Fargo Dome Authority - July 26, 2022 Minutes
A regular meeting of the Fargo Dome Authority was held on Tuesday, July 26, 2022 at 3:30 p.m. in the FARGODOME Conference Room with President Michael Ellingson presiding.
Members present: President Michael Ellingson, Blake Nelson, Dan Armbrust, Nancy Jordheim, Troy Goergen and Rick Steen.
Members absent: David Suppes.
Others present: Ryan Green – The City of Fargo; Zach Prante, Accounting Analyst –FARGODOME; Bernie Larson, Assistant General Manager – FARGODOME; Sarah Dykema, Director of Sales and Marketing – FARGODOME; Amanda Muellenbach, Administrative and Auxiliary Services Manager – FARGODOME and Rob Sobolik, General Manager – FARGODOME.
Media present: Barry Amundson – The Forum.
President Michael Ellingson called the meeting to order at 3:31 p.m.
Rick Steen made a motion, seconded by Troy Goergen, to approve the agenda of the July 26, 2022 Fargo Dome Authority meeting as presented. Motion carried.
Dan Armbrust made a motion, seconded by Blake Nelson, to approve the minutes from the June 28, 2022 Fargo Dome Authority meeting. Motion carried.
Rob congratulated Barry Amundson on his retirement from the Forum. He thanked him for his work over the years.
Rob Sobolik presented the General Manager’s report as follows:
• Year-to-Date Net Income through June 2022 is stated at $347,149 which is a negative variance (to budget) of $98,667.
• Upon review, Blake Nelson made a motion, seconded by Rick Steen, to approve the June 2022 financial statements as presented.
On call of the roll, Armbrust, Ellingson, Goergen, Jordheim, Nelson and Steen voted aye.
Absent and not voting: Suppes
The motion was declared carried.
• Past and Upcoming Events: USA Wrestling was held July 16-22, 2022. Machine Gun Kelly will be held July 27, 2022.
Blake Nelson presented the Fargo Dome Authority Building and Finance Committee report. The Fargo Dome Authority Building and Finance Committees met on Wednesday, July 20, 2022. Items discussed included:
• June 2022 Financial Statements: The June 2022 Financial Statements were approved by the Finance Committee at the meeting on July 20, 2022.
Project Updates:
• Turf Project – The turf has been installed, infilled and put in storage. At the beginning of August, AstroTurf will return to cycle it a few times and address any issues. It was noted that the north winch motors still need to be replaced sometime after the end of the upcoming football season.
• Domestic Water Heater – One of the two water heaters broke and will need to be replaced. The amount of the project is estimated at $39,450 through Midwest Ironworks and will be part of a reallocation request. It was noted that this project also received bids from Johnson Controls for $41,100 and Peterson Mechanical for $46,900.
• Emergency Purchase - Loading Dock Trench – The loading dock trench located at the bottom of the loading dock has recently collapsed in two areas. This item was slated to go out for RFP as it was starting to deteriorate, however, the recent grates collapsing makes it incapable to drive over. Since you need it to drive into the building, it qualifies as an emergency purchase. This project is estimated at $54,553 through Roer’s Construction and will be part of a reallocation request. It was noted that FARGODOME had received another bid from L2 construction at $95,414. Also received was a written notice from Northern Improvement and a verbal notice from Master Construction that they would not be able to get the project done in the timeline needed.
The Building and Finance Committees each accepted a motion to approve the Domestic Water Heater and Loading Dock Trench projects listed above.
• Rob requested a motion to approve the following reallocation request: $12,872 from FD 2221 (Lift Station Pump), $27,564 from FD 2114 (F&B POS System), $30,726 from FD 2116 (Canopy Repair) and $23,000 from FD 2014 (Suite Catering Kitchen) to create projects FD 2223 (Loading Dock Trench Drain Replacement) and FD 2224 (Domestic Water Heater Replacement). The total amounts allocated are $54,553 to FD 2223 and $39,450 to FD 2224.
The Building and Finance Committees each accepted a motion to approve the above reallocation request.
• Escrow Balance & Performance Reports: The FARGODOME permanent fund performance, year-to-date, through May 2022 is -7.70%. Please see attachments.
Additional Items:
• Building Expansion/Improvements: Building staff and City of Fargo representatives met a few weeks ago regarding the project. The narrative of the project is ready; however, the financials need to be updated. The initial presentation is slated for the end of summer or early fall.
Blake Nelson made a motion to approve the Building and Finance Committee report as presented.
On call of the roll, Armbrust, Ellingson, Goergen, Jordheim, Nelson and Steen voted aye.
Absent and not voting: Suppes
The motion was declared carried.
• Update on NDSU Lease Agreement: Rob updated the committee on the Ninth Amended Lease Agreement between NDSU and the Fargo Dome Authority. Please see attachment. Rob noted that the agreement is for a one-year term beginning July 1, 2022. Notable changes to the agreement include language regarding alcoholic beverage sales at NDSU Football games. NDSU Athletics has indicated that the proposed language changes in the agreement are acceptable. The Authority had a general discussion regarding alcohol sales at NDSU Football games.
Rick Steen made a motion, seconded by Dan Armbrust, to approve the agreement as presented with redline changes, with any further changes not included in the contract presented at the meeting today needing to come back to the Authority for approval.
On call of the roll, Armbrust, Ellingson, Goergen, Jordheim, Nelson and Steen voted aye.
Absent and not voting: Suppes
The motion was declared carried.
The next Fargo Dome Authority meeting will be on August 30, 2022 at 3:30 p.m.
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 4:03 p.m.