Now that the OPA Board of Directors selected Touch of Italy as the association's new food and beverage firm, association members obviously have a number of questions.

Based on information from OPA, let's try and answer some of the more obvious questions.

1. When will Touch of Italy take over OPA food and beverage operations?
That is not currently known. The existing contract with Matt Ortt Companies (Ortt) does not expire until April 30th. OPA says it has no plans to end the contractual relationship with Ortt until the contract expires. Whether Ortt and OPA come to some agreement on early termination is unknown at this time.

2. How much will Touch of Italy pay OPA to lease the OPA facilities?
The agreement provides Touch of Italy pay OPA approximately $380,000 lease amount per year, paid in monthly installments. This amount is roughly the same as the current combined depreciation costs for the Beach Club, Yacht Club, and Clubhouse Grille. In other words, OPA will break even if Touch of Italy makes no profit or loses money. The lease payment will increase by 3% each year.

3. Will OPA share in any profits made by Touch of Italy?
Yes. This amount, of course, cannot be set in stone at this time. Expectations are that in the first year OPA would receive about $180,000 in profit sharing. By year five that could be around $360,000. OPA's income in the initial year is expected to be around $560,000 for combined lease payments and profit sharing. OPA's profit after depreciation would be about $180,000. This is in contrast to the current fiscal year, and some past years under the current contract, where OPA is expected lose money after depreciation.

4. What about maintenance costs?
The contract makes Touch of Italy responsible for maintenance of the interior of the facilities in a somewhat complicated manner but OPA is confident this will have a value of perhaps $60,000 per year. One example - if Touch of Italy decided to remodel the entire downstairs dining room it looks like they would be responsible for those costs. This aspect needs further research.

5. Will Touch of Italy continue the weekend bands on the Yacht Club deck?
Yes, Not much will change in that regard.

All in all, this new contract with Touch of Italy provides OPA with a substantially greater monetary return than the prior contract. For example, in OPA's fiscal year 2023-2024 the combined three food and beverage operations produced a profit of $98,000 after including depreciation expense while Ortt reportedly received a management fee and profit sharing amount of about $500,000 after OPA paid all expenses for the three venues, including labor.

Association members will have an opportunity to ask their own questions at the OPA Town Hall Meeting next week - January 16th, Noon at the Community Center.