Minutes for the Monday, April 4, 2022, LTM Meeting 5:30, Odell Weeks
Submitted by Cheryl Breidenbach
The meeting was held indoors at OW. In attendance were members of the Leadership, George Carr, Ben Stevens and Harve Mobley. Also in attendance were player reps, Marian Garcia , Cheryl Breidenbach, Leslie McCowen, Bob Fogle, Heidi Abele, Froggie Rappoport, Steve Haertel, Judy Degregorio, Chris Tubbs, Jay Wilson, John McCowen, Linda Blake, and Faith Loeb. Also in attendance were Joyce Noland, Brian Eberhardt and Lee Fox.
Meeting called to order by Harve. Minutes were taken by Cheryl.
The items discussed in the meeting were:
Feedback from Player Representatives
Quiet month. Nothing to report.
Old Business
March Communications – Ben
1. City Challenge Reminder
2. Odell Weeks Rate Change
3. Odell Weeks Rate Change Clarification
4. Evening Hours at Gregg Park
5. New Check in at Gregg Park
6. Referees Needed. Currently we have 6. Still need more. If interested the Ben Lacy should be contacted directly.
New Business
A – Odell Weeks Rate Increase
A meeting with Parks and Recreation will be held on Thursday(4/7) at 10 am. Various representatives from Aiken PB will attend. Many present at the meeting were concerned about the $10 daily fee which was implemented on April 1. Also the price for PB usage was $75 and will now be raised to $150. This increase would include usage of the BB courts and weight room too. Chris brought up that $150/year was not a bad price compared to what other gyms charge.
Ben explained that the city hired a consultant, Clemson Extension, to come in and look and see how they handled things with the recreation centers. The consultant recommended the rate increase was the way to go.
Faith is concerned about future clinics and practices for the new people. Currently there is not a fee. Bob is concerned that no one interviewed current “customers” for these changes. He wanted Ben to ask if they were customer focused. Bottom line is that the yearly and daily fee increase has a lot of Aiken PB members concerned. They also brought up that they thought these increases would hurt the people using the BB courts.
Ben will bring up that a $2/$3 guest fee may be a compromise/suggestion for the city.
It was noted that people can play at Smith Hazel for $3/day.
B – Transition of Calendar to John and Brian from George. We thank John and Brian to work with the calendar because we are able to use the indoor courts…scheduling and interacting with the City is very important too. It’s a big deal! So thanks!
C – Need Help - Ben
1. Need Player Rep 3.0H
2. LT Replacement for George. Departing in June.
3. Need person to manage Bulletin Boards.
4. Need Social Activities Organizer. Every Thursday in May is available. Cost is $40. We were not charged prior to now. Ben will bring this up Thursday with the City people. Pat and Tanya will not take over the Social organization.
Side note….It was suggested that it might be nice for someone to bring snacks to this meeting.
If we do sandwiches please remember that money needs to be collected. We could also do pot luck. Marian volunteered to handle the arrangements. Ben will check to see if May 19 is available and reserve inside double room. Marian will put wording together and give to Ben so he can put on the website. People will need to sign up for this. Pat has paper goods. Drinks can be paid for by Aiken PB because we have surplus for this.
5. Junior Tournament volunteers needed – Mo is not present so no information.
6. No outdoor and social tournament will be held as we originally decided in January.
D - Odell Weeks - FYI
1. April schedule - 9am-8pm M-F, Sat 9:30-4:30pm, Sun 1:30-4:30pm
2. NPC Saturday April 9 cancelled as no one signed up probably because of the Masters. Next NPC May 7. BenL
3. NPP Saturday May 21 - Linda and Faith
4. BenL lessons Fridays
5. Ron Skill Rating April 11 4-8pm
E - Smith-Hazel - FYI
1. April Schedule MW 9:00-noon
F - Gregg Park - FYI
1. April schedule T, W(eve), Th, F(eve), Sat
2. NPC Saturday April 23 9:30-11:30
3. NPP Saturday April 30 11:00-12:30
4. New Barriers built/placed by Mo in place
G - Financial Report – Tanya
Ben reported for Tanya.
- A March Gladness Reconciliation was presented. The income was $1672 with expenses listed in detail as $1204.44. This left a surplus of $467.45 (thus allowing Aiken PB to supply drinks at the social).
The current balance is $1195.73, which includes the $710 deduction of the donated money which was given to Bob Fogel to give to the Middle School to begin PB. (See minutes from March 2022)
- Account Migration
H - 2022 City Challenge - June 11 at Gregg Park- Joyce
Aiken City Challenge Invitational. Medals will be given out for individual for each division for first, second, and third places. The cost will be $25 for first event and $11 for second event. Our thoughts are that we are not going to do any more RR because our Aiken people are not that interested and enthusiastic about these competitions. For instance, 37% of the participants of last RR, were from Aiken. However, there seems to be interest in 2.5 division.
I – Palmetto Tournament – Bob
Bob sent a draft budget to city. The budget is $18,000 which includes $6000 in sponsorships. $14,000 is the estimated expense. Bob also sent a draft of the tournament announcement to the city. This will be put on our website in late April. He also updated the sponsor/vendor package and is offering a real paddle vs. commemorative paddle.
Registration website is being updated. Registration will begin on May, which is a month earlier than last year. The dates of the tournament are September 9-11. The tournament will be listed on pickleball tournaments.com
J - Ambassador Report - Ben not here. So no information.
1. Referees Still Needed
K. Becoming a club. Ben explained that we don’t really have anything to offer as a club. Banking is all Ok with Tanya. So becoming a club is closed for the upcoming future.
Final comments - around the table.
George wondered if we had a scramble if there would be any interest. This would be a social event with no medals, no cost and no levels. George will try to do one in May on a Saturday. Most people think this is a positive event.
Mo is doing Little Mo in May at Smith Hazel and GP.
Sign up to look for new players is not working according to Linda Blake. George has fixed it.
Meeting adjourned at 6:18pm.
Next meeting Monday, May 2, 5:30pm at Odell Week