Imminent BBMAC Closure

URGENT URGENT URGENT URGENT Hello to the supporters of the BBMAC. No, you did not misread the subject line. We have reached a point in our history where we are unable to continue operations as usual at BBMAC. Because our current financial situation is so unbalanced we will see some very serious consequences to the continued operation of BBMAC in the next month. We suffered a serious setback on July 7th. In my last newsletter, I mentioned that we had been approved in May for a $75,000 grant from the Coronado City Council. On the agenda at the regular council meeting on July 7th was an item to formally approve the terms and conditions written by the City Council and their staff and agreed to by BBMAC as a prerequisite of receiving the previously approved grant. This was to have strictly been a routine formality. Instead, one council member reopened discussion on the merits of approving the grant itself. After much discussion and debate, another council member who previously supported the grant reversed positions and by a vote of 3-2 our request for the $75,000 grant was denied. Unfortunately this has put us in an untenable financial position. While we have derived enough revenue over the course of the past year to cover about 50% of our costs, we are unable to accurately predict where additional funds may come from to cover the remaining 50% without continuing to draw down the endowment. We have reached $700,000 remaining as of July 1st and by our agreement with the school district we are not permitted to draw down below $600,000. The $75,000 grant was supposed to be the foundation with which we hoped to close that revenue gap and slow the draw on the endowment. I met with Coronado Unified School District Superintendant Dr. Jeff Felix on July 8th to brief him on the situation. After hearing about the news from the city council meeting and after reviewing our financial situation he informed me that he intends to recommend to the CUSD governing board the following two choices of action items for the special board meeting scheduled for August 11. OPTION 1 BBMAC will CLOSE for use in ANY capacity (public use, aquatics PE, club contracts and CHS aquatics sports) after the facility is shut down on August 28, 2009 to facilitate a federally mandated safety repair under the Virginia Graham Baker Act. The facility will remain closed in a mothball status until such time as a more viable business plan is crafted. OPTION 2 After the shutdown scheduled August 28th, 2009 BBMAC will close for use and reopen only for contracted clubs which bring in revenue and CHS aquatics athletics. This would mean that BBMAC would no longer be open to the general public at all and that the Aquatics PE program in grades 6-9 would be suspended indefinitely. However continued operation in support of CHS aquatics and contracted users such as clubs and swim teams would only be permitted provided the minimum endowment level of $600,000 as specified in the aquatics agreement is maintained. If at any time a withdrawal would result in the minimum endowment level to be reached, all operations would cease immediately and the facility will be put into a mothball status. Of significant note is that even in the scenario of remaining open for contracted clubs and teams as well as CHS athletics, we still project a deficit spending situation for the foreseeable future. Unless we are successful in generating more income from a variety of sources very soon, the endowment will eventually hit the $600,000 minimum sometime in the next school year. Based on the present rate of deficit spending, that would likely occur in mid to late October. None of us wish we were in the current situation. Regrettably the original business plan which the BBMAC board has tried to implement over the course of the past year has not been successful for a wide variety of reasons including: the agreement with CUSD that specifies their priority use of the pool, at no cost to CUSD; the depletion of the endowment by $200K in first six months due to the failure by ISF to plan for initial start up costs, and to pre-lease to enough users; the inability to compete with the heavily subsidized city pool and the local market being extremely price conscious; physical therapy clients have not been available due to changes in insurance reimbursement, and the unanticipated cost of lifeguards to support CUSD PE and athletics. Whichever option CUSD chooses to adopt, your BBMAC board of directors will continue to seek alternative sources of funding to include but not limited to charitable grants, corporate and individual sponsorships and individual donations. We aim to try to find a reliable business model that can cover more of the facility’s cost and eventually reopen BBMAC to as many of our children as possible including those who only use the facility for PE. To all of our supporters both past and present and to all who have a vested interest in seeing the facility remain open, I cannot stress enough the urgency of this situation. If you are considering making a financial contribution to the BBMAC either as a repeat donor or a first time donor, the time between now and August 10th would be best at this point. For you convenience you may download and print the attached donation form and send it to us at the address provided. You also may go to our website www.bbmac.org/donate.html and make a secure donation electronically by clicking on the donation link on the home page and following the prompts. While there is not a guarantee that the CUSD governing board will not adopt Option 1 (full closure), a large demonstration of substantial financial commitment prior to the August 11 CUSD board meeting would be a much needed positive sign of community commitment. Please note that all events scheduled prior to August 28th, including the Family Fun and Dive-In-Movie Nights, are proceeding as planned. Those are additional meaningful ways you can show your support. If you have any questions please feel free to contact any one of the BBMAC board members. Thanks in advance for your continued support. Joe Cook, President, BBMAC Foundation Official Website