SCR asked a question the other day about when RCSC board meetings were cancelled for the summer? I didn't know the answer, so i started digging in the limited materials i have on hand. The only thing i could find was that in 1981, the RCSC board meetings were held year round. It did get pondering why we don't have access to board meeting minutes from years back? I know one of Ben Roloff's goals at SCHOA was to extract any motions made and passed by the board. That way there would be a permanent record of how they got to where they are. All of which brings me to the question in the header; Does history matter? Do we care what decisions were made by previous boards and when they were made? Is it easier to just say; that's yesterday's news? It's not and probably never will be a priority for the RCSC. Here's why: I asked a question when i first got on the board. It was simply, do you know where the documents are that state that golf and 10 pin bowling have to be cost neutral? I was told all of the old records are spread across various locations and not in any real searchable form. I asked why? The answer; plausible deniability. At that point, i realized, whatever happened in the past was meaningless. the organization was focused on operating forward. You can argue, that's not all bad, but in the case of golf, you would be wrong. The obligation in being revenue neutral was that the game would not be subsidized by the non-players. Theoretically all costs attributed to golf should be thrown into a yearly budget total. Then that cost should be broken down so that whatever rounds of golf are played, covers the entirety of the budget. As rounds drop, costs go up. As costs go up, we normally see rounds drop. It's an ugly cycle, and one that almost insures golf becomes too expensive for many to play. One of the ways around it (and i am fine with it), is that PIF monies are used to cover big ticket items. Wells, water distribution, irrigation and those kinds of expenses aren't billed back. The challenge is that boards need be vigilant in not over-spending. Unfortunately, we saw a slew of golfers elected to the board who threw in desert landscaping and expensive course renovations into the mix and those costs exploded. That's a topic for another time. This exercise is far more simple. I am curious if in 2019 the game of golf is revenue neutral? I am more curious if board members even know that is the case? And even more curious if they care that is the case? If so, are all appropriate costs associated with golf assessed accordingly? Who monitors that and how closely? What we know is as we have moved away from any historical importance of how we were constructed and it has impacted us. With golf rounds falling, the potential is for it to have an even greater impact if we are not following our original tenets. Sadly, these questions can only be answered by those in management and by the board. My guess is we will hear from neither.
