MINUTES OF THE FARGO DOME AUTHORITY MEETING
A regular meeting of the Fargo Dome Authority was held on Tuesday, September 29, 2020 at 3:30 p.m. in FARGODOME Meeting Room 203 with President Blake Nelson presiding.
Members present: President Blake Nelson, Troy Goergen, David Suppes, Michael Ellingson, Nancy Jordheim, Rick Steen and Dan Armbrust.
Members absent: None
Others present: Ryan Green – City of Fargo; Bernie Larson, Assistant General Manager – FARGODOME; Amanda Muellenbach, Administrative and Auxiliary Services Manager – FARGODOME and Rob Sobolik, General Manager – FARGODOME.
Media Present: Jeff Kolpack – The Forum.
President Blake Nelson called the meeting to order at 3:32 p.m.
David Suppes made a motion, seconded by Nancy Jordheim, to approve the agenda of the September 29, 2020 Fargo Dome Authority meeting as presented. Motion carried.
Dan Armbrust made a motion, seconded by Mike Ellingson, to approve the minutes from the August 25, 2020 Fargo Dome Authority meeting. Motion carried.
Rob Sobolik presented the General Manager’s report as follows:
- Year-to-Date Net Income through August 2020 is stated at -$721,151 which is a negative variance (to budget) of $762,533.
Upon review, Rick Steen made a motion, seconded by Dan Armbrust, to approve the August 2020 financial statements as presented.
On call of the roll, Armbrust, Ellingson, Jordheim, Nelson, Steen and Suppes voted aye.
Absent and not voting: Goergen.
The motion was declared carried.
- Review of Current Events: Rob gave an update on the status of current events.
Troy Goergen joined the meeting.
Rick Steen presented the Fargo Dome Authority Building and Finance Committee report.
The Fargo Dome Authority Building and Finance Committees met on Wednesday, September 23, 2020. Items discussed included:
- August 2020 Financial Statements: The August 2020 Financial Statements were approved by the Finance Committee at the meeting on September 23, 2020.
- Year End Look Ahead: Rob and Susan provided an overview of the projected year-end financials, including a review of cancelled and postponed events, along with a proposed contractual pro rata suiteholder and advertiser refund analysis. Please see attachments. Upon review and discussion, the Building and Finance Committees each approved a motion to move forward with a refund to Suiteholders and Advertisers of 60% of their annual payment for lost events in 2020 as recommended by building staff.
Project Updates:
- Rob updated the committees on the protocol for the NDSU Football game on October 3, 2020. NDSU Athletics, FARGODOME Staff, City Employees and Fargo Cass Public Health worked together to put a Covid-19 response in place. This plan includes building changes and staff guidelines along with directives from NDSU regarding attendance numbers, patron requirements and game activity. This plan will be updated as needed.
- Dressing Room & Catering Room Remodel: The project is moving forward as planned. The substantial completion date for the overall project is mid November 2020.
- Football Turf: Rob updated the committees on the progress of repairs to the football turf. Astroturf was here in September to cut the leader from the turf. They repaired the turf, including straightening the lines. They will be back in October after the NDSU Football game to reattach a new leader. Following these repairs, the plan is to use the turf through 2022, with options to replace the turf reviewed at that time.
Capital Budget Reallocation:
Rob noted that there are cast iron roof drains in three of the four corners that need to be repaired. Following the last significant rain storm, drainpipes in both the SW and SE corners were leaking. The cost to repair the pipes is $19,601. Rob requested to reallocate $19,601.50 from the 2020 Budgeted/Unallocated line item to pay for the pipes to be fixed. The Building Committee and Finance Committee each accepted a motion to approve the above reallocation request.
Additional Items:
- Escrow Balance & Performance Reports: The FARGODOME permanent fund performance, year-to-date, through July 2020 is 3.52%. Please see attachments. Susan noted that there may be a need to use money out of the escrow fund to cover operating expenses in the future. The Finance Committee accepted a motion to approve FARGODOME staff to request through City of Fargo Finance personnel to move escrow funds from the State Investment Board to a FARGODOME Operating Account in increments up to $500,000, as needed for operating expenses. The Finance Committee and Fargo Dome Authority will be kept apprised of cash activity at monthly meetings.
- Special Services Agreement Renewal: Rob noted that the current Food & Beverage agreement with Spectra will expire December 31, 2020. Spectra has offered to extend the current agreement at the same terms for three years, with an option to extend for an additional two years. Rob plans to reach out to Spectra to see if there are any alternative options regarding the monthly base fee for this agreement. Rob will bring this back to the committees for review in the upcoming months.
Rick Steen made a motion to approve the Building and Finance Committee report as presented.
On call of the roll, Armbrust, Ellingson, Goergen, Jordheim, Nelson, Steen and Suppes voted aye.
Absent and not voting: None.
The motion was declared carried.
The next Fargo Dome Authority meeting will be on October 27, 2020 at 3:30 p.m. There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 3:50 p.m.