City Hall Auditorium Commission

The City Hall Auditorium Commission held a meeting Friday, August 21, 2020, at 8:30 A.M. in the Commission Room of City Hall.
The members present were as follows:
PRESENT: Armbrust (via telephone), Olson, Deutsch & Thompson.
ABSENT: Nustad.
OTHERS PRESENT: Commissioner Dave Piepkorn, Bruce Grubb, Rob Sobolik
President Armbrust called the meeting to order.
MINUTES APPROVED: Deutsch moved approval of Minutes of meeting held on January 24, 2020. Seconded by Olson. Motion passed unanimously.
FINANCIAL REPORT: The 2019 year-end financial report was reviewed, along with the July 2020 year-to-date financial report. Thompson moved approval of financial report. Seconded by Deutsch. Motion passed unanimously
DIRECTOR’S REPORT: Rob Sobolik recognized Rick and Pat Jacobsen on their retirement from full time employment from the Fargo Civic Center as of July 31, 2020. Rick Jacobsen has over 35 years of service with the Fargo Civic Center and Pat Jacobsen has over 17 years of service with the Fargo Civic Center. Rick and Pat were congratulated by Commission members, along with Commissioner Piepkorn and Bruce Grubb.
Rob Sobolik reported that a group of City of Fargo personnel is working with JLG Architects and OberNel Engineering to continue to evaluate the present condition of the Fargo Civic Center and to determine a path forward for the operation of the facility along with any necessary repairs, updates, upgrades, etc., to continue with events at Fargo Civic Center. Items include an evaluation of the building structure, building systems, asbestos evaluation, backstage areas, etc. City of Fargo personnel involved in this currently involve Bruce Grubb, Michael Redlinger, Brock Morrison, Rob Sobolik and various Buildings and Grounds personnel. Additional information will be discussed regarding findings at future meetings.
The Midwest Starz Dance Competition, originally scheduled for May of 2020, did take place July 17-19, 2020 and things went well with physical distancing, etc.
The ticketing RFP being completed by FARGODOME, which the Fargo Civic Center is a part, is likely to be delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic and FARGODOME may seek an extension of the existing ticketing contract with its current provider until at least August 31, 2021, to accommodate the ticketing concerns of the concerts/touring shows postponed to 2021 and beyond. This means Fargo Civic Center could possibly stay with the existing agreement with Ticketmaster beyond December 31, 2020. This item will be discussed further at future meetings. EVENT EVALUATION SHEETS: None received.
LOST BUSINESS: Several events have been cancelled or postponed since March 12 due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Events cancelled include:
FM Derby Girls Roller Derby event – originally scheduled March 2020
Explore Lake Life Expo – originally scheduled March 2020
Masquerade Dance Competition – originally scheduled March 2020
Ovations Dance Competition – originally scheduled April 2020
Scooby-Doo family show performance – originally scheduled May 2020
ND Special Olympics Opening Ceremonies – originally scheduled June 2020
TedX Fargo – originally scheduled July 2020
COMING EVENTS: A few events have been postponed due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Those include:
Body, Mind, Spirit Expo – originally scheduled May 2020 is now Oct 16-18, 2020
Bert Kreischer comedy show – originally scheduled May 2020 is now Dec 18, 2020
Other upcoming events include Salvation Army events on Oct. 8-9, Nov. 23 and Dec. 21, the Veteran’s Day event in November and the ND Class B, Region 1 Volleyball tournament in November.
NEW BUSINESS: None
No further business discussed.
Deutsch moved adjournment for the meeting. Seconded by Olson. Meeting adjourned.