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08-21-2018 ICE MIN City of ElkMeeting of the Arena Commission River Held at the Elk River City Hall Tuesday, August 21, 20 18 Members Present: Chair Givens, Vice Chair Balabon, Commissioners Williams, Westgaard, Ballenger, Madsen Members Absent: Commissioner Cunningham 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 6:01 p.m. by Chair Givens. 2. Pledge of Allegiance Recited by Commission Members and Staff 3. Consider Agenda Motion made by Commissioner Westgaard and seconded by Vice Chair Balabon to approve the agenda for the 8/21/18 Arena Commission Meeting. Motion carries 6-0. 4. Consider Minutes 4.1 Minutes —April 2018 Regular Meeting 4.2 Minutes —May 2018 Special Meeting Chair Givens notes on the May 31"minutes, section 3, last sentence of the second paragraph should read "same AMOUNT of staff" Motion made by Commissioner Madsen and seconded by Vice Chair Balabon to approve the minutes with noted revision. Motion carries 6-0. 5. Open Forum No one present. 6. Financial Update Arena Manager Czech reviews the financial report, noting the arena is on track to meet budgets, as he is expecting the smaller groups to come back and bring us up to our goal. He adds the revenue listed in recreation programs is high because we haven't paid the participating arenas in the Breakaway Hockey league for their fall registrations yet. He also states sign rentals (dasher ads, etc) are billed in 2018 but can be paid in 2018 or 2019, and the dry floor revenue will still go up a bit as the fall craft show isn't quite sold out. • Arena Commission Minutes Page 2 August 21,2018 III Regarding expenses, Czech notes the repairs that were done to the Olympic rink this summer totaled $100,000 which will put the arena over budget. There will also be more expenses (but also revenue) coming from concessions since the 2018-2019 season hasn't started yet. Motion to approve the arena financials as presented made by Vice Chair Balabon and seconded by Commissioner Williams. Motion carries 6-0. 7. General Business 7.1 Community Center/Arena Arena Manager Czech states the City Council has given direction to add a referendum to the November election for a 1 % sales tax to offset the $35 Million project which includes a renovation to the arena. If it does not pass,The City will spend $16 Million on their "Plan B". The City has hired a firm to help get the word out. Czech adds that he has gotten contact information from the youth hockey participants, but is unsure if he will be able to get it from the Elk River Figure Skating Club. Vice Chair Balabon adds The City should also get contact information from youth softball as well as any other groups impacted. Commissioner Williams notes he is scheduled to meet with City Administrator Cal Portner and Youth Hockey President Kelli Swart to develop a plan. III Arena Manager Czech replies Councilwoman Wagner took the lead on the senior center portion of the project as to whether the current building is repaired, or if the seniors would be moved to the Arena. She is trying to determine what the seniors would like in a facility, and notes that 131 signed a petition to stay in their current building. Chair Givens notes "Plan B" leaves nothing for the seniors, and doesn't effect the ball fields. Commissioner Ballenger asks if the design for "Plan A" is completely decided on? Commissioner Westgaard replies no, but the 2017 plan is a starting point. Chair Givens asks if"Plan A" passes, can any work be done prior to the Governor singing off on the tax increase? Commissioner Westgaard replies technically yes, as he feels based on the vote in November,The City will have a good idea if it will pass at the state. Chair Givens adds it has been mentioned previously that tax increases are usually for infrastructure and not recreation projects. III POWERED --I UV NATURE Arena Commission Minutes Page 3 August 21,2018 Commissioner Westgaard notes the only other thing that would be helpful would be other revenue sources,i.e. naming rights, grants, etc. He adds recently an arena in the Fargo/Moorhead area was funded completely through private donations and sponsors. Arena Manager Czech adds a Mighty Ducks grant could be as much as $500,000 total. Commissioner Westgaard adds there is still money in a fund from Hockey Day in MN which he believes was meant for a community space if/when the Arena gets a renovation. Arena Manager Czech replies if"Plan A" passes the renovation would include meeting rooms, and asks if the Hockey Day Committee would have to reconvene to make decisions about the money. Commissioner Westgaard notes he is uncertain, as some of the members are no longer around, but adds that there would be revenue from the leasing of the high school locker rooms, a retail space if that happens, as well as the lease for a concessions space for football. In addition, if the seniors move to the arena, that would bring an additional$1.5 Million to the project that was originally slotted to repair their current facility. • 8. Arena Managers Update Arena Manager Czech notes the rink had a Midwest Mustangs tournament last weekend, and will have another this coming weekend. The Craft show is September 15— 16 and is nearly sold out. After the craft show, the ice will go back into the barn. Summer projects have included moving the levers, cleaning and painting. He adds there won't be as much painting this summer to save expenses due to the anticipated renovation. We will be rebuilding the top end of the second compressor. The Fall Breakaway Hockey League has gone well. Five leaks were found in the Olympic rink this spring, two of which were pretty major. Overall 1600#s of refrigerant was lost. Chair Givens inquires about the repairs to The Barn. Czech replies the black lines were due to a check valve that wasn't closing all of the way, causing oil buildup.The valve was repaired and the system blown out and it seems to be working fine now. P O WERER R 9 NAB RE Arena Commission Minutes Page 4 August 21,2018 • Commissioner Westgaard (referring to the ending fund balance on the financial report) that it should be discussed with City Administrator Cal Portner how the City intends to pay for repairs and improvements that even a newly renovated facility will need over the next 30 years? He suggests the Arena Commission should put forth a recommendation to put a portion of user fees into a sinking fund so that there wouldn't need to be a levee in the future. Currently, many city projects have been funded by the power plant, landfill and gravel mining, however those revenue sources won't be available forever. Arena Manager Czech inquires if the existing balance will roll over? Commissioner Westgaard replies yes, however it doesn't build fast enough. He suggests using lease money to create an enterprise fund, adding 40% of the profit from the liquor stores goes to parks —and the turf alone will need to be replaced every 7-10 years. Commissioner Madsen expresses concern that if a fund was set up, that the money would be taken for other projects instead. Commissioner Westgaard adds it would need to be set up as a specific enterprise fund. Chair Givens asks if the arena has averaged approx. $100,000/year in profit since the debt service has been paid off. Arena Manager Czech replies yes, give or take depending on what maintenance has needed to be done, and adds he will set up a meeting with City Administrator Cal Portner and Parks and Recreation Director Michael Hecker. Chair Givens asks for a report at the next meeting which is scheduled for April 16, 2019 and inquires if we will want a special meeting after the election in November? Commissioner Westgaard replies after the election there will be a task force set up which should include an arena commission representative. The last task force included Commissioner Williams, Arena Manager Rich Czech and Commissioner Westgaard. Vice Chair Balabon and Chair Givens express interest in being on the task force. Commissioner Ballenger inquires what the commission can and should be doing to help get the word out to the public, and what the strategy is as well as the message. Commissioner Westgaard replies the firm that was hired will help give direction. 9. Announcements 10. Date of next Arena Commission Meeting POWERED RE N