President's Half Year Report

La Cumbre Country Club • August 6, 2021

President's Half-Year Update

Dear La Cumbre Members,

Some years just seem longer than others, but despite the Covid alphabet soup of variants and staffing shortages, La Cumbre has never been stronger. Our membership, golf course, financials and management team are in great shape.

Membership: All categories are full except Social Clubhouse and Social Tennis, which are filling up rapidly. There have been 21 Regular memberships sold to-date, the average price of the last three sales being $220,000. Currently, 15 applicants are waiting to purchase, with four available.

We have already honored four new Emeritus members, with an average age of 88 and 55 years of Club membership: Doctors Robert Logan, Glenn Hemingway, William Rack, and Edward Hawks, with a fifth in progress.

Golf Course: We continue to benefit from the outstanding work by Wayne and his team. The connection between the City and the 6th hole is complete for reclaimed water. Cart paths are either out or coming out and Wayne has started laying pipe. Wayne will be sending out flash green reports to keep everyone up to date.

Water costs from the extended drought, heat, and winds are significantly higher than initially forecast. Water supply costs are exceeding our budget plans. We can’t thank Don Logan, Wayne, and many others enough who have helped push through the approvals and plans for our reclaimed water. While water is clearly an issue, the use of reclaimed water and planting more natives will significantly mitigate higher water costs in the future.

Financials: We are far exceeding budget based on record initiation and transfer fees ($2,449,398) and further help from $623,266 in tax credits. This combination of unplanned favorabilities along with aggressive cost controls have resulted in reduced operating losses, generating a cash position of $3,235,940 as of July 27, 2021. The Club is in a position to internally fund the reclaimed water project without resorting to financing or assessments. (Click here to view the Financial Report from the Club Treasurer.)

Management: Staffing continues to be a major financial and operational issue and will continue into 2022. Government Covid programs, minimum wage increases, salary inflation and cost of living spikes make it difficult to be open and provide our very best service. Management has had to adapt and deal with a myriad of challenging and fatiguing issues to provide safe and cost-effective service. I extend my compliments to Eric, his management team, and a special thanks to our members for their patience.

With the explosion of dining reservations, we welcome several substantial additions to our Food and Beverage staff: Josh Blumenthal, Food and Beverage Director, Kaity Swanson, Service Director and Inger Kelly, promoted to Events Coordinator. We can finally get back to our ever-popular special events such as Winemaker Dinners, Thursday night BBQs by the pool, etc. Be sure and check the Divot, the online event schedule, and weekly emails for updates, as each week has a slightly different mix of food, events, and availabilities.

Clubhouse Renovation: We have moved from previous master plans and focus groups to committee work directed by Tom Carey. The committee has engaged Anacapa Architects and Cabana Homes Interior Design to develop concepts. They are currently working with Armstrong & Associates for construction estimates. Once we match the potential design components and costs, the committee will reach out to the membership for feedback. We hope to consolidate everything into one proposal and go back to the membership with a design and financial plan for approval by late fall.

In the next couple of months, look for more information and requests for feedback addressing the long-delayed refurbishment of our Clubhouse.

Tennis: John Kinsella, our long-term tennis professional, announced his retirement to be effective September 1st. John will be greatly missed. John is currently assisting Eric, Annetta Patrick, and a search committee for his replacement. Expect more information from the committee soon.

Golf: The Board has appointed current Green Committee chair, Greg Moss, to chair a special committee working with Evan Colavincenzo to both stabilize our golf operations and dramatically improve our member’s golf experience. Greg uniquely combines outstanding business expertise with a deep appreciation for La Cumbre and the game of golf (two-time Senior Club Champion, USC Golf team ’80 -’84).

Covid has been and remains crazy and unpredictable! We continue to encourage everyone to protect themselves, their families, friends, and La Cumbre by getting vaccinated.

I want to again thank Eric and his staff, the Board, and committee members for their hard work this year, and a special thank you to our members for their continued enthusiasm, patience and support.

Very best regards,

Robert C. Lowes

President

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Wayne's World May/June 2022

By La Cumbre Country Club • May 13, 2022

Good Morning La Cumbre! We are starting to transition from spring to early summer. The property is transitioning too. So, the Greens and Kikuyu are taking on a different look and feel in fairways. Both need constant irrigation, so less roll on both surfaces than in winter. Ball marks and divots repair faster this time of year, but we still need your support in fixing these blemishes from your execution of that perfect shot. This year's weather is very eradicated, and everything seems to be a month to two ahead of historical growth patterns. But all our contractors and material suppliers are a month or two behind. So, the work we have slated for this year will get done, but it looks like the window of June to early September is when this will be completed. On the waterfront, the deliveries of reclaimed have been steady. Again, this came online just as the State and local agencies beat the drought drums. They are looking for a 35% reduction in water usage throughout the system. Agriculture rates are being adjusted way up with the mandated reduction. As this intensifies, different groups will be pointing fingers at each other. Being a private club, they would love to point them at us. With the continued drought, certain tree species show signs of heavy stress and decline. Mainly the Redwoods and Monterey Cypress currently. Using water with lower qualities will only add to this if we do not get heavy winter rains to clean the soils. But the property is in good shape with some excellent additions planned for the season. See you on the course. I'll be somewhere behind Rusty.

Wayne's World Spring 2022

By La Cumbre Country Club • February 17, 2022

Spring has come early this year, and it feels like it started on January 1st! Our greens are trying to produce seed heads, a typical March through April event. Our fairways have good color and are growing. Our native planting areas are trying to bloom, and the bugs are out! Nothing is following our typical patterns. I know we are enjoying some of the best-golfing weather, as the rest of the country is frozen stiff. So, I hope you enjoy the facility, as it may be the best weather days for golf over any place in the United States.

One With The Land: Sustainability Actions Speak Louder Than Words - FORE Magazine

By La Cumbre Country Club • January 31, 2022

“I don’t use the word ‘sustainability,’” said Wayne Mills, superintendent at La Cumbre CC in Santa Barbara. “I use the words ‘reduced inputs that benefit society.’ Potable water is a fluid people need to sustain life,and we were using it to irrigate turf. If we use reclaimed water, we use less potable water and still employ people, create living wages, and give people a place to enjoy themselves.”