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Boxholder Rancho Santa Fe CA 92067
SECTION B
ECRWSS
Volume 31 Number 17
Providing The Ranch with Three Decades of Quality Journalism
PRESORTED STANDARD U.S. POSTAGE PAID RSF, CA PERMIT 1980
Jan. 12, 2012
Rancho Santa Fe Golf Club membership changes approved BY KAREN BILLING The Rancho Santa Fe Association board approved three changes to Golf Club membership at its first meeting of 2012 on Jan. 5. The Golf Club will now have special half-off guest fees from January through April; will allow enrollment fees to be paid in installments; and the age for junior playing privileges has been raised. Here’s an overview of the changes: Guest fees Jim Boyce, golf club board of governors membership chair, said the changes to the guest fees are related to the fact that guest play has traditionally dropped in the winter months due to cost and course condition. “We want to change existing members’ habits and bring people back to the Ranch and think of this club as a place to play year round,” Boyce said. Under the new guest program, members can purchase a package for five 18-hole rounds or 10 nine-hole rounds for $350, a 50 percent discount from the standard guest fee. The rates will run through April 20 on a trial basis. Boyce said a similar program has been successful at San Diego Country Club. The new fee program passed 5-1 with director Ann Boon as the sole holdout. Boon said although she was excited that the golf club is looking at ways to increase revenue, she wouldn’t approve the change without seeing a cost-benefit analysis. Enrollment options New members pay a $50,000 enrollment fee to join the Golf Club. Boyce said when new residents move into the Ranch they typically have a lot of other expenses and may wait two to three years before being able to join the club. The deferred payment option allows them to spread the enrollment payment out over two years. New members would have the option to pay $20,000 up front, with $17,000 due after one year and the balance of $13,000, plus a $3,000 additional charge at the end of the second year. Boyce said the club has been aggressively trying to market new memberships and the pilot deferred enrollment program may help bring in some new people. “It is an outreach,” commented director Roxana Foxx. “It’s an effort to keep a vibrant golf community.” Junior regular playing privilege The previous age for junior golfing privileges (juniors meaning children still living at home) was 23. Changes in lifestyle and economic pressures have led to more children staying at home longer, which prompted the golf club into raising the age to 26, Boyce said. As there is a limitation on how many times a guest can play a year, many members requested that the junior golf age be raised to allow unlimited play for their older children who live at home. The membership was notified about the proposed changes and no comments in the 60-day comment period were received. Juniors with playing privileges are charged an annual fee of $500 plus $150 a month in dues.
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PECIAL NIGHT: The Senior Presentation Class of 2012 Father-Daughter Waltz Dinner, San Dieguito Chapter, was held in Fairbanks Ranch, at the clubhouse, on Jan. 8. (Above, l-r) Melina and Jim Bliss; Jackie and Mitch Friedman; Fathers hit the dance floor with their daughters. For more, see page 18. Photos/Jon Clark
Ag. board members raise potential conflict of interest • Board member questioned about relationship with local attorney By JOE TASH A proposal by Del Mar fair board member Tom Chino to foster transparency on the panel took a sideways turn at the board’s Tuesday meeting, when fellow board members and a deputy attorney general instead questioned whether Chino’s relationship with a local attorney amounts to a conflict of interest. Chino, who was one of five new board members appointed last summer by Gov. Jerry Brown, proposed that the board pass a policy that all committee meetings – and meetings with state and federal representatives – be held in publicly noticed open session. In a series of emails between Chino, other board members and officials with the 22nd District Agricultural Association,
which operates the stateowned Del Mar fairgrounds, Chino noted that he was concerned a proposed series of meetings between a state official and board members would be held in private. The emails were contained in the agenda packet for Tuesday’s meeting. However, an email from Chino, which may have been inadvertently sent to other district officials, caused board members to question whether Chino has a conflict of interest due to his relationship with North County attorney Dwight Worden. “Dwight, Her coming down, irritates me and makes me think about your more aggressive approach,” said the email, which was signed “Tom.” Agricultural district officials said Tuesday that
Worden’s former law firm, Worden Williams, is representing the opposing side in a lawsuit over the district’s environmental impact report for its master plan update. Deputy Attorney General Deborah Fletcher, who represents the agricultural district, told the board that Worden should have filed a “written waiver of potential conflict,” because of his relationship with Chino, a board member for the district, which is being sued. Fletcher told the board that she is “quite angry” about the potential conflict. “I find it quite disturbing any law firm would advise any board member on their duties when they are representing an adverse party,” Fletcher said. “I’m concerned about a
potential conflict,” Frederick Schenk, another of the five new board members, said after the meeting. “The email suggests they’re having conversations on issues related to the DAA.” Schenk, who is also an attorney, said during the meeting he would be concerned that things discussed in closed session could be divulged to the opposing side in a lawsuit, and he sought Chino’s assurance that would not be the case. Chino said Worden is a long-time friend and his personal attorney, but that he never discusses any litigation or confidential issues with his friend, only public policy issues. In an interview after the meeting, Chino said, “We never discuss anything
See BOARD, page 21
JOHN R. LEFFERDINK
619-813-8222
www.johnlefferdink.com
ANGELA MEAKINS-BERGMAN
LISA KELLEY
CONNIE SUNDSTROM
VERONICA MOORE
858-405-9270
858-880-5242
858-334-8114
619-250-5076