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Special General Meeting Request

16 October 2023

Miramar Golf Club

Attention: General Manager – Doug Pollock

Kia Ora Doug,

Miramar Golf Club Special General Meeting

I am writing this based on not receiving any fundamental, practical, or honest responses to the many questions that I and members of this club have requested, and registered their names on the Petition you are aware of, as well as those that have not, by yourself or the Board.

Therefore, I am calling for a Special General Meeting to be held prior to the year ending AGM and within the next Month.

To remind you of the questions raised they fall into five simple fields being Costings, Programme, Course Layout, Clubhouse Layout, Airport dealings, and the intention of having access to other Courses for Members and Interclub.

Costings

  • Provide a detailed breakdown of the Consultants Fees spent to date and what is expected and budgeted for in the future.
  • Provide a detailed breakdown of the Quotes now received for the initial works expected to be carried out in the next couple of months ie Course Irrigation and Course Alterations.
  • Provide Estimates to date for the Proposed Clubhouse Alterations, Driving Range, Par 3 Course and all new course features, including Professional Fees etc.
  • Based on these costs provide detailed Business cases for each facility.

Confirm exactly the status of the shares invested with Forsyth Barr what has been withdrawn, how it has been applied, and why?

Programme

  • It has become evident that the dates you provided in the email sent to Members on Wednesday 27 September is incorrect, ie 9th Aug GWRC & 11th Aug WCC, as WCC have confirmed that Resource Consent (RC) was not applied for until 22 August and this was to GWRC not WCC. As of 9 October WCC confirmed that RC had not been approved and that once this is done, they will require a Building Consent (BC) application to WCC, which will take another 20 working days minimum for approval.
  • Should BC not be approved until the end of October early November how will this affect the actions received in your 27 September email and will it influence the grass growing season or interclub programming?

Course Layout

  • Based on the plans provided to GWRC for RC it indicates a different temporary Course Layout than has been presented previously so what is the Clubs true intensions for this?
  • Also based on the plans provided for RC it indicates the full overall design of the Course including a reduced 9 holes, Driving Range, Par 3 Course, larger putting green, chipping green and two lakes. Given that the latest SGM and presentations either did not mention the Par 3 Course or that the Driving Range had not been confirmed if there were to be changes what would that mean to the progress of the intended works indicated?
  • Ian Goodlet provided reasons and plans for not changing the direction of the current 2nd hole and provided feedback from the previous Course Designer Alex Glascow who had looked at the feasibility of this when the Facilities Team was in action, and he was employed. Confirm why you are not looking at providing studies as to why you believe this is necessary?
  • There were great reasons for including an extra two holes within the Front 9 particularly that they would be there when other greens on the course required rest and maintenance. Given the layouts provided in the RC Application remove current holes 8 and 9 defeats this purpose, is this correct and what is the intention?

Clubhouse Layout

  • Based on the Clubhouse Layout provided within the RC Application it still shows areas that were indicated to members will not be there eventually like the Virtual Bays on Level 2 so where is the latest layout at now?
  • Given these plans still indicate the Outdoor Café Area, is this the main reason for removing the current 9th hole from the Course?
  • Has there been a full business plan put together for the Proposed Driving Range? The general feel I have received is that most Members will use it from time to time however don’t want to spend $8M on a 120m Range if it is not viable. Provide evidence that this is feasible.
  • If the Driving Range is seen as feasible and possibly very successful has there been any negotiations with WIAL in terms of Carparking and Access?

Airport Status

  • Where are MGC at with the possible sale of the Clubhouse and Carparking to WIAL?
  • If WIAL were to purchase these how can Members be assured that they will not suffer for this and has the Board investigated the likely ramifications of this from a business perspective?
  • With the once Proposed WETA Adventure Golf not shown on the RC plans are WIAL looking to include the land set aside for this in their purchase?

Other Club Progress

  • It has been the intention for the last couple of years that MGC deals with other local clubs allowing our members access onto these courses. It was good to receive the progress on Friday 13th October of the deal with Wainuiomata however where are we at with other Clubs?

In calling for this Special General Meeting I have been made aware that this requires 30 Full Playing MGC Members to agree therefore find attached confirmation from Members that want this SGM to occur so far and we are awaiting others that are overseas or have only just received the form but as you will see we are already more than the 30 No. required.

As you are aware the Petition received over 80 petitioners, and these are the first people we obtained their respective support in getting this through, so I call on behalf of the Members confirmed, and all others, that an SGM be held within the next Month and that fully supported, detailed and honest answers are provided by yourself and the Board. Under Rule 28 of the Clubs Incorporated Rules the GM has 14 days to issue a SGM Notice of Meeting.

 

Nga Mihi,

Mike Hinton

Signatures

 

Petitioners asking for answers to questions raised in Mike Hinton’s Petition

While thirty signatures have been sought and confirmed we would like to encourage other who would like to add their names and signatures to the request for an SGM.

 

Special General Meetings

28(a)A Special General Meeting of the club may be called at any time by the Board.

    (b)Notice of a Special General Meeting of the club must be issued by the General Manager within fourteen days after the receipt          of a request for such a meeting signed by at least thirty Ordinary Members and Life Members.

 

The endeavour for this SGM is to have the Board and GM answer questions that fall into these categories: Costings, Programme, Course Layout, Clubhouse Layout, Airport Status and Progress with other Golf Courses.

 

If you wish to have answers to these presented at the SGM please include your Name and Signature here.

 

Name                                                    Signature                                           Date

 

 

 

Please copy above and email through to: Tony Short:   tony@tsconsult.co.nz

Open Letter To MGC Board From Mike Hinton

Subject: Urgent Concerns and Questions Regarding MGC Transition

 

14 September 2023

 

Kia ora Miramar Golf Club Board Members,

 

I am writing to address pressing concerns related to the ongoing transition at Miramar Golf Club and to request that this letter be promptly shared with all club members.

 

Since June of this year, my petition has been active due to members' dissatisfaction with the lack of transparent information and insufficient responses to their inquiries. I wish to emphasise that the recent Resource Consent application for course work, submitted as late as August 22nd, has obviously caused significant delays, which may extend the construction start date to October/November, contrary to previous expectations of a September commencement. These delays are primarily due to the minimum 20-day processing time required for each of the Resource and Building consent approvals.

 

View the petition here: https://www.petitions.net/save_miramar_golf_clubs_existing_front_9

 

Many members have expressed frustration over the integrity of the voting process at both the AGM and SGM. Important information was omitted during these meetings, such as the exclusion of irrigation for holes 8 and 9 and that the rerouting of the second and fifth holes may not address the issues of ball escape as anticipated. The absence of data regarding changes in neighbourhood damage further raised concerns. Additionally, the resource consent application for the par 3 course was not discussed at the SGM, potentially influencing members' decisions.

 

To offer members a well-rounded viewpoint, we present the following perspectives from Ian Goodlet, Charles Purcell, and Tony Short, who were elected in 2020 to serve as representatives on the Facilities and Governance Committees, with a focus on safeguarding members' interests.

 

Ian Goodlet – Facilities Committee Chair

  • Clarify how the proposed altered course layout addresses ball escape issues, including potential house strikes. This inquiry refers to the attached email from Alex Glasgow.

 

Tony Short – Facilities Committee (Architectural Design and Project Management Experience)

  • Explain the intent behind the resource consent application and its potential impact on the project's scope. Refer attached email and drawings used within the Resource Consent Application.
  • Provide clarity on the feasibility of the driving range pricing model in comparison to other driving range facilities around the country.
  • The original Proposals presented back in September 2022 included a WETA Adventure Golf Facility and the area where this was proposed has been left vacant so can you please confirm what, how or whether this area is to be used?
  • Where are MGC at with the negotiations mentioned at the SGM with WIAL and the possible sale of the Clubhouse and Carparks?

 

Charles Purcell – Governance Committee (Chartered Accountant and MGC Life Member)

  • Break down the following, including professional fees, consents, and contingencies.
  • $745,000: Professional Fees (recipient and amount)
  • $250,000: Consents WCC/GWRC (recipient and purpose)
  • $857,109: Contingencies, Inflation, Sundries (appears excessive; 26.72% increase)
  • When applying the contingency percentage, professional fees rise to $944,000 and consents to $317,000, adding an extra $266,000 to their costs. Please confirm.
  • How will costs be reported to members during development? Will they be categorised?
  • The recent SGM never formally approved the application of the Forsyth Barr monies therefore please explain how this was approved.
  • Confirm exactly how much has been withdrawn from Forsyth Barr, when it was drawn and how has it been applied and why?
  • By this stage all figures should be confirmed therefore please provide these details.

To maintain the integrity of our club, we must prioritise transparency and honesty in providing information to members. I propose distributing this letter to all members with an expectation that these questions and concerns are answered within the next 2 weeks.

 

Thank you for your attention to this matter, which will contribute to a more informed membership and a stronger Miramar Golf Club.

 

Ngā mihi,

 

Mike Hinton

 

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