Board Post

As many of you are aware the land the tennis club sits on is being sold by Mad River Corporation. Betsy’s children Amanda and Pratt secured a P&S on October 16th for the 1100 acres at 2.5m. The land is being purchased by Lyme Mill Brook LLC which is an anonymous family foundation with a conservation commitment to put all land into a perpetual easement. Lyme Timber Co. is managing the purchase and its being handled by Peter Stein. The Mad River Glen Cooperative has ROFR on the sale of the parcel by November 15th this needs to be approved by the Coop Board first and then voted on by shareholders in 30-60 days if the Coop decides to purchase the land. There are pros and cons on both sides and I’m not going to speculate until the purchase is completed on what the future holds. That being said.

Amanda and Trux discussed the MRTC lease with the purchasers of the land and worked so we have a year to plan for “life after Mad River Corp. as the landowner”. Our lease is being assigned to the buyer as part of the sale agreement. Beyond next year we do not know what a future lease will look like for the club. Once the purchase goes through with either Lyme Mill Brook LLC or the Coop we’ll look to secure an extension on our current lease.

Below is a link to the presentation from the Coop’s emergency meeting on October 29th.

October 29 MRG Board Meeting Presentation & Recording – Google Drive

We will breakdown the club on Sunday November 2nd starting at 9:00 AM. Many hands make light work pulling nails, rolling lines and putting away the furniture for a long winter’s nap. If you plan to help on Sunday please text either Woody at 802-498-4405 or myself at 508-446-5473.

Thanks in Advance!

The club will officially close on Saturday November 1st putting a bow on our longest season in our 55 years of existence. Pending weather conditions, the plan is to have a workday to break down the club on Sunday November 2nd. If the forecast does not look promising for the 2nd, we will push the workday to Saturday the 1st.

If you are interested in volunteering on the 2nd you can text me at 508-446-5473 or Woody at 802-498-4405. I’ll send a reminder out as we approach the end of the month.

On September 13th we held our first member meeting per the request of the membership. There were 13 members is attendance (Peter Delfausse, Peter Laskowski, Blaine Laskowski, Dave Goldstein, Marilyn Zelin, Karen Winchell, Milli Chapell, Judy Bowen, Barrie Fisher, Susie Johnson, Walter Oberlander, Martha Edelson, Cathy Giannattasio). This represented roughly 10% of our membership when including all family members. Board members Bob Vietze, Woody Dugan, Darlene McCormick, Susan Snider and Geordi Hall were in attendance. Below is a summary of the detailed notes that were taken by Darlene at the meeting. The notes taken will be discussed at our year end board meeting to form strategy for the 2026 season.

I opened the meeting discussing the history of the club which spans 55 years. Then went into how I became a member, joining the board and ultimately becoming president. Reviewed how we were in dire straits in 2015-2016 financially and how we had maybe 4-5 years left it membership continued at its current number. The club has grown from 40 memberships between individual and family in 2020 to 70 total currently. I stated we are at the max based on only two courts and can’t see adding additional members going forward unless we see attrition. My goal as well as the board is to offer a quality playing experience while keeping the cost of a membership reasonable. Recent infrastructure the past couple of years includes new lines, nets, net posts, table, chairs, umbrella and court seating. Going forward there are a couple of large infrastructure projects that will need addressing which are the court base and the fencing. Relayed that costs are up to open and maintain the club, but goal is to keep the membership cost reasonable. Emphasized we are not a commercial or country club with two courts and need to appeal to the entire membership and not a subset. I did recognize those on the board that work to open and maintain the club. That was the end of my spiel and opened it up to comments and questions.

Below are the comments which we will take under advisement.

More volunteer workdays?

Why is membership Full? We only have two courts.

Membership is too inexpensive

Cost for doing the court base and fencing? ($50K) court and fencing (15K)

Who is the club? Club is being run by the board the same way it always has for 55 years.

Asking for input but club being run same way.

Question on land being purchased…we lease the property it’s a rental for tennis. Membership entitles everyone to court time.

Where is money going? All membership dues go to the lease, taxes, material, labor to set courts, portable, lawn service, misc. maintenance materials, club improvements. None of the board members are paid and we all pay membership dues. MRTC has a business account and year end spending audited by the board.

Angst within group, when people want more programming the board objects. Reminded we have only two courts. Need to balance the expectations of all members.

Th main topic of concern was with the ability to redo the court surface. We will look to a short-term solution while focusing on how we can make this happen in the long-term. Woody has ideas for grading, and we’ll brainstorm with New England Clay Court Professionals as well.

Question on how club is structured …good old days gone should be elected board members, bylaws and 501c4 status.

How many people don’t use the courts? Darlene has done the analysis.

Guest fees on track to double this year due to members not renewing. Board will look at policy for 2026.

Question on how club is being run so we know what’s going on.

Question on extending lease beyond current 2-year recurring lease.

Feedback on capital campaign to raise money for court resurface with longer lease to safeguard investment. A number of ideas were expressed on how to get Mad River Corp to lengthen the lease or donate the land pending court resurface.

Any questions or concerns if you were not at the meeting feel free to reach out.

Bob

A friendly reminder that our member meeting will take place this Saturday September 13th at 4:00 PM. The club will provide non-alcoholic beverages and snacks for the meeting. Look forward to seeing you all on Saturday.

Based on feedback the members meeting is rescheduled for Saturday September 13th at 4:00 PM. Please add it to your calendar. I’ll send reminders as we approach the date in September. Look forward to seeing you all then.

There has been a request by a couple of members to hold a member meeting hosted by the current board of the club. I would like to do this sooner than later and have penciled in a date of Saturday August 16th at 4:00 PM. Please respond to this email if you plan on attending. I would like to have a handle on numbers before confirming the meeting is a go.

Please park at the Mad River Barn today not on the Pool Rd as previously instructed. Sorry for the short notice but just heard from the Barn that they will be taking wedding pictures on the Pool Rd today.

Map will be posted on shed as well.

Griffin & Griffin will be regrading and adding material to the road this Saturday. While not ideal, I’m sure everyone along with your cars are happy it is finally being done. Below are suggestions on parking on Saturday. There is a wedding event at the Mad River Barn on Saturday so please no parking there, but we have access to the Pool road for parking at the Barn.

• Look to carpool to the courts on Saturday.
• Park at the bottom of Old Mansfield Rd and walk to the club.
• The Pool road at the Barn is a first in last out parking situation. I’ll send specifics on where it is located before Saturday.