RyeCity REVIEW THE
November 4, 2016 | Vol. 4, Number 45 | www.ryecityreview.com
Rye Golf Club projecting $250K year-end deficit By FRANCO FINO Staff Writer
RM Staffing class action lawsuit nears resolution A class action lawsuit against the city of Rye seeking unpaid overtime and tips at the Rye Golf Club is nearing a resolution, according to an attorney for the club’s former employees. The lawsuit, which was granted class action status by a judge in July, relates to a shell company called RM Staffing set up by former golf club manager Scott Yandrasevich who stole approximately $340,000 from the club between 2007 and 2013. Yandrasevich, who was convicted of grand larceny and falsifying records in 2014, has since been released on parole
after serving less than one year in state prison. The lawsuit, which was originally filed in December 2013, alleges that more than 50 employees of RM Staffing, who comprised the club’s waitstaff, were never properly compensated for various tips and overtime. The city is due to meet with Brent Pelton, the attorney representing the former employees, at a formal settlement hearing scheduled on Nov. 10, at which time, Pelton told the Review, the longstanding suit could be resolved. “We’re hopeful that the City
Council heard [the workers] and will move forward and try to resolve this case,” he said. According to Pelton, while his law firm continues to seek what they estimate as $4 million in damages relating to the golf club scandal, the settlement total, the attorney admitted, will likely be less than that. While the disgruntled former waitstaff have rallied at several City Council meetings over the past year—replete with posters and chants decrying what they view as inaction on the part of the city—according to Pelton, the staff will hold
off on any further protests until the settlement talks have resolved. Any settlement, Pelton said, will seek to capitalize on $1.55 million awarded to the city in February from its insurance carrier Travelers Casualty & Surety Co., as a result of the money stolen by Yandrasevich. According to City Manager Marcus Serrano, if there were to be a settlement, exactly where the money the city would pay out would come from has yet to be determined, but is something that would ultimately be decided by the City Council. -Reporting by James Pero
The Rye Golf Club is expected to amass an operational deficit for 2016 as a result of membership discounts it dished out to returning golf members for the season, but the news doesn’t seem all that bad, according to the club’s general manager. According to Jim Buonaiuto, Rye Golf Club’s general manager, from an operational standpoint, the club is projecting an estimated $250,000 deficit. The bulk of the deficit stems from the city-owned club’s decision to offer a 35 percent discounted membership to members at the beginning of the year in the wake of the club’s damaged greens last year. Buonaiuto said the golf club lost nearly $800,000 as a result of providing the discounted rate to members renewing for the 2016 season. The idea to offer membership renewals at discounted rates came on the heels of the city settling litigation and collecting $2.5 million from Tesenderlo Kerley Inc., TKI, the distributor of the fungicide, Alt-70, which was responsible for damage incurred to the golf course greens during the summer of 2015. At the time, the golf club was forced to close for three months during the majority of the club’s peak season after tainted pesticide had been applied by Chip Lafferty, the groundskeeper. However, despite the loss in revenue, compared to the sur-
At a glance Rye Golf Club is projecting an operational deficit of $250K The city is expecting to receive $270K in rent from Whitby Castle, which is projected to generate $3M in revenue In total, after $3M in settlement revenue, the golf club is expecting to end 2016 with an estimated $3.9M in reserves pluses in excess of $400,000 that the golf club collected in both 2015 and 2014, Buonaiuto said that the trend is very much positive. “If one takes the discount into consideration along with all the other operating revenues and loses, the club performed just as well, if not better, than in 2015 and 2014,” he said. Buonaiuto told the Review that with the money it received from the Travelers Casualty & Surety Co. and TKI settlements, the club will have an estimated revenue surplus of more than $3 million to put into the club’s reserve fund, which will then total an estimated $3.9 million. In 2015, Rye sued its insurance company, Travelers Casualty & GOLF continued on page 8
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