INFORMATION #2 05-08-2006
SPECIAL MEETING OF THE ELK RIVER
ICE ARENA COMMISSION
HELD AT ELK RIVER CITY HALL
TUESDAY, APRIL 4,2006
J\iIen1bers Present:
Chair lvIartin, COl1l11USsioners Foss, Halgren, Foss, Johnson, IvIalzahn (6:04
p.n1.), and Paige
J\Ien1bers ..:.\bsent:
COlwrussioner Farber
Staff Present:
~\rena IvIanager Rich Czech, City ~\dtninistrator Lori Johnson, and
Recording Secretary Jessica I'v'filler
~\lso Present:
Jon 1JcLaughlin, Elk River Youth Hockey President
1. Call J\iIeeting To Order
Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, the lneeting of the Elk River Ice .l\rena COlllilussion
\vas called to order at 6:00 p.ll1. by ChairJ\.{artin.
2. Consider 04/04/06 Ice J.\rena COInlnission ~\genda
Chair j\ifart1n noted that the Other Business must be ren10ved froIn the agenda as this is a
special 111eeting and only itelns set on the agenda can be discussed.
:~vlOVED BY COJ\1~IISSIONERJOHNSON AND SECONDED BY
COrvIJ\1ISSIONER HALGREN TO APPROVE THE APRIL 4, 2006 ICE ARENA
COi\1MISSION AGENDA AS AMENDED. THE MOTION CARRIED 5-0.
3. Consider 08/02/2005 Ice .l\rena COlnmlssion rVllnutes
MOVED BY COMMISSIONER HALGREN AND SECONDED BY
COJ\1~1ISSIONERJOHNSON TO APPROVE THE AUGUST 2, 2005 ICE ARENA
COM:t\.1ISSION REGULAR MEETING J\1INUTES. MOTION CARRIED 5-0.
4. Open 1tike
No one \vas present for open lnike.
,). 2005 Operating Finances/Information on 2006 Financial Status
City I\dministrator Lori J ollnson revie\ved the account revenue and expenditure sUIllil1ary.
[vIs. J ohnso11 explained that in 2005, revenues totaled $633,339 and expenditures totaled
$493,970. She stated that the total transfer-in for 2005 froln other cit)7 funds to subsidize the
arena operations \vas $66,302. She noted dlat the total transfer-ins to-date total $1,231,957.
(C0111lnissioner 1vfalzahn arrived at this tUne)
1vIs. Johnson indicated that d1e operation of the concession stand is going \veil and has a net
protlt of $15,700 so far in 2006. She stated dlat the origil1alloss sho\v11 far last year has ta
Ice Arena Commission l\Enutes
April 4~ 2006
Page 2
do \\.1.th the eqwplnent that the city purchased to get the concession stand up and luflrung
and that an inventol1' \vas not taken at year end so all inventory \vas charged to 2005.
Chair j\.Iartin questioned if insurance covered the replacement of the ..(\rena roof. wIs.
Johnson indicated that it did \v-lth the exception of the $2,500 deductible and the
replacelnent process \vent Vel)" \veil.
(hIs. Johnson left at this titne)
6. Ice Sales
Ice .;.\rena IvIanager Rich Czech revie\ved a chart that sho\vs ice usage by customer for the
2004/2005 and 2005/2006 seasons. ~vfr. Czech eXplained that the increase in hours \vas due
1110Stly to tile additional summer hours that \vere sold. He noted that the decrease in tlle high
school hours \vas a result of not selling hours to Becker/Big Lake last season.
wIs. Czech indicated that there is some talk about the Rogers _Arena being built either tllls
year or next year. He stated that last year 388 hours of ice tin1e \vas rented to the Rogers
High School progrllil1s and their associations, \Vh1Ch \vill have to be sold once they have their
o\vn .L\rena. rVlr. Czech explained that of tile 388 hours rented to Rogers, approxitnately 40
hours are right after school or holiday hours \Vh1Ch may be lost \vhen Rogers builds because
groups \'vill be unable to utilize those hours. He said that he spoke \vith Paul Gustafson,
Rogers High School.i\thletic Director and informed lllin that \ve need a commitlnent of
hours for the 2006-2007 season by the end of I\pril.
r,,1r. Czech stated that he has spoken \vith Becker/Big Lake and they \vould be interested in
renting ice from Elk River again. Jon j\JcLaughlin, Elk River y' outh Hockey President
indicated that he \vill try to \vark \vith Rich on renting SOlne of the hours but it \\Till be
difficult to pickup the \veekend hours.
11s. Czech stated that the Break ..c\\vay Hockey League \vas expanded last spring to the
:tvfonticello .i\.rena and he is hoping to expand the league into an ..t\ and B level and increase
the participants in the league.
7. Ice Rates /Rogers ~'1.rena
[vIr. Czech eXplained dlat last ___April dle ice rates \vere increased as follo\vs:
Seasonal prune time ice: from $145 to $153 an hour
Seasonal non-prime tUne ice: fro111 $115 to $125 an hour
Off season prll1e tUne ice: froln $120 to $125 an hour
Off season non-prime tUne ice: fro111 $75 to $95 an hour
1,'Ir. Czech indicated after revie\ving the ..(\rena's operation costs and hourly rates at otIler
.L'1.renas in the area, his recolnlnendation is to keep the seasonal (September - tnid-j\Jarch) ice
rates at their current rates and revie\v the non-seasonal (lnid-j\-1arch - ..L'1.ugust) rates at the
..('1.ugust Ice ..(\rena COlrurussion Ineeting.
I ce Arena Commission i\linutcs
.April 4, 20ClG
Page 3
8. Concession Stand
.tuena IvIanager Rich Czech stated that after taking over operations of the concession stand
fron1 Elk River Y OUdl Hockey, the city purchased SaIne ne\v equipnlent to enhance
operations.
1V&. Czech explained that the [lIst year of operations \vent very \veil. I-Ie stated that the 11l0St
difficult part \vas hiring and training ne\v elnployees.
9. Danlage to Olympic Roof
{vIr. Czech indicated that the Olynlpic rink roof \vas seriously da1naged b:r hail fronl one of
the l1lajor stor1ns last Septen1ber. He stated that the dmnage \vas so severe that it also caused
some 111ajor \vater damage to the interior ~~ena \valls. I:vlr. Czech explained that staff \'lorked
\vith the insurance company" and the roof \vas totally replaced before \vinter. Iv1r. Czech
noted dlat the clean-up and painting of the interior \valls \\till begin ~Jay 20 and is expected
to take about three \veeks. He noted that the ice \vill not be able to be used during tIus w1le.
10. .l'\rena Office .-:'\ssistant
Ice .-:'\rena I\'fanager Rich Czech stated that there are about 30 applicants for the 1\.rena Office
.A..ssistant but that the hiring process is taking longer than expected due to the \vorkload of
the Hunlan Resources Department. :tvIr. Czech explained that each applicant "vill be assigned
points based on dleir applications and reSU1nes and dle top five \vill be in tel",\Tie\ved. He
noted that it looks prolmsing to have S0111eOne begin \vork at dle beginning of j),:'fay.
11. ~'\rena Banners
:tvIr. Czech indicated that he \vould like the Commission to set a policy regarding banners in
the ..L\rena. He stated that in dle past, several banners have been hung in the ~\rena for dle
High School boys and girls State Tournaments \vhich range froIn participating in the
tournanlent to being State Champions. 1vf.r. Czech explained that he \vould like direction if
banners should be hung as long as r00111 allo\vs or if only certain banners should be hung.
Iv1r. Czech noted that it is his understanding that a fe\v years back the Elk River f-Iigh School
Boys Hockey Tean1 \vas ranked nUlnber one in the nation by the United States Hockey
Report (LT .S.H.R.) and that they are in the process of Inaking a banner that the)t \vauld like to
hang in dle ..L\rena.
C011urussioner J ohnso11 indicated that he doesn't believe that banners should be hung unless
they \vere a\varded for sOlnething that took place on the ice.
Chair :t\fart1.n stated that he \vould like to limit the banners hung to those a\varded by the
affiliated governing body. COInmissioner :tvfalzahn concurred.
COInmissioner Halgren questioned if the ~\.rena has a book of policies set by the
COlnnussiol1. He stated that it \vould be nice to have the policies regarding the pictures,
banners, etc in one place for reference. 1v&. Czech indicated that there is no official policy
book but that could be something the ne\v Office ..c\.ssistant could pursue.
Ice Arena Commission i\linutes
April 4, 2006
Page 4
lvir. Czech noted that he spoke to J on Barth, Elk River High School..c\tlllecic Director
regarding the High School's policy on banners and he \vas told dlat if tlle banner a\varded is
not affiliated \v1.dl the High School, it is not hung in tlle school. l\..Ir. Czech also noted that he
fears that if too l1lany banners are hung fr01n dle .L'Uena ceiling that they could thro\v off the
dehunuclification systen1.
COlTIllUSsioner Paige indicated that SaIne .L\rena's have many banners hanging and that it is
unpressive to see \vhat the teams have accoluplished.
It \vas the consensus of the Commission to develop a banner policy no\v and revisit it at the
.L\ugust Ineeting.
MOVED BY COMMISSIONER]OHNSON AND SECONDED BY
COMMISSIONER MALZAHN TO SET THE FOLLO\VING BANNER POLICY:
ANY BANNER HUNG IN THE ELK RIVER ICE ARENA NEEDS TO BE
ACCOMPLISHED THROUGH ON-ICE, EARNED RECOGNITION AS A
RESULT OF HEAD TO HEAD COMPETITION DURING LEAGUE, REGION,
STATE, NATIONAL, AND/OR INTERNATIONAL PLAY.
~10TION CARRIED 6-0.
12. NHL Pro Ganle
1\.,fr. Czech stated d1at there has been a request that the .L"\rena donate ice tUne for an N.H.L.
pro charity ga1ne \\tidl the funds raised going to Elk River Y oud1 Hockey. lv'fr. Czech stated
that Trevor Ste\vart, an Elk River High School alumni, is organizing tlle event and stated that
he has received cormmtrnents fro11l fello\v Elk River High School alulnru Dan Hinote of tlle
Colorado .L~valanche and Paul fvIartin of the Ne\v Jersey Devils.
Chair lv'fartin indicated that there is SaIne question as to \vhether or not N .H.L. players are
able to participate in these events \vhile tlley are under contractual agreelnent \\Tith their
N.H.L. tealll. He stated that he left a 111essage for Paul Ivlartin to clarify \vhether or not his
contract allo\vs his participation in dus event.
1vfr. Czech stated that his recolnmendation if this event moves fOl'\vard \vould be for
someone to \vork closely \\~th tl1e event organizers to keep staff and the COlrunission
in forlned. He indicated tllat forlner COlnmissioner IZent IYIadsen has expressed interest in
being the liaison bet\veen staff and dle COlumission and dle event organizers. 1'1r. Czech
noted that he \vill also be keeping in contact \vidl11r. Ste\vart.
Chair IvIartin indicated that he \vould \'lork \vith fvIr. IvIadsen on dus event.
MOVED BY COMMISSIONER HALGREN AND SECONDED BY
COMi\1ISSIONER JOHNSON TO RECOi\1MEND TO THE CITY COUNCIL
THAT IF THE NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE PRO-CHARITY GAl\1E TAKES
PLACE THAT THE ARENA DONATE THE ICE TIME. MOTION
CARRIED 6-0.
Ice Arena Commission 0.1inutes
""\pril 4~ 2006
Page 5
13. Staff Updates
1.fr. Czech provided an update on d1e summer projects, upcoll11ng dry floor events, and on
..:\rena goals.
14. .i\djournn1ent
MOVED BY COMMISSIONER HALGREN AND SECONDED BY
COMMISSIONER FOSS TO ADJOURN THE APRIL 4, 2006 ICE ARENA
COMMISSION MEETING. MOTION CARRIED 6-0.
Respectfully submitted,
~1dM
] essica Iv1iller
Recording Secretary