Agenda item

Agenda item

Minutes

To agree the minutes of the meeting held on 26th March 2012

Minutes:

The minutes of the meeting held on 26th March 2012 were agreed and signed.

 

Matters Arising

Palm Readers:

The Sports Development Officer explained that the use of palm readers had been considered but that this system would be expensive to install and would not, therefore, be cost-effective.  She added that there were also data protection issues. 

 

In response to a question from Councillor Scudder, the Sports Development Officer said that the Everyone Active (EA) cards provided information on whether the holder was a resident or a non-resident.  She advised, however, that this was not possible at the Golf Club as it had proved too costly to link to the main system at the Leisure Centres.

 

 

Councillor Scudder asked whether it would be possible to issue differently coloured cards to residents and non-residents.

 

The Sports Development Officer replied that the EA cards were contract specific and added that a difference in benefits between residents and non-residents was applicable only to Watford.   She agreed to investigate whether differently coloured cards could be a possibility. 

 

The Chair advised that EA card holders who used the golf club were asked whether they were residents and were also asked to provide their postcodes.  It was noted that the number of non-residents had increased over the previous year. 

 

Councillor Scudder suggested that residents could be asked for their driving licences as proof of residency. 

 

The Sports Development Officer informed the meeting that comparisons had been made with other golf clubs.  She advised that only two other authorities offered similar systems and that these were administered manually at the clubs. 

 

Councillor Dhindsa said that it was preferable for residents rather than non-residents to gain most use from the EA cards. 

 

The Chair advised that residents were able to book a round up to seven days in advance whilst non-residents could only book up to 24 hours beforehand. 

 

Councillor Scudder asked whether residential status could be confirmed on the telephone.

 

The Chair replied that this could be achieved since postcodes were always requested but that nonetheless some non-residents did manage to gain preferential rates. 

 

Councillor Scudder drew attention to two potential problems: residents could be turned away and there could be a loss of income for the club. 

 

The Chair said that he could not recall that any residents had been turned away but that there had been a loss of income in the previous year. 

 

Responding to a suggestion from Councillor Dhindsa, the Sports Development Officer advised that SLM had said that if there was a problem staff could ring through and SLM could check on the system. 

 

Councillor Dhindsa suggested that new cards, which differentiated between residents and non-residents, could be sent to all those already on the data base.

 

ACTION:        1.         Councillor  Dhindsa and the Sports Development Officer to meet for discussion on the issue of differently coloured cards

                        2.         The Sports Development Officer to investigate whether differently coloured cards could be a possibility. 

 

Directional Signs:

Councillor Scudder had asked for information with regard to the signs to the golf course which had previously been removed.  He advised that Herts County Council had no knowledge of the reasons for removal and that he would ask Three Rivers District Council whether they had any information on the matter. 

 

Marketing:

The Sports Development Officer advised that new marketing had been initiated: advertisements had been placed on bus shelters and in the ‘About Watford’ magazine and promotional material placed on the website. 

 

 

 

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