FEBRUARY 2007 NEWSLETTER

Annual Meeting Report

The Annual Club Business Meeting was held on Sunday January 21st. The 2006 financial report was presented along with the 2007 budget and reports from the various board committees.  The financial report and budget are posted at the club and extra copies are available from Jason if you are interested.  Since many of you were unable to make the meeting, a summary of the meeting "highlights" is presented here:

2006 Financial Report - We had another good year with the financial report showing a net profit of over $42,000 for the year.  This was about $35,000 better than the budget projected.  The reason for the majority of this was a savings of over $25,000 on golf course maintenance expenses.  The main savings here was in salary for the assistant superintendent who left for another job early in the year and was not replaced.  Joe was also under budget on his other expenses.  Other reasons for the good year were good sales in the pro shop, increased food sales (particularly after the hire of Ruth Englebart), savings on utilities due to a mild winter, and increased cart shed revenue due to the new shed. 

Capital Improvement Fee - By now you have all received the letter from the Board announcing the new capital improvement fee of $10 per month for each golf membership in addition to regular dues starting April 1, 2007.  The club is doing well and regular dues are able to cover the normal operating expenses of the club.  This fee will enable the club to address other significant needs for improvements on the course and in the clubhouse in the coming years.  The first project will be replacement of the aging watering system on the "old" nine holes.  The Long Range Planning Committee now in place will make recommendations for future projects. 

2007 Budget - The 2007 budget assumes an increase of 10 memberships, a $5 per month dues increase starting April 1, 2007, and an increase in the cart shed fee of $10 per year to $230.  With these assumptions, the budget projects a profit of about $15,000 for the year.  In addition to normal increases in salary, budget lines with significant increases are Insurance (+$8,000), Depreciation (+$7,000), Interest Expense from the load renewal at a higher rate (+ $6,000), and Real Estate Taxes (+$10,000).  In addition we will not get the savings from the assistant superintendent salary we got last year.  The Board had a long discussion about the need for the dues increase.  Without the increase, the budget was essentially break even for the year.  Since the budget included a membership increase, the board decided that it was the fiscally responsible thing to do to increase the dues to ensure a positive year in case the membership did not increase as planned.  The board is committed to keeping Indianola Country Club as the most affordable private club in the area while continuing to make improvements to the club.

Election Results: Board of Directors: Nickie Brown, Nate Ohnemus, and Brian Poindexter were elected for 3 year terms.  Board of Trustees: Al Blue was elected for a 5 year term.  Thanks to the outgoing members Matt Jones of the Board of Directors and Frank Colella of the Board of Trustees.  It is anticipated that a board member will resign at the next meeting due to a job change.  If you would like to be considered for the board appointed replacement let someone on the board know.