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08-19-2014 ICE MIN City of III Elk Meeting of the Arena Commission River Held at the Elk River City Hall Tuesday, August 19, 2014 Members Present: Chair Johnson,Vice Chair Givens Commissioners Holmgren, Balabon(sworn in tonight),Ballenger, Cunningham (arrived at 6:08 p.m.) Members Absent: Commissioner Westgaard, (Commissioner Larson has stepped down) Staff Present: Arena Manager Rich Czech,Arena Assistant Laura Estby I. Call Meeting to Order Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, the meeting of the Ice Arena Commission was called to order at 6:04 p.m. by Vice Chair Johnson. 2. Pledge of Allegiance Recited by Commission Members and Staff. 3. Consider 08/19/14 Arena Commission Agenda Moved by Commissioner Ballenger and seconded by Vice Chair Givens to approve the August 19, 2014, agenda. Motion carried 4-0. 4. Oath of Office to New Members Commissioner Brian Balabon was sworn in. 5. Consider Minutes 5.1 April 8, 2014 Minutes .-' Vice Chair Givens states in section 7.1 that it was noted she made the motion to elect herself to the Vice Chair position. Upon review of the audio recording of the meeting,Arena Assistant Estby noted the appointment wasn't done correctly. Givens volunteered for the position, and then the motion was seconded. For the records, the appointment of DeAnn Givens to the position of Vice Chair was redone. Moved by Commissioner Cunningham and seconded by Commissioner Holmgren to appoint Commissioner Givens to the Vice Chair Position. Motion carries 6-0. • Arena Commission Minutes Page 2 August 19,2014 III Commissioner Ballenger questions the section 8 the "look up line"reference as a Youth Hockey initiative.Arena Manager Czech confirms that it should be noted as a USA hockey initiative. Moved by Vice Chair Givens and seconded by Commissioner Cunningham to approve the minutes as amended. Motion carries 6-0. 6. Open Forum None Present. 7. Financial Update Arena Manager Czech notes that the reason that the figures for the rec programs are so high is due to the fact that we haven't paid out the other arena's involved in Breakaway their registration money yet. He also points out that the reason the sign rentals show a negative is because we bill in December so that advertisers can either pay in 2014 or 2015. The $2,080 shown as a negative reflects the advertisers who have not renewed their contracts. Czech also states the Capital Outlay projects have been delayed due to the possibility of a new facility. Currently the arena has a net income to date of$41,772 which is in line with what was projected for the year. III8. Meeting Dates Chair Johnson notes that currently the Arena Commission meets 4 times per year, with special meetings added as needed provided there is a 3 day notice. The past few years, some of these meetings have been cancelled due to a lack of material. Arena Manager Czech notes,it is staff's opinion to eliminate the January and November meetings, and to move the August meeting to the 3`d Tuesday of August, so as to avoid the primary elections. Chair Johnson states that for consistency, It would be easier to have the meetings be the 3rd Tuesday of April and the 3rd Tuesday of August. Motion by Chair Johnson and seconded by Commissioner Balabon to eliminate the Ice Arena Commission Meetings in January and November and to change the April and August meetings to the 3'd Tuesday of the month. Motion carries 6-0. 9. Arena Renovation Arena Manager Rich Czech states the Parks and Recreation department is putting IIItogether their master plan.A survey was mailed to random residents and 400 were 11P—OIVEREI 01 NATURE Arena Commission Minutes Page 3 August 19,2014 II/ returned. The results showed an interest in permanent bathrooms on trails,however the survey itself didn't address much with the Arena or Activity Center. There was also an online survey, as well as open public meetings,with the final one scheduled tomorrow,August 20. At this meeting members of the public will be able comment on the draft plan. Czech recommends members of the Elk River Youth Hockey Association as well as the Elk River Figure Skating club should attend to voice their opinions. Commissioner Holmgren notes the bathroom issue on the trails and in the parks was a big issue, however he believes that many of the youth athletic groups weren't aware that they should be voicing their opinions or that they would be affected. Arena Manager Czech states the Parks and Recreation Commission will have a meeting on September 10,where the plan may be discussed,but that August 20 is the last open meeting. Commissioner Ballenger notes The Elk River Youth Hockey Association has gotten the word out to its constituents and requested as many people to attend the meeting as possible. Commissioner Holmgren states as a recreation person,he felt the responses from the surveys were very low from recreational families. He again notes that the youth III organizations didn't realize the importance of it, and that if the Parks and Rec Commission only went by the surveys,it wouldn't be favorable for the facilities. Commissioner Ballenger notes that he felt the second online survey,was tailored more to the parks and trails, and unless the recipient specifically typed in"arena"it wasn't always an option. Arena Manager Czech states the online survey was open to all,not specifically Elk River residents. Commissioner Holmgren adds he believes the first survey was not a true representation of the communities'wishes. Arena Manager Czech states that City Administrator Cal Portner is looking at the RFP as far as what would be needed for an arena building that includes a community center and meeting rooms. Czech suspects there would have to be a referendum. Commissioner Holmgren notes when Parks and Recreation Director Michael Hecker talked to the Youth Baseball group, the communities that he used as comparables were Andover, Shakopee,Inver Grove Heights, Cottage Grove, Red Wing, Rosemount and South St. Paul. Holmgren suggested we look into those communities arenas to see what they have. III P 1 OIERE1 11 NATURE Arena Commission Minutes Page 4 August 19,2014 • Arena Manager Czech notes that some of those communities have county rinks as well. Commissioner Ballenger states that Shakopee can leverage ice from Prior Lake as well. Vice Chair Givens notes the Elk River Figure Skating Club's membership was emailed to try to get a larger presence at the August 20 meeting. 10. Rink Cameras Arena Manager Czech states Cable TV has been looking at stationary cameras for coaches and Huddlesports for a year. The system would use 11 cameras, and would do much of the work automatically. At this point, there is a prototype on the East Coast,but it isn't in any rinks yet, so they didn't have answers to many of staff's questions. The system allows a coach to "buy" a game, or for$2300/month there is unlimited access. Czech believes between the booster club and the youth hockey association, that fee could be covered so that it could be used anytime.At this point,nothing has been decided,but Czech would like to see it in place before the hockey season if it happens. II. Arena Manager's Update Czech notes the upcoming dry floor events,including a gun show the first weekend in September, and a craft show the second weekend. In addition, Fall Breakaway hockey ends in September, and our Learn to Skate begins in October. Effective this school year we are changing from 8 week sessions to 10 week sessions. He also notes the Skating Director has resigned,but that he already has a new director in mind who has worked in Elk River as a coach and is the current director for Minneapolis'program. Czech announces a new event beginning in October, "Tots Open Skate"which gives families with young children (6 and under) a chance to have a quieter open skate time. It will be the second and fourth Sundays of each month between October and March before our regular Open Skating sessions. It will be a half ice event,with the other half being available for birthday parties. 12. Announcements Chair Johnson asks if anyone has any announcements. Commissioner Ballenger inquires about Elk River Youth Hockey's contract and when it will be available as last year a fine was approved if it wasn't returned by a • certain date. PrIEREI Ir NATURE Arena Commission Minutes Page 5 August 19,2014 III13. Date of Next Arena Commission Meeting The next Arena Commission Meeting is noted as April 21, 2015. 14. Adjournment Motion made by Commissioner Cunningham and seconded by Commissioner Ballenger to dismiss the Arena Commission meeting. Motion carries 6-0 at 6:47 p.m. • 'tes prepared by Laura Estby DeAnn Givens, Chair C.-7 i______ _ „ Tina Allard, City Clerk • S POWERED IT NATURE