Greetings  ,

OPTC Board Newsletter – July 2021
 

• The OPTC Board wants to thank all Season Pass Holders, friends, and families for supporting the Club throughout the challenging 2020 Pandemic year and we thank you for your near-record memberships as we have begun a more typical and normal 2021 Season!
  Our Season Pass memberships, Junior Program registrations, Team Tennis sign-ups, and Guest Pass sales are at high levels, and our current financial picture is very sound, despite having to delay our return to some of the additional revenue streams like frequent social events and some tournament hosting.
  We continue to use our Court Reservation options to reserve courts in 2021 (just use the smartphone Kourts App or call the OPTC Office), and while players can also still look for courts on a “walk-up” basis, the reservation system continues to help us maximize court usage while minimizing wait time for players.  We continue to look for ways to make the reservation system better, so if you have any constructive suggestions for improvement, please feel free to email comments to info@oakparktennis.com

Water Well Project Update

• The OPTC Board continues to negotiate approval to install the Water Well that will irrigate our 9 Clay Courts (and eliminate our annual $20,000+ water bill which will help control our Season Pass rates).  We have received approval from The Forest Preserves of Cook County (our landlords) to dig the Well, and our Well Contractor subsequently attained Permits from the Cook County Department of Health.
  We submitted for the final Permits from the Village of River Forest back in late April, including submittal of all schematics, documentation of plans, and the drill-site location (in the brick area next to Court 9), but we have not yet received their approval due to concerns about the drilling process and containment of the expelled materials, but we are continuing negotiations and hope to have final approvals very soon.
  Thanks to generous donations by so many Members we have now raised almost $38,000, and we are closing in on our goal of $45,000 for the overall project.
  If you would like to contribute to this critical expense-saving project (and environmentally conscious utilization of a natural resource), please utilize the link below to contribute. 

Clubhouse Foundation Leveling

• You may have noticed that the southwest corner of our OPTC Clubhouse has been slowly sinking over these past several years (which is causing the wall to pull away from the chimney), and we recently had the support beams and foundation analyzed by a Structural Engineer.
  The support beams under the flooring have been deteriorating due to wet conditions along the south and west walls at the southwest corner of the Clubhouse and we are in the process of obtaining quotes from contractors per the Structural Engineer design of needed repairs.
  We have the funds available within our Capital Improvement account (which is a Contractual requirement with our landlords, the Forest Preserves of Cook County) so we are happy to announce that we do not need to raise any funds to fix the Clubhouse foundation, and we plan to get this much-needed repair completed this season.

SW corner gathering and Bike Rack area upgrade

• The OPTC Board is assessing the bike rack area, with plans to clean, reorganize, and repurpose the space.  We are researching contemporary-designed and space-saving bike racks, and the possibility of resurfacing the ground area, making more room for formal seating and tables to enhance the ambiance of the space and allow for additional gathering in more comfort as we return to more social events and post-play gatherings.

Get Out and Play!

• We are so excited to see the return to full courts at OPTC, along with robust membership and recognized Junior Programs that are unparalleled in the area, and we thank all members for making OPTC a great tennis community!  The future is bright, and as always, we welcome your thoughts and constructive suggestions to enhance the club experience as we prepare to celebrate 100 Years of OPTC in 2024!