Fargo Dome Authority - November 30, 2021 Minutes
A regular meeting of the Fargo Dome Authority was held on Tuesday, November 30, 2021 at 3:30 p.m. in the FARGODOME Administrative Office with President Blake Nelson presiding.
Members present: President Blake Nelson, David Suppes, Dan Armbrust, Michael Ellingson, Nancy Jordheim and Rick Steen (via phone).
Members absent: Troy Goergen.
Others present: Peter Monsrud – City of Fargo; Ryan Green – City of Fargo; Jackie Johnson, Human Resources Manager – FARGODOME; Amanda Muellenbach, Administrative and Auxiliary Services Manager – FARGODOME; Susan Thompson, Director of Finance – FARGODOME; Bernie Larson, Assistant General Manager – FARGODOME and Rob Sobolik, General Manager – FARGODOME.
Media present: Barry Amundson – The Forum.
President Blake Nelson called the meeting to order at 3:31 p.m.
Mike Ellingson made a motion, seconded by David Suppes, to approve the agenda of the November 30, 2021 Fargo Dome Authority meeting as presented. Motion carried.
Nancy Jordheim made a motion, seconded by Mike Ellingson, to approve the minutes from the October 26, 2021 Fargo Dome Authority meeting. Motion carried.
Rob Sobolik presented the General Manager’s report as follows:
• Rob announced that Jackie Johnson, FARGODOME’s Human Resources Manager, will be retiring after 29 years of service. Her last day will be December 2. Rob thanked Jackie for all of her work over the years and presented her with a plaque.
Jackie Johnson left the meeting.
• Year-to-Date Net Income through October 2021 is stated at $2,555,845 which is a positive variance (to budget) of $2,255,995.
• Upon review, Mike Ellingson made a motion, seconded by David Suppes, to approve the October 2021 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.
• Past and Upcoming Events: MN HS Football Section 8A Finals were held November 4, 2021. MN HS Football Section 6A Finals were held November 5, 2021. The Simon & Garfunkel Story was held November 9, 2021. Dakota Bowl was held November 12, 2021. NDSU Gold Star Marching Band Sounds of the Gridiron was held November 13, 2021. NDSU Football vs. University of South Dakota was held November 20, 2021. ND Agriculture Show was held November 30 – December 1, 2021. Health, Tech and Trades Career Expo will be held
December 2, 2021. NDSU Football Playoff Game vs. Southern Illinois will be held December 4, 2021.
Mike Ellingson presented the Fargo Dome Authority Building and Finance Committee report. The Fargo Dome Authority Building and Finance Committees met on Tuesday, November 23, 2021. Items discussed included:
• 2022 Insurance Renewals – Ryan Hoffman and Ben Armbrust from Dawson Insurance provided the committees with an overview of the 2022 insurance proposals. Please see attachments. Property insurance is estimated to increase from $198,974 to $218,371 (10%), with flood coverage decreasing from $25M to $10M and deductibles for flood increasing from $100,000 to $1,000,000. It was noted that the FARGODOME also has some flood coverage through the national flood insurance program. Upon review and discussion, the consensus was to keep flood insurance at $25M. Ben and Ryan will look into the cost of increasing coverage through Zurich or obtaining additional flood insurance. They will also continue to negotiate the property premium cost and work to bring the flood deductible down. Susan noted that she would look into whether FEMA requires specific flood coverage for FARGODOME. The committee also requested that Dawson provide a risk analysis or assessment regarding FARGODOME’s loss exposure as it relates to our current coverage of $200M. The price of liability insurance is increasing from $79,529 to $118,140; however, much of the increase is due to 2021 general liability premium being adjusted down for anticipated lower attendance resulting from COVID. Ryan and Ben will continue to work to bring the liability premium cost down. The final terms will be presented at the December Fargo Dome Authority meeting.
Since the Building and Finance Committee meeting on November 23, Susan and Rob have received some updates from Dawson Insurance. Dawson reached out to Zurich regarding property insurance and they have agreed to keep the flood coverage at $25M and drop the flood deductibles from $1M to $500,000. Dawson Insurance will continue to work on the premium costs for both property and liability insurance. Susan reached out to FEMA regarding specific flood coverage requirements for FARGODOME. FEMA requires flood coverage of approximately $9M at replacement cost for 25 years following the 2000 flood.
• October 2021 Financial Statements: The October 2021 Financial Statements were approved by the Finance Committee at the meeting on November 23, 2021.
• Project and Capital Budget Updates:
o Turf Surface Replacement – The City approved this project and Astroturf has begun initial work.
o Fire Alarm Replacement – This project is ongoing and is now approximately two months behind schedule due to shipping delays.
• Escrow Balance & Performance Reports: The FARGODOME permanent fund performance, year-to-date, through September 2021 is .12%. Please see attachments. It was noted that the State Investment Board has named Jan Murtha as the new executive director of the Retirement and Investment Office. Murtha has served as the interim director since June.
Mike Ellingson made a motion to approve the Building and Finance Committee report 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.
The next Fargo Dome Authority meeting will be on December 15, 2021 at 4:30 p.m.
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 3:56 p.m.