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08-15-2017 ICE MIN Meeting of the Arena Commission Held at the Elk River City Hall Wednesday, August 15 2017 Members Present: Chair Givens, Vice Chair Balabon, Commissioners Ballenger, Cunningham, Westgaard, Madsen Members Absent: Sagan Staff Present: Arena Manager Rich Czech, Arena Assistant Laura Estby 1. Call Meeting to Order Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, the meeting of the Ice Arena Commission was called to order at 6:08 p.m. by Chair Givens. 2. Pledge of Allegiance Recited by Commission Members and Staff. 3. Oath of Office to New Commission Members This was left on the agenda from the previous meeting. No members needed to complete this. 4. Consider 4/18/17 Agenda Motion by Commissioner Westgaard and seconded by Commissioner Ballenger to approve the August 15, 2017 agenda. Motion carried 6-0. 5. Consider 4/18/17 Minutes Chair Givens notes on section 8.2 the Motion should read “Motion to raise the prime rate…” Motion to approve the April 18, 2017 minutes with the above change by Commissioner Westgaard and seconded by Vice Chair Balabon. Motion carried 6-0. 6. Open Forum No one was in attendance. 7. Financial Update Arena Commission Minutes Page 2 August 15, 2017 ----------------------------- Arena Manager Czech reviews the financial report as of July 31, 2017. He notes ice sales are where they should be, and that the figure for recreation programs is high because the arenas that participate in the fall breakaway program have not been paid for their registrations yet. He adds the revenue from sign rental is typically put in at the end of the year. Czech notes the City hired The Decklan Group to procure advertising for the arena in November, and to date they have not brought any in. Commissioner Ballenger inquires if Elk River Youth Hockey has anything on the dasher boards, as he feels that is trending at other arenas. Arena Manager Czech replies they don’t currently, and if they would want to, and if the commission would like to give them a discount, then it would be something we would have to establish a rule for in case the figure skating club would like one as well. He adds the Olympic side is pretty full, but there is room in the Barn. Chair Givens notes there are many people who don’t realize there is a figure skating club in Elk River, and it would be good exposure. Commissioner Ballenger suggests the possibility of youth hockey and the figure skating club going in on a dasher together. Arena Manager Czech notes the arena has partnered with youth hockey and the figure skating club, to have one learn to skate program which truly benefits all parties. He adds, during the peak season (Late Nov – Mid Feb) lessons would move from Monday to Saturday. Commissioner Westgaard states it is the City Council’s recommendation that we are not competing with other entities, be that local youth associations, the school district, etc. He digresses back to advertising and notes there isn’t a line item on the budget to pay The Decklan Group for their services. Arena Manager Czech replies they are paid on commission. He adds, in the past, advertising has pretty much taken care of itself. Customers have come to him and he has worked with them directly. In addition, the City is considering adding a marketing position, which may help. Commissioner Westgaard inquires if we sell advertising on the ice? Arena Manager Czech notes we have it as an option, but no one has ever asked about it at this point. Currently we have our Breakaway Hockey Logo on the ice. In addition we have played around with the idea of naming rights, (referencing the Marshall, MN arena). He also adds the city approved $750,000 for a video system. Commissioner Westgaard states it may benefit us to have a plan for all of the ad options so that we have an idea of how much revenue we could potentially make. Arena Commission Minutes Page 3 August 15, 2017 ----------------------------- Arena Manager Czech agrees, but notes we would need to go through the Decklan Group to do so. Commissioner Westgaard adds, the advertising is business, if they are not bringing customers in, then we may need to re-evaluate the arrangement. Arena Manager Czech notes the budget meeting was last night and nothing has changed. It will be finalized in early December. Commissioner Ballenger states it is hard to know if the arena is on track, and asks if The City can do monthly reports instead of annual? Commissioner Westgaard notes that in the case of the Arena, a good portion of the annual revenue comes in the months of September – December. He adds that Lori Ziemer (finance director) should be able to put something together, and maybe Rich could send something out quarterly, just to keep the Commission in the loop. Commissioner Ballenger inquires if the Commission would be able to do anything if it is found the Arena is behind their projected budget? Arena Manager Czech notes this year we had a leak in our refrigeration system, and we needed 750 pounds added at $25/lb. At one time, our system was state of the art, but now it is old technology. We know that there is a slow leak in a pipe in the floor, which is why there is a dark line on the north end of the Olympic. Should the system fail, the city has insurance to cover their financial loss, however it would place a burden on our customers. Czech adds we do have money in the budget for a new refrigeration system and it has been in our capital improvement plans, but it has always been put off as there was talk of a new building and/or renovation. Motion to approve the financial update as presented made by Commissioner Ballenger and seconded by Commissioner Madsen. Motion passes 6-0. 8. General Business 8.1 Multipurpose Community Center Progress Update th Arena Manager Czech states on August 7 the City Council voted to move forward with RFPs. Tom Beatty from the 292 group put together a projected timeline for the project which has been included in the packet. Commissioner Ballenger inquires if the arena will be out of commission completely during the renovation. Arena Commission Minutes Page 4 August 15, 2017 ----------------------------- Arena Manager Czech replies it all depends on when the ball gets rolling. It takes 6-8 months to get a sheet of ice in. At this point, it sounds like the Barn will be done first, and then the Olympic. Commissioner Westgaard adds the demolition of the barn would begin right after the season ends in the spring. Arena Manager Czech adds it will obviously effect revenue if we only have ice on one sheet of ice, and that we may need to add a special meeting if the City Council makes any decisions about moving forward. Commissioner Westgaard inquires if we will want a construction manager. He adds it should be decided on, and ultimately we would end up with a better project. Arena Manager Czech is most concerned about the refrigeration aspect of the project and wants to be sure that whoever is hired has experience with it. Commissioner Cunningham notes the school district is still talking to the city about ways they can partner. Commissioner Westgaard adds there have been some intriguing options brought to the table, including turning Lions Park into a baseball stadium where the building would become a locker room area. He notes there has also been discussion at the County level to build a new facility on the west end of town towards Big Lake, and with that possibly a third sheet. Commissioner Westgaard is unsure what role the county plays in all of this. He adds that if a community center is built, it would be the arena portion that would have the potential to bring in the money with advertising, naming rights, etc. At one point in time, Great River Energy was interested in naming rights. He also notes it is important to realize that no other youth groups pay for their practice/game spaces. 9. Arena Manager’s Update Arena Manager Czech highlights upcoming events/projects:  The ice will be back in the barn for the season on September 20. th  The 20 Annual Fall Craft Show is September 16-17  Midwest Hockey has a tournament in August  A gate has been installed in the NE corner of the Olympic to help with getting the ice dividers out. Czech also notes the Champlin Ice Arena had a shaft seal go out and they lost their ice. In addition the Mighty Ducks grant wasn’t funded this year, however the person in charge believes it will be funded in 2018. The stipulation is that it needs to be used the year that it is awarded. Arena Commission Minutes Page 5 August 15, 2017 ----------------------------- 10. Date of next Arena Commission Meeting Vice Chair Balabon suggests meeting more often because of the potential upcoming changes to the arena. Arena Manager Czech notes special meetings can be called at any time. Commissioner Westgaard notes there will be steering committees, and the planning and design will need to be decided before we break ground. He asks who will be evaluating the RFP’s. Arena Manager Czech replies the City Council, Cal (City Administrator), Michael (Parks and Rec Director) and himself. He adds he will inform Cal that the commission is very interested in being a larger part of the design and decision making process. Commissioner Westgaard inquires about calling for the next meeting to be in October. Motion by Vice Chair Balabon, and seconded by Commissioner Cunningham to schedule the next regular meeting on October 10 and October 17. Motion passes 6-0. Commissioner Cunningham notes field requests have tripled in recent years. If we could do a three sheet renovation/facility, leaving the third sheet fairly basic, that sheet could have ice out first and we could lay down turf. 12. Adjournment Meeting adjourned by Chair Givens at 7:40 p.m. Minutes prepared by Laura Estby ___________________ DeAnn Givens, Chair _____________________ Tina Allard, City Clerk