Tennis Club Executive Board Meeting
Tuesday, February 27, 2024
In Person Meeting in Cribari Patio Room
In Attendance: voting members: President Ruth Liu, vice-president Gene Mariani, past president Randy Shaw, Tina Parsley, Nancy Domingo, Karen Hillis, Cheryl Diltz, Lolovic Shaw, Don Clarke, Roy Pennington, Jayme Dickson, Lynn Dickson, Marty Funcell, plus non-voting members Brett Foreman, Sherry Benz, Peggy Seidel, Phyllis Seeger, Betty Olsen, and Joy Rem.
President Ruth Liu called the meeting to order at 7:02 p.m. and presented the January minutes. Roy, club secretary, noted the omission of a word in the minutes which has been corrected in the official posting of the minutes. Minutes were subsequently approved as submitted with the correction.
Communication: Don Clarke reported that he had transmitted several articles to the Tennis Club members concerning various subjects. Those in attendance expressed their appreciation for his efforts.
Court Manager: Marty Funcell gave a detailed summary to each board member. His notes are filed with the board minutes. Marty reported that Brett Foreman had installed shelves and hooks in the tennis shed. These accommodate umbrellas, brooms, blowers, and other items. Brett shared a number of photos of the completed work. The court clocks are an on-going problem due to sun and battery usage. A work order has been submitted for multiple clocks (clock on court 1 is not functioning), and it is proposed that a large outdoor digital clock be installed on the south side of courts 2/3. Brett proposed investigating the use of solar clocks which might alleviate the battery issue. Another on-going concern is the cracks on some courts (especially 1 and 2). It had been proposed for The Villages staff to attempt a court repair in some of the “green area”. Marty indicated that a meeting with the VGCC staff (Clay Curtin) did not materialize as Clay was a no-show. Bins for first aid have moved from the courts back into the storage bins adjacent to the courts as a means to prevent water damage. The court address signage is still unresolved. Marty has been persistent in attempting to find a solution to this issue. Following several communications with VGCC staff, Marty will soon file a work order. Marty reminded the board of the lost and found items (3) are now in the assigned bins. Cost for first aid items totaled $35.24. Brett’s expenses for shelving in the storage bins are approximately $150. His invoice for materials will be submitted.
Members at Large: Jayme Dickson (Open House/Jump Start lead person) reported that the banner for the tournament has been ordered and will be in place at the entrance of The Villages and then moved to the tennis courts (fencing inside of court 3) for the event. Jayme will work with the Tennis Club hospitality crew for event refreshments. Brett proposed that liability waivers be available for each participant and forms completed before entering the courts.
Membership: Cheryl reported that the club has received no new members. Cheryl has been in contact with a resident/club member that questioned whether membership is required to use the courts with her visiting grandchildren. Since club membership is not a requirement, it was resolved that her dues will be refunded as she requested.
Treasurer: Tina Parsley submitted a detailed financial report dated 1/31/2024. The treasury balance at the end of 2023 was $8,805.25. January’s expenses totaled $26.02, and the months
income was zero. Thus the checking account balance as of 1/31/2024 was $8,779.23. The ball machine fund remains at $5000, and the scholarship fund $23,595.01. Tina is awaiting a response from a bank regarding a means to invest the scholarship funds. A budget meeting with Tina, Randy, and Ruth was held, and the net result is this year’s budget is extremely close to that of the past year with expenses estimated at $7,650.
Master Scheduler: Jayme has reviewed the court schedule and reported that all courts have been reserved for upcoming events until August. Betty reported that she has encountered some difficulty in reserving the key for the ice machine. Some confusion was noted between the dates requested by the Tennis Club (Sep 29) for the club championship awards banquet and what was confirmed by The Villages. It was then noted that due to scheduling conflicts the tennis banquet would be held the week after the actual tennis activities.
Social/Hospitality: Nancy Domingo (Andrea Alvarez was out of town) reported that the menu was set for the Prescott Tournament. Nancy will reserve the viewing area and ice machine key for this event.
Tournaments: Karen Hillis reported that Joy Rem and Cheryl Diltz will co-chair the Prescott Tournament. Sign up is still underway and Karen encouraged all to register and work to have other Tennis Club members participate.
Old Business:
Rossmoor: Gene Mariani, event coordinator, reported that the draw was complete. A committee consisting of Peggy, Betty, Sherry, Roy, and Gene had met to select potential team members. Gene subsequently contacted all the players.
VTL: Roy reported that the team draft had occurred, and all 4 teams were filled. Captains include Betty Olsen, Sherry Benz, Jim Murphy, and Roy. Betty and Sherry were singled out as they have volunteered to captain for each of the 3 seasons of the VTL. Roy provided information about the number of players per team, dates, and documentation has been provided to all captains.
USTA: Phyllis Seeger reported that the men’s 55+ 7.0 team was moving forward. Brett Foreman will captain the team. Brett is checking with players to insure they are USTA members and have registered for the team. Phyllis noted that the league begins on March 18, and the schedule is normally available about a week in advance. Once the schedule is available Brett will request the viewing area be reserved for after match activities.
Scholarship Foundation: Ruth indicated that Scholarship Foundation Chairperson Wendy Ferguson was not able to attend the board meeting. Ruth and Wendy have scheduled a meeting with the school, and with this being the 20th year of the scholarship program it is planned to involve some of the past recipients in this year’s activities.
Pickle Ball on Courts 5 and 6: The Pickle Ball Club has requested that the Tennis Club grant use of courts 5 and 6 for a tournament on April 6 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. During the January board meeting the board was told that a formal request would be presented at the February board meeting. Sherry Benz (representing the Pickle Ball Club) stated that she was not informed of a formal request. Phyllis reported that the a joint tennis/pickle ball committee had met and recommended that this motion be approved. It was noted that in the January meeting the discussion focused on means to mark the lines, what kind of nets would be used, and how nets would be secured. Solutions brought to the committee were painters tape or a chalk line and portable nets in place of altering the existing tennis nets. It was then questioned about potential
court damage and removal of the tape or chalk line. A vote was taken and passed by the board to allow the use of courts 5 and 6. Sherry thought painters tape would be preferred and the board agreed to it’s use. The proposal did not state what would be used for nets, (tennis or temporary), and it was not included in the vote.
New Business:
Sunday Tennis use of Courts 5 and 6: This issue brought a broad and varied discussion of the use of the tennis courts. It was agreed by all that Jay Desai has done a wonderful job in organizing the Sunday morning tennis for many months. The name of the group was briefly discussed, but the real issue is the number of courts to be used and means of court reservation. Phyllis expressed that for years individuals have requested to reserve more than one court on a weekly basis. This idea had been rejected by the boards as it was determined that all club members should exercise the same method in reserving a court per club rules. A couple of years ago it was agreed that Jay could have the use of courts 1-4 on Sunday mornings from 8:30 to 10:30. Jay subsequently organized his group and weekly play commenced. Since the group was designated as a drop-in, some club members arrived to play but were then turned away as it was not technically a drop-in. Wanting the group to expand, the Sunday morning group had one or more players reserve courts 5 and 6 for this same time period. This allowed the Sunday morning group to then have all 6 courts for use. This presented some issues as other Tennis Club members were restricted from having court access during this popular Sunday morning time slot. Some proposals were presented; including, all club members should have the same opportunity for court reservation, having two time slots (such as 8:30 and 10:00) with play on 3 or 4 courts which would free up some courts, starting at an earlier time which may accommodate all wishing to play, and playing on more than one day. The group of board members that frequent the Sunday morning tennis group were not in favor of any of these ideas. No decision was reached regarding this topic.
Prescott Tournament: Noted earlier in the minutes.
Open House: Noted earlier in the minutes.
Fireside Chat: Ruth informed the board that The Villages Team has an open invitation to clubs and organizations for a Fireside Chat. Registration is open to the first 50 to register, and the meeting is held on the last Wednesday of most months from 3:00 to 4:00. Ruth encouraged all to attend.
Meeting adjourned at 9:17 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Roy Pennington