Executive Committee was held on Tuesday evening, May 9, 2023 at the Beach Club. The meeting was called to order at 7:03 p.m. by Sara Casassa.

Sara Casassa – President, Alan Lewis – Vice President, Mary Ellen Morse – Secretary, Craig Seymour – Treasurer, Jeff Ristau – Manager, Alanna Schreck, Julie Veale, Reggie Hall, Laura Schwartz and Katie Johnson

Secretary’s Report – Mary Ellen Morse

A motion was made to approve the April Executive Committee meeting minutes. The motion was seconded and carried. The minutes will be posted on the website.

Treasurer’s Report – Craig Seymour

  • The financial report was provided for review.
  • Annual Dues were invoiced on 3/27
  • We are slightly ahead of revenues for the same time last year.
  • Expenses are in-line with prior years with the exception of maintenance and repairs, including costs associated with the pool repairs and water.
  • Craig will be opening the Capital Reserve account at Members First Credit Union tomorrow. The initial deposit will be $200,000 and the interest rate will be 4.75%. The initial deposit includes last year’s Capital Improvements fees plus the deferred revenue from previous application fees. This account will likely generate approximately $800 a month in new revenue.
  • The Financial Report was accepted unanimously.

 

Manager’s Report – Jeff Ristau

  • Jeff provided an update on ongoing operations.
  • A new Duraflex 14ft diving board has been ordered and is expected to arrive in 10-14 weeks. The current board has been assessed and deemed safe to use in the meantime.
  • The cracked plaster on the pool liner has been repaired and the pool has been refilled. The pool will need to be re-plastered next spring as there are still many areas of bubbling plaster that have not yet erupted. This work should be covered under the warranty. Jeff will confirm, in writing, with South Shore Gunite that repairs/replacement of the plaster lining will be covered under warranty together with the cost of re-filling the water for a second time.
  • Dave Seaward finished repairing the north locker wall and it is ready to be painted. The cost for repairs was approximately $3,000.
  • Most staff positions have been filled. David Shwartzer has been hired as the assistant manager and began two weeks ago. Tara Mack will coaching the swim team with Nick and the other guards. Nicole will be working with Tara and Nick on swim programming once summer swim schedules have been released. Jeff is still looking to hire two cooks.
  • The sea deck was just put in and the main deck is being stained. Once completed, tables, chairs and flower boxes will be put back in place. The main building floor will be buffed prior to opening.

Membership

As of May 8, 2023, the membership counts are as follows:

Family – 96

Single -92

Spousal – 86

Total Number of Members – 649

Swim – Katie Johnson

  • Nick, Tara and Nicole will be running the swim team this season.
  • Bob Fernald contacted Katie about an open water swim commemorating the 50th Anniversary of “not having to look at super tankers when we swim”. This summer is the 50th Anniversary of a community effort called “Save our Shores”  which was an effort to stave off the development of a major oil refinery in Durham that was connected to the Isles of Shoals via above ground and below ocean piping.  The swim is Appledore to old Pirates Cove beach. Katie will continue to provide updates as permitting and Town approvals are obtained and information will be passed along to members should any wish to participate.
  • The beach clean up has been scheduled for August 20th.

Social – Alanna Schreck

Alanna continues to work with Jeff on event planning for this season.

 

Facilities – Alan Lewis

No facilities report provided this month.

Long Range Planning – Reggie Hall

  • Ambit provided a preliminary engineering schematic.
  • Reggie will be reaching out to contractors to obtain estimates for cost of work. He will also explore opportunities for a phased approach. Once he has obtained estimates, Reggie will provide to the EC for discussion. Should the EC vote to further explore constructing a revetment, plans and associated costs will be provided to the Board of Directors and a vote will be held as to whether the Club will proceed.

New Business

  1. The EC discussed whether to hold a membership meeting despite being over the 635 membership cap. It was noted that the EC may conduct a membership meeting and is not obligated to admit new members if current membership counts exceed the membership cap. A motion was then made to have a membership meeting. The motion was seconded and carried.
    • The EC discussed whether it should admit new members from the waitlist despite being over the 635 membership cap.
    • A discussion ensued around capacity restraints and the continued organic growth of the membership. Reggie noted that current projections indicate membership counts will reach 700 by 2030 without admitting any new members.
    • In 2023, there are 10 members eligible for legacy membership.
    • The committee discussed the current 635 person cap and whether the cap included the upper deck capacity. The EC agreed that the addition of the upper deck would allow for additional capacity but recognized the limitations associated with use of the upper deck (i.e. members under 16 and this members unable to climb stairs). The committee will continue to assess the methodology used to determine the membership cap.
    • The committee reviewed the usage data gathered from the 2022 season. While members felt the usage data provided valuable information in assessing the membership cap, members felt it was necessary to gather usage data from this season so trends could be more easily identified and modifications to club configuration, if possible, could be made to accommodate the growing membership (e.g. re-configuring tables to include “2 tops”, etc.).
    • Parking was raised as a significant concern as survey results indicated that some members were not able to attend the Club on particularly busy days due to parking constraints and the Club has no additional parking to offer.
    • A decision was made to review the membership cap after the season so that usage data will be available to provide meaningful direction.
    • A motion was made to adjourn the membership meeting. The motion was seconded and carried.
  1. Annual meeting: The EC discussed the Annual Meeting which will be held on June 25th at 9:00 am at the Club. Committee reports will need to be provided by June 15th so that Jeff Chas sufficient time to have materials printed for members.
  2. Correspondence: Sara shared correspondence received from a member expressing dissatisfaction with the member only days. It was suggested that we remind members of the importance of completing the annual survey as the decision to continue member only days was based on the annual survey results.

Old Business

  1. Sara shared updated drafts of two revised rules related to legacy membership procedure and general membership procedure. All EC members agreed with the proposed language. The updated rules will be included in the new blue book.

A motion was made to adjourn the meeting at 9:21 pm. The motion was seconded and carried.

The Executive Committee will meet Tuesday, June 13, 2023 at 7:00 pm at the Beach Club.

Minutes respectfully submitted by Mary Ellen Morse, Secretary.