by Bruce Sherman
Faced with the landlord's demand for a 30 percent rent increase that would have hiked the annual cost of the Leschi clubhouse to more than $50,000 per year, the CYC Board of Directors voted Oct. 13 to vacate the facility on Dec. 31, 2008, and look for alternatives.
The decision came amid discussion of the club's 2009 budget, as directors tried to close a shortfall caused by expenses that have continually risen, while dues haven't increased in three years.
The club will continue to run a full-blown racing program while looking for clubhouse alternatives on the lake, where there has been significant growth in one-design racing in recent years, particularly in the J/24 and Thistle fleets
The board also voted to increase dues by 10 percent and race fees by an average of 10 percent. As a gesture to Lake Washington sailors, who will temporarily lose their clubhouse, race fees will be increased only for those racing on the Sound.
photo by Joy Okazaki
J/24s head down wind on a Tuesday in one of the last races of this year's weeknight season. While the club board has voted to vacate the Lake clubhouse and look for alternatives, no reductions are planned in the Lake's thriving racing program.
Commodore Joe James, a long-time Thunderbird sailor on the lake, said the decision to close the clubhouse was taken reluctantly but was the right thing to do, even when viewed independently from the club's general financial challenges.
"The Leschi clubhouse sits vacant more than 300 days a year, while we pay as if we were an office tenant there every day," said James. "We mainly use it two nights a week for 22 weeks a year, during our weeknight racing season, plus a few times a year for meetings and lake regatta support."
James also pointed out that the landlord included a 270 day cancellation clause in the CYC lease so the landlord or a purchaser of the property could "demolish, substantially renovate, change the use of, redevelop, rebuild , or discontinue operations of all of part of the property."
"We're eventually going to be forced out of the Leschi Clubhouse anyway," James said. "Given their demand that our rent go from $12 to $16 a square foot, this seemed like the right time to start an effort to find a financially prudent, long-range solution on the lake."
With closure of the Leschi Clubhouse and dues and fee increases, the club expects $20,000 of income over expenses in 2009. Also contributing to the cost control initiatives will be moving the content of the Leadline online, saving $11,000 in printing and mailing costs.
Total club receipts will be in the neighborhood of $375,000. The limited amount of profit will be used to build the club's shrinking reserves, in anticipation of future capital expenses.
The club's officers discussed Leschi issues with Lake Washington fleet leaders at a special meeting Sept. 23. Some were strongly opposed to vacating the clubhouse, portraying it as a Lake versus Sound situation, with the Lake sailors coming out as losers.
But James pointed out that he, and several other members of the club's leadership group, including Vice Commodore and J/24 sailor Bruce Sherman and Rear Commodore John Rahn, have been active participants in Lake sailing, as have several other board members.
"This isn't a Sound against Lake thing," James said. "This is about pursuing a prudent financial course and securing the future of our club."
After the special meeting, former Lake Council Chairman Harry Dursch, who along with Staff Commodore Eric Sanderson has been leading the Leschi lease negotiations, met with Jim Edris a representative of the landlords, seeking a reduction in rent.
Edris responded several days later that there was "little or no interest in going forward with a rent rate lower than the current rent."
The club board intends to set up a committee to look for long-range alternatives at Leschi. In the meantime, Board Member Remmert Wolters, a J/24 sailor, has met with one of the owners of the BluWater Bistro, directly above the CYC clubhouse, to explore the possibility of using the restaurant as a post-race gathering place. "The initial response was very positive and this looks like a very viable and attractive option," Wolters said.
They discussed special menu items, that might appeal to sailors, and reserving part of the dining room for socializing by club members and their crews.
"All in all, the quality of the food is going to be a lot more attractive than what we were able to offer at the clubhouse, and the venue will probably prove to be much more attractive as well," Wolters said.