HYC Fee Structure Information Meeting

Monday, June 29, 2015

Summary Notes

Introduction and Mandate

Thank you to everyone who attended this meeting. The comments and questions
were well thought out and appreciated. We also appreciated that the discussion
was generally consistent with the Committees mandate which is to review the fee
structure in light of the changing demographics of the membership and
make recommendations, if necessary to the Board.
The following is a brief summary of the points and issues discussed.

Our Changing Demographics

The key issue as discussed and as shown in the material on the website (see the
background information tab), is that over the past 25 years the numbers of Senior
Members under the age of 65 has been decreasing and the proportion who are over
65 and who can take advantage of substantially reduced rates has been increasing.
It was pointed out that, to some extent, this reflects a national trend which is partly
due to the aging of the post war baby-boom generation and because people are
living longer, healthier lives. We clearly need to attract young members and
families for the future health of our Club. If current trends continue, we will have a
majority of our senior members over the age of 65 who are eligible for substantially
reduced membership fees within a few years.

The Status Quo is not an Option

As a result of these changes, the status quo is not an option and it was clear from
the show of hands that those in attendance agreed that the changes in our
demographics and the appropriateness of our fee structure were seen as important
issues that the Club should review. There also seemed to be general support for the
Committees plan to obtain members input now and over the summer and then to
hold a second meeting in the fall, prior to making any recommendations to the
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Board. Any by-law changes would require the support of the membership at the
Annual General Meeting in January.

Issues to be Considered in any Plans

Based on the discussion and questions it seemed to the Committee that the key
issues that the Members felt should be considered in any changes to the Fee
Structure were;
Making Gradual Changes. It was suggested that any changes in the fee
structure should be carefully considered and likely phased in over time to
allow a period of adjustment. One member pointed to the governments
gradual change in OAS eligibility to age 67 from 65. Other approaches to
implementing changes gradually were also discussed.
Attracting Younger Members. Many felt that we should make special effort
to recruit younger members and that we should look at incentives such as a
reduced initiation fee, making it easier to pay over e.g. 3 or more years, and
perhaps extending our Intermediate age category discount to e.g. age 35.
(Note: new members can currently pay the initiation over 3 years at prime
plus 2%). One member suggested a sliding scale for annual dues by age
groups e.g. 20-25, 25-30, 30-35 and a reduction in the Sr. Associates
discount. Another pointed out that initiation fees are important to the club as
they are used to fund capital projects.
Seniors Reductions. Many people felt that the current discounts for our
65+10 (65% discount) and 70+30 (77% discount) categories were quite
significant and that lesser amounts would still be fair
Consider the Impacts. A number of our Senior Plus members are on fixed
incomes and appreciate the earned reduction as one member called it.
Some mentioned that we could lose some of these members who are key
supporters of many club activities, if changes were too drastic.
Attracting New Members. Everyone agreed that we need to attract new
Senior Members. A number of ideas were suggested, including providing
more opportunities and incentives to members to attract new members
themselves, more marketing especially in St Lazare, more bilingual
communications and some participants volunteered to help with specific
initiatives. We should also consider conducting exit interviews to understand
the reasons. A number of ideas were also submitted on the blog. Many of
these are excellent ideas which our Board and the Membership Committee
will hopefully consider.

 Other sources of Revenue. During the meeting and on the blog and
questionnaire, many members have suggested looking at other sources of
revenue. It was pointed out that the Club does have other sources such as
regattas, the bar, Friday night dinners, yacht fees, private events etc.
However, membership fees are the largest single source and accounted for
43% of revenues in 2014. The success of other activities can also be very
dependent on cooperative weather and water levels. While Board members
welcome suggestions, many of the ideas were outside the scope of this
Committees mandate. However, as pointed out by one younger member, if
the Club is forced to look at other sources of revenue rather than ensuring a
sustainable fee structure, it could become a very different place in the future.
Other new Categories and Social Memberships. Some other Clubs offer
social memberships for a very low fee. It was pointed out that these may be
more expensive than expected as they can be accompanied by minimum
food and beverage charges and members can be subject to periodic
assessments. There was also some question regarding the potential interest
of social members in volunteering, which is key to the success of HYC.
Another member suggested that a Family Social membership, or a limited
number of guest passes would allow them to entertain their grown children
who have moved away and make the Club more valuable to them. For this
group it was suggested that out of town memberships and house guest
temporary memberships which are both currently in place, might be options
to consider. The club also offers a sabbatical leave for grown children who
are away at school.

Next Steps
Thanks again to everyone who participated. The next step is for the Committee to
convene a second meeting in the fall for final membership discussion before final
presentations and recommendations are presented to the Board. In the meantime
we continue to welcome comments and suggestions and please feel free to contact
members of the Committee or to provide comments on the questionnaire or the
blog on the website. http://hycfeerebalance.weebly.com/