(Aug. 4, 2016) Racquet sports players in Ocean Pines now have a “universal signup” date, May 1 of each year, following a 4-3 vote by the board of directors last Thursday.
Director Jack Collins, at the request of the racquet sports advisory committee, proposed the board adopt the new date during a meeting last month, but that was tabled by a 4-1 vote.
Previously, registration for racquet sports membership was staggered throughout the year. Collins said that often caused confusion, as well as lapsed memberships.
Director Bill Cordwell argued that passing the motion would be a “slippery slope,” because an advisory committee went “over the general manager” to bring a discussion to the board.
“I don’t like that an advisory committee wants to go around the management that we have here and bring something to the board to get it done, because they didn’t get the answer that they wanted [from management],” he said.
Director Dave Stevens argued that the committee was an advisory panel of the board – not one designed to report to the general manager.
“They brought it through their liaison who, appropriately, made a motion,” Stevens said. “They didn’t go around anyone.”
General Manager Bob Thompson said his major issue with the change was that membership dates were routinely set when the administration does its budget deliberations.
“I don’t think it would be appropriate to do so midway through the season – it should be something that should come up during the budget process and [be] considered in that process and presented as we do with everything else … that’s when this should happen – not midway through the summer,” he said.
He added that he had discussions with administration and was in the process of discussing the potential change with sales staff. Apparently, he had not spoken with members of the committee.
“I think if we’re going to make a change, we ought to consider all of the areas where membership is impacted,” he said, adding that the appropriate sales strategy would be to allow for the purchase a of membership when a person is willing to pay rather than setting a single, fixed date.
“If we’re running business-like, take the money when the customer is willing to pay,” he said. “We should consider those things.
“What I’m recommending is that we don’t pass the motion to make a change now in the middle of the year until we’ve had time to vet the rest of it and then make it as part of the standard budget process when we can look at all the different memberships,” Thompson added.
“You make a case, I’ll give you that, but you’re asking to delay any decision until the next budget cycle, which would be sometime … in February 2017?” Collins asked.
“We’re in mid-season and we’re changing our rate structure,” Thompson said. “That’s just not a usual practice for us. So I’d recommend we stick to the usual practice. I’m open to consider switching to May 1 if it’s the most reasonable solution.
“Parsing it for different individual groups without looking at the whole just seems odd to me, and we’re also going outside the regular process when those changes typically occur. For those two reasons, I would wait and follow the normal process,” he added.
A majority of the directors disagreed, and Vice President Cheryl Jacobs voted with Stevens, Collins and Director Tom Herrick to adopt the new universal date.
Director Jack Collins, at the request of the racquet sports advisory committee, proposed the board adopt the new date during a meeting last month, but that was tabled by a 4-1 vote.
Previously, registration for racquet sports membership was staggered throughout the year. Collins said that often caused confusion, as well as lapsed memberships.
Director Bill Cordwell argued that passing the motion would be a “slippery slope,” because an advisory committee went “over the general manager” to bring a discussion to the board.
“I don’t like that an advisory committee wants to go around the management that we have here and bring something to the board to get it done, because they didn’t get the answer that they wanted [from management],” he said.
Director Dave Stevens argued that the committee was an advisory panel of the board – not one designed to report to the general manager.
“They brought it through their liaison who, appropriately, made a motion,” Stevens said. “They didn’t go around anyone.”
General Manager Bob Thompson said his major issue with the change was that membership dates were routinely set when the administration does its budget deliberations.
“I don’t think it would be appropriate to do so midway through the season – it should be something that should come up during the budget process and [be] considered in that process and presented as we do with everything else … that’s when this should happen – not midway through the summer,” he said.
He added that he had discussions with administration and was in the process of discussing the potential change with sales staff. Apparently, he had not spoken with members of the committee.
“I think if we’re going to make a change, we ought to consider all of the areas where membership is impacted,” he said, adding that the appropriate sales strategy would be to allow for the purchase a of membership when a person is willing to pay rather than setting a single, fixed date.
“If we’re running business-like, take the money when the customer is willing to pay,” he said. “We should consider those things.
“What I’m recommending is that we don’t pass the motion to make a change now in the middle of the year until we’ve had time to vet the rest of it and then make it as part of the standard budget process when we can look at all the different memberships,” Thompson added.
“You make a case, I’ll give you that, but you’re asking to delay any decision until the next budget cycle, which would be sometime … in February 2017?” Collins asked.
“We’re in mid-season and we’re changing our rate structure,” Thompson said. “That’s just not a usual practice for us. So I’d recommend we stick to the usual practice. I’m open to consider switching to May 1 if it’s the most reasonable solution.
“Parsing it for different individual groups without looking at the whole just seems odd to me, and we’re also going outside the regular process when those changes typically occur. For those two reasons, I would wait and follow the normal process,” he added.
A majority of the directors disagreed, and Vice President Cheryl Jacobs voted with Stevens, Collins and Director Tom Herrick to adopt the new universal date.