Discussion
Here is a copy of the letter from Randy & Pamela that was sent to all members earlier today. Dear Members, On behalf of the Dreyfuss family and managers of La Cañada Flintridge Country Club, we want to thank you wholeheartedly for your calls and emails of support. We are very grateful for your care and interest in the club’s and employees’ well-being. As many of us are “sheltering at home,” our gratitude extends, also, to all the frontline workers, farm laborers, grocery checkers, delivery people, and doctors and health workers that are keeping our essential processes going. Each evening at 8pm in our neighborhood in Silver Lake, neighbors clap and cheer and bang pots and pans in a show of gratitude for those on the front lines. This is an extremely difficult time for our country, indeed the world, yet, goodness and helpers are everywhere. As for us, COVID-19 has affected our family both personally and as a business. To that end, we apologize for a delay in communications as we adapt to the ever-changing landscape of federal, state, and local regulations and directives. Needless to say, there is no playbook for the difficult business decisions that we have made and continue to make. Still, there is one thing clear to us: we share the goal of reopening the club as quickly and safely as possible. Nothing would give us more pleasure than to see families and friends together again, enjoying life and each other. As many of you know, we had to make the difficult decision to furlough most of our employees, with the hope of hiring them back when things return to normal. Again, these are difficult decisions in difficult times and our employees understood that we had no alternatives. Course Superintendent Stephen Garritson is continuing to maintain the golf course so that when we are permitted to reopen fully, we will be able to do so quickly. We have continued with some capital improvements, and our housekeeping department is still maintaining the clubhouse. Additionally, we continue to offer a limited to-go, reduced-price, menu which we hope you’ll use and enjoy. The club was closed this past week due to the rain at the beginning of the week, and the stay-at-home orders during the Passover and Easter celebrations. As of today, we are still unsure when we will be able to fully reopen, and on what scale, so we’re taking it day by day. We are tentatively hoping for a June 1st 18-hole golf course reopening with social distancing practices in place, but this depends, of course, on orders from our government. These regulations, though necessary, have hit all of us all very hard, and it is not lost on us that our members pay dues for a club that they have been largely unable to use. LCFCC’s comparatively low membership dues have never fully covered our operational costs, and with our banquet operations suspended, we have had to make critical decisions. The challenge for us has been to find a balance to our approach between dues relief for our valued members and our substantial fixed costs: golf course maintenance, insurance, taxes, lease and financing agreement, utilities, and the cost of employee health benefits -- with the goal being to cover our costs during closure and to be ready to swing open the doors with a big warm welcome as soon as is permissible. We have worked out this dues relief and statement credit plan to provide both a reduction in dues and a large statement credit awarded to every member when operations resume. --------------------------------------------- For your full dues billed in April, a 50% statement credit will be awarded to every membership to use when full operations resume. For the month of May, membership dues will be reduced in every category by 15%. Locker and bag room storage fees are waived for April and May. Our Garden Room take-out service will continue, and members receive an increased 15% discount, while Platinum Advantage members enjoy a 60% discount As an example of the dues relief and statement credit, if you paid $500 in dues for April, you will receive a $250 credit to be used towards food, dues, carts, lessons, or retail when we resume full operations. Additionally, if your dues were $500 in April, you will be charged 15% less, or $425 for May dues. --------------------------------------------- We will continue to make the golf course available to golf members for recreational purposes in a limited capacity. Access will continue by reservation only (please contact membership relations director Shanda Goodman for details at (818) 790-8746 or shanda.goodman@lcfcountryclub.com ), and is limited to current members only. Our goal is to offer our members a safe recreational experience within the restrictions of our state and county agencies. Golf members may use the golf course for walking, running, and limited golf play (no more than three clubs). In this way, we hope you are able to enjoy the natural beauty and lifestyle afforded you with membership at LCFCC and to stay healthy and safe. We are looking at a soft opening for tennis members in mid-May, conditional on directives from local agencies, and following strict guidelines for maintenance of social distancing, including rules outlining use of a glove for touching the ball etc. Again, this is contingent upon our local government and Sheriff’s Department. We know you’re eager to get back on the courts and we are monitoring the situation daily. We, like you, look forward to seeing and hearing the ball in play. We know many members would like to use the pool, and the CDC has said, “There is no evidence that COVID-19 can be spread to humans through the use of pools.” We are looking carefully at opening the pool to adults only for lap swimming, again, with strict distancing, swim- time reservations, and safety guidelines enforced by an employee overseeing the area. Finally, Shanda Goodman, our intrepid Member Relations Director, is looking ahead to an exciting social calendar beginning in June. We can’t make any promises, but Shanda is making calls and putting “soft holds” on some exciting events, such as Movies on the Green. Stay tuned! Additionally, Shanda is talking to Amanda, our yoga instructor about starting up our Saturday yoga class again, potentially outside. That would be a welcome sight. Again, thank you for your calls and support. Stay healthy and safe at home with your families. For those of you who have been touched by the pandemic personally, our thoughts are with you. In Gratitude, Randy and Pamela Dreyfuss
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