Fanny Chapman Pool Board Meeting

FANNY CHAPMAN BOARD OF MANAGERS MINUTES OF THE MEETING SEPTEMBER 25, 2023 The meeting was called to order by Bob Shafer at 7:01 P.M. Present were Bob Shaffer, Lori Howard, Rebecca Masters, Dave Ricci, Ed Walsh, and Alan Krach. Joining the meeting via zoom was Amy Parenti. Also present were Caroline Brinker, Doylestown Borough Liaison, Drew Sterner, Pool Manager, Sherry Petrakis, Swim and Dive Team Parents Association representative, and Stephanie Downey, Swim and Dive Team Parents Association Vice-President, and Jessica Martin, Swim and Dive Team Parents Association Secretary. Absent were Rob Purdy and Brian Lange. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES The minutes were amended to show that Amy had made the presentation for the Publicity and Marketing Committee, Ed made a motion to approve the minutes, the motion was seconded by Becki, and the minutes were approved unanimously. FINANCE - ALAN & BRIAN The Board reviewed invoices totaling $4,790.90. Alan noted all invoices were for routine pool operations, Caroline informed the Board that costs to close the pool were not included as the bill for those services had just arrived and would be shown on next month’s report. Lori made a motion to approve the payment of the invoices, the motion was seconded by Dave, and the motion was approved unanimously. Caroline informed the Board the proposed operating budget for 2024 would be included and discussed at the October meeting, and things to be considered would be membership fees, the possibility of instituting an activity fee, and raising other fees, she provided a breakdown of member fees over the last eight years for the Board to review prior to the next Board meeting. Drew indicated he was suggesting raising the number of memberships sold before they are frozen, a discussion of when the membership discount fee should be set, raising the prices of water and soda, and raising the price of daily visitor fees. OPERATIONS - ALAN & ROB Al noted operations for the season have concluded and the pools have been drained and winterized. Caroline reported that Crossland Excavating had completed the running of a camera through the sewer line from the pool building to the main sewer line, and the have reported that the piping has checked out satisfactory, and no repairs have been proposed at this time. Crossland Excavating fee was only $225.00. PROGRAMS - LORI & BECKI Lori indicated that the pool is now closed and no action regarding programs was necessary. Kevin McCann thanked the Board for providing pool space to initiate the Masters Swimming Program. Kevin indicated that the Masters Program had included perhaps 45 participants of various swim skill levels and backgrounds ranging in age from 18 to 70. Kevin stated there had been a regular group of approximately 25 to 30 swimmers filling 4 lanes and completing 2,500 to 3,000 yards per session. Kevin reported there had been incredibly positive feedback from the participants. Kevin reported that everyone is interested in doing it all again next summer, he indicated at the very least they hoped to be able to have the same pool time as they had this year. Kevin presented several suggestions on how the program might he tweaked to provide more pool time to more swimmers. He suggested the Board consider an on deck coach who could provide stroke instruction, and formally registering the Master’s Program with US Master’s Swimming. In addition, Kevin questioned if more pool time could be provided, in the morning, on Friday, or perhaps on weekends. Kevin wondered if a Masters Meet could be scheduled at Fanny Chapman. Kevin told the Board he would continue to solicit suggestions from participants and the Masters Swim community, and the Board agreed to hear from him again next March or April to discuss potential changes to the Program and/or expanding it. PERSONNEL - ROB & ED Lori and Becki reported with the season now completed, they see no need to make any changes at this time. Caroline provided a copy of the hours and payment comparison for this year as compared to last summer, it showed that more hours had been worked by staff, some of that could be attributed to weather which is uncontrollable, more money was paid to staff, however that was to a certain extent anticipated due to raised hourly rates to entice staff to work at a time when summer seasonable staffing has proved more difficult. PERSONNEL - ROB & ED Ed stated it was too early to address next seasons staff, Drew indicated he would update the Board with commitments from staff to fill positions next summer after the first of the year. Tanya Barone the Fanny Chapman Head Swim Coach was present and provided an update on the season and provide her thoughts on the program. Tanya informed the Board she has been in discussions with both Sherry and Drew in regard what she feels in needed going forward and what changes should be made. Tanya reported the obvious, that the 10 and under and 12 and under age groups are very large and their size leads to issues including practice time and at swim meets. Tanya wondered if some time could be freed up using the new pool in the morning for practice, she indicated use of the additional pool space would require the addition of two coaches which could be paid on an hourly rate. Tanya also revisited an idea which was discussed previously which is having a pre-team lesson program, lessons for swimmers who are interested in being on the team, but have not, as yet, reached the skill level to compete legally during swim meets, the pre-team could specialize in stroke instruction and practice. Tanya did acknowledge that swim meets are long, however she noted that the Fanny Chapman home meets and away meets run about the same time, over 3 hours in length, however with the help of the Swim Team Parents, the home meets run more efficiently allowing more swimmers to participate than the away meets. Tanya reported one coach had asked if it would be possible to limit the number of heats for each age group. Tanya addressed the suggestion that Fanny Chapman should field two teams, “A” and “B” teams, she did not think that was a good idea and was not sure it could work. Tanya noted that other league teams such as Harleysville and Souderton also filed large teams. Tanya reported that the season had been a success, the team was undefeated, and had competed well in both the league “A” championships and the “B” championships, and noted the championships had been held at a meter pool this year which added a different element. Tanya stated that she has hopes that most of her coaches will sign up for another year, however she expects that her senior coaches may have other demands involving their education which might make it impossible for them to return. Tanya stated she would start to get commitments in January about next summer’s staff and she would report back to the Board with her findings. In addition, Tanya reported that some of the team’s equipment is aging and things such as kick board and fins should be budgeted to be replaced. Tanya did report that one individual had cut their leg on a storage box which needed 11 stitches. PUBLICITY & MARKETING - AMY & DAVE Amy reported that the season ending article had been printed in the September edition of The Cardinal. Dave indicated that he is still looking into various Facebook questions. LONG RANGE PLANNING - BOB & ALAN Caroline reported the camera study of the Pool’s sewer line had been completed and fortunately no repair was deemed to be necessary at this time. Alan revisited the WIFI and Facebook issues previously discussed and indicated those expenses should be included in the upcoming budget. Other potential projects discussed over the last year include the construction of a possible swale at the top of the upper pool to divert run-off following heavy rains, the resurfacing of the floor of the original pool, the replacement of the gutter system around the original pool, the replacement or repainting of the flag pole, and the addition of an additional lane at the upper pool. Drew also made it know that the floor of the original pool has many “hollow” spots in the floor, particularly in the 18" to 4' area, a test spot was treated prior to this season, however that was just one small area, and eventually the floor of the pool will need to be addressed as part of a large project. Drew also reported that the original pool gutter system, at this time, is still functioning well and its replacement is not urgent at this time. Drew did indicated he has spoken to Don Kelly and some budget provision should be included to address the flaking of the paint on the walls of the original pool, it needs sand blasting prior to repainting. MEMBERSHIP & RULES - ED & BECKI With the season over, Ed indicated there was no need to change the rules. It was agreed that membership status and fees would be addressed as part of the new budget to be discussed at the October Board meeting. 100TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION - ROB, AMY, BECKI & ALAN Becki told the Board a first committee meeting had been held, it was generally an organizing meeting just to get things started. Amy reported that since the pool was officially opened on June 21, 1927, it was decided that the 100th anniversary celebration should be held Sunday June 20, 2027. It was reported the next meeting will be held in November, and it was reported a drive to solicit photographs from all aspects of the Pool over the 100 years would advertised, photos of the early days, the swim team, and lessons could be organized in some sort of Facebook type page. Amy hoped that relatives of the original Pool Board members should be sought out and sources such as Christine Harrison and the Doylestown Historical Society should be used as a valuable resource. POOL MANAGER’S REPORT - DREW Drew reported the Pool had membership revenues of $642,300.00 this summer an increase from last year. Drew confirmed Kevin’s earlier report regarding the newly launched Masters swim program, it was a success with regular participants and had only generated minimal complaints from a couple of the regular adult swimmers. Drew indicated that there are concrete repairs needed for areas around the dive pool, also that the flow-meters had been installed as required, and the main pool concrete flooring, especially in the shallow end, is still in need of more extensive repairs and the pool’s flaking paint should be aggressively addressed. On other matters previously discussed, the high dive board needs resurfacing, sand in the filters for the dive, upper and lower pools needs to be replaced, and electrical inspection of the pool complex needs to be completed prior to the start of next season, and the stucco around the pump room door needs to be repaired. Drew noted there is a new roof leak in the women’s locker room, the water fountain at the upper pool needs to be fixed, and the toilet in the family restroom needs a new wax ring. Drew informed the Board he thinks that the number of family memberships could be raised up to 860 for next season, however, upon additional thought, the offering of an activity fee for certain program offerings might reduce the number of family memberships. Drew thought the Board should revisit the price of guest/day passes as he noted those prices have not been increased in recent years and are considerable lower than what other nearby pools charge. Drew presented a list of proposed capital expenditures for next season for consideration, some were annual routine such as new tables, chairs and umbrellas, staff clothing and the resurfacing of a diving board, others were not annual expenditures such as a new battery for the access lift chair, a pressure washer, upgrading the internet and repairing the roof of the women’s locker room. Drew confirmed the pool has been winterized and put to sleep for the winter. SWIM DIVE AND SWIM TEAM PARENTS’ REPORT - SHERRY Sherry introduced both Stephanie Downey and Jessica Martin of the Parents Board. Stephanie indicated she is the Vice-president of their Board, and explained she oversees the volunteers needed to run the meets, that the last season was a crazy good successful swim and dive season, Stephanie stated that the volunteers change every year necessitating constant training in order for the meets to run smoothly. Jessica indicated she is the secretary of the parents association, it was her first year with the association and she foresees the creation of a parents handbook as a reference for future use. Sherry complimented both Fred Dunn and Rachael Ford for the work the did with the dive team, and stated she has had discussions with Tanya asking for her feed back regarding the length of the swim meets, the size of the team and the team’s practice times. Sherry informed the Board the the Parents Board had agreed to increase the volunteer fee for non- volunteers to $200.00. Sheery indicated that their kickoff meeting for next seasons will be held in January, and she stated she has hopes that a swim-a-thon and a car wash fundraiser could be held. Sherry proposed that the storage shed which had been previously discussed be upgraded to a snack shed located near the baby pool, it could be used for storage and as a snack bar during meets, it would eliminate the necessity of moving stored things such as water at each meet. Sherry suggested that the Board could use the shed during pool hours to sell snacks and/or swag. Sherry was to provide more information such as the specifications of the shed and what would be necessary, such as a pad, for its installation. It was left undecided where such a shed might be located. Bob asked for a clarification as to the status of a new record board, Sherry indicated she would have to research quotes and get back to the Board. Sherry reported that the next Bux-Mont Swim League Meeting would be held on October 11th. CORRESPONDENCE There was none. PUBLIC COMMENT There was none. OLD/NEW BUSINESS Rob suggested that the Board look into better, higher yielding investments for its reserve account noting that interest rates have been rising recently. Becki recommended that the season ending survey next year be expanded to include pool members not just pool members associated with the swim team. Caroline reminded the Board she would be including a preliminary budget for review prior to its submission to Borough Council for their approval at the October meeting, she suggested that the Board review it prior to the next meeting as decisions on fees and salaries will need to be finalized. ADJOURNMENT Alan made a motion the meeting be adjourned, Dave seconded the motion, and the motion was approved unanimously at 9:13 P.M. Respectfully Submitted aBk