AGENDA Grand Forks Events Center Commission Monthly Meeting Wednesday, October 26, 2016 | 7:30 a.m. #12 Meadowlark Room - Alerus Center

1. Call to Order

2. Roll Call

3. Consent Agenda a. Approval of Minutes of September 28, 2016

4. Approval of September Financials

5. Committee Reports

a. Finance/Renovation Committee – Julie Rygg, Curt Kreun, Pat McLean, Maureen Storstad, and Ken Vein

i. Mid-Year Report

b. Convention & Visitors Bureau – Julie Rygg

6. Capital Projects Review

a. CIP Project – Lighting & Controls Upgrade (Bid: 2013-3180)

7. Marketing Testimonials – Lance

8. Management Discussion

9. Business Trends

10. Other

11. Adjournment

Alerus Center Mission Statement The mission of the Alerus Center is to provide premier entertainment and events that

stimulate economic impact and improve the quality of life for Grand Forks area citizens.

Events Center Commission Mission Statement The mission of the Events Center Commission (also known as Alerus Center Commission)

is to provide leadership that enables the Alerus Center to be beneficial to the regional economy, responsive to patrons, and accountable to Grand Forks taxpayers.

Brian Faison Hal Gershman Jay Kleven Curt Kreun

Pat McLean Julie Rygg Ken Vein Matt Walkowiak

Upcoming Meeting Dates 2016 November 23 December 28 2017 January 25 February 22

Alerus Center Commission

Alerus Center Management (701) 792-1200

Julie Rygg, Chair Public at Large (701) 746-0444 1st Term: 4/18/2011 to 11/30/2013 (partial)

2nd Term: 12/1/2014 to 1/30/2017 (full)

Jay Kleven Public at Large (701) 740-4747 1st Term: 8/1/2016 to 8/1/2019 (full)

Curt Kreun, Vice Chair Public at Large (701) 741-2612 1st Term: 12/1/2015 to 11/30/2018 (full)

Hal Gershman Public at Large

(701) 780-0902 1st Term: 3/1/2015 to 2/28/2018 (full)

Pat McLean, Secretary Public at Large (701) 740-8405 1st Term: 12/1/2015 to 11/30/2018 (full)

Ken Vein City Council Representative (701) 772-3673 1st Term: 7/21/2014 to 11/30/2016 (partial)

Brian Faison (non-voting) UND Representative (701) 777-2794 1st Term: 12/1/2012 to 11/30/2014 (partial)

2nd Term: 2/2/2015 to 11/30/2017 (full)

Matt Walkowiak Public at Large (701) 610-9620 1st Term: 9/19/2016 to 9/19/2019 (full)

Cheryl Swanson, CFE Executive Director

Robert LeBarron, CFE Assistant Director/Ticket Office Manager

Darryl Jorgenson Finance Manager

Tiffany Vickaryous Food & Beverage Director

Lance Johnson Marketing Manager

Bubba Rockstad Operations Manager-Facilities

Terry Anderson Conference/Sales Manager

MINUTES Grand Forks Events Center Commission Monthly Meeting Wednesday September 28, 2016 | 7:30 am Meadowlark Room #12 - Alerus Center Call to Order: Julie Rygg called the meeting to order at 7:32 am. Roll Call

Present: Hal Gershman, Jay Kleven, Curt Kreun, Pat McLean, Julie Rygg, Ken Vein, Matt Walkowiak Absent: Brian Faison City: Maureen Storstad Alerus Center: Cheryl Swanson, Bob LeBarron, Darryl Jorgenson, Lance Johnson, Tiffany Vickaryous, Terry Anderson, Brenna Grossbauer, Bubba Rockstad We have a quorum. Incoming Commission Member Matt Walkowiak joined Alerus Center Event Center Commission, effective September 19, 2016. Consent Agenda The consent agenda, including the minutes from the August 24th meeting and management highlights were included in the packets. A motion was made by Pat McLean to approve the consent agenda; seconded by Jay Kleven. Motion passed unanimously. Approval of August 2016 Financials

The August financials were presented and were included in the packet. August was budgeted to be a loss of $88,000; however, August resulted in a $73,000 loss. Budgeted year-to-date loss was approximately $34,000. Actual year-to-date is a profit of $71,743.05. Cash to date is approximately $3.2 million. Retained Earnings are approximately $2.2 million. The 36-month Profit/(loss) Average showed approximately $34,000 average monthly profit. Statement of Cash Flows had a net decrease in cash of $226,474.20. A motion was made by Jay Kleven to approve the presented financials; seconded by Hal Gershman. Motion passed unanimously.

Committee Reports

a. Finance/Renovation Committee: • Reviewed Alerus Center Commission’s Statement: Committee reaffirmed that it is correct

and to work toward it. Lance is working with Jeff Holberg to go on air and talk about how Alerus Center has helped the community.

• Working on formula for direct and indirect spending: Reaching out to Professor Flynn. • Semi-Annual Report needs to continue to City Council

b. Convention & Visitors Bureau:

• Grand Forks City App has Launched • CVB has teamed up with EDC, Chamber, and the City of GF to look at Workforce

Development and how to Recruit and Retain employees.

Capital Projects Review

a. Entrance 1 Vestibule: Project closed out and completed. b. Closed Circuit Security Cameras: Majority of cameras wired and installed. Digital recorders and

servers also installed. Panasonic was here last week for initial programming. Project may require additional air conditioning being added to telecom closet housing server/recorders.

c. Walk-through Metal Detectors: Metal Detectors have arrived, been assembled and calibrated. Management Staff have been trained on operations. Divesting tables have also arrived.

d. Parking Lot Enhancements: Bid was opened on Tuesday, September 6th. Bid awarded to Lot Pro’s LLC from Detroit Lakes. Currently coordinating schedules between event needs and contractor availability.

e. Lighting Project: Pre-Bid meeting on lighting controls replacement and fixture upgrades took place last week. Bid opening scheduled for Tuesday, October 4th.

f. New South Entryway: No update from last commission meeting. Executive Director Report

a. Management Highlights • Welcomed Jeff VanGrinsven as Event Services Manager and Kasen Christiansen as

Maintenance. • IAVM has a group membership that select Alerus Center staff has been signed up for. There

are still a couple spots open if any Commission members want to join. • Cheryl, Bob, and Brenna will be joining a FSLA webinar about ever-time issues. • Hosted 1st UND Football game this year and everything ran very smoothly. Attendance was up

from previous years. • Food and Beverage and Marketing opened up a merchandise store called the Hawk Shop. It

sold half of original investment on the first game. Looking for options to open the Shop more. • Cheryl attended Arena Manager Meeting last week and met with some representatives of

Harlem Globetrotters, Sesame Street, and Rudolf the Red Nose Reindeer. Business Trends

a. Reach out to other sports teams for providing team breakfast. b. Discussion was had on how Alerus Center could bring more conferences to Grand Forks. c. Food and Beverage added a wine cart to the service.

Other

• Hal suggested to place 2 sets of salt and pepper on 10 top tables. Also, to provide real cream for coffee not just milk.

Adjournment

A motion was made by Pat McLean to adjourn; seconded by Curt Kreun. Motion passed unanimously.

Meeting adjourned at 8:45 am. Respectfully submitted, Pat McLean Beth Chaney CFECC Secretary Office Specialist, Alerus Center

September 2016 Total Number of Events Comparison

September 2016 Total Number of Event Days Comparison Event Type/Days 2013 2014 2015 2016

Banquets 10 8 6 7 Concerts 0 0 0 0 Family Shows 0 0 0 0 Convention 9 9 4 3 Meeting/Conferences 14 27 18 15 Consumer Show 2 0 0 0 Trade Show 0 0 0 0 Wedding Reception 6 2 7 2 Community/Civic 2 1 2 3 Sporting 4 2 2 1 Monthly Total 47 49 39 31

Year-to-Date Total 538 502 402 389

Event Type 2013 2014 2015 2016 Banquets 10 7 6 7 Concerts 0 0 0 0 Family Shows 0 0 0 0 Conventions 3 3 1 1 Meetings/Conferences 13 19 11 11 Consumer Shows 2 0 0 0 Trade Shows 0 0 0 0 Wedding Receptions 6 2 7 2 Community/Civic 2 1 2 3 Sporting 4 2 2 1 Monthly Total 40 34 29 25 Year-to-Date Total 467 343 296 255

2012 2013 2014 2015 201620,303 30,387 15,545 18,716 15,080

2012 2013 2014 2015 2016185,688 166,254 144,721 133,597 107,654

2016 Attendance Comparison

September

YEAR-TO-DATE COMPARISON

0

5,000

10,000

15,000

20,000

25,000

30,000

35,000

2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

0

20,000

40,000

60,000

80,000

100,000

120,000

140,000

160,000

180,000

200,000

2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Upcoming Events

October October 28 UND Fan Luncheon October 28 Wedding Reception October 29 UND Football Game October 29 Kappa Sigma 90th October 29 NOSA Holiday Party October 31-Nov 8 Early Election Voting November November 2 Northern Valley Career Expo November 3 Northlands Rescue Mission November 4-6 Pride of Dakota Holiday Showcase November 5-6 15th Annual Holiday Bazaar November 5 Child Care Providers Breastfeeding Workshop November 8 ACS Fall Factory Meeting November 10 Riverside Christian School Banquet November 11 UND Fan Luncheon November 11-12 NDAFP Annual Meeting November 12 UND Football Game November 12 Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity Formal November 12 Wedding Reception November 14 Alerus Financial Meeting November 14-15 Polarcomm November 14-15 UND Nursing November 15 Taste of the Holidays November 18-20 Middle School Youth Gathering November 21 ACS November 22 GF Farm Auction November 25 UND Fan Luncheon November 26 Wedding Reception November 29-Dec 1 Black Gold Potato Conference December December 1 Kenny Rogers December 2 Northern Plains Rail Services Holiday Party December 2 UND Aerospace Employee Holiday Party December 2 US Foods Training December 3 National Guard Ball December 5-6 Altru Working Session December 6 UND Athletic Booster BOD December 6 Valley Memorial Homes December 6 2017 Crop Update December 6 Emerson December 7-8 Prairie Grains Convention

December 9 UND Fan Luncheon December 9 Steffes Holiday Party December 10 Wedding Reception December 12 Cirque Musica Holiday Spectacular December 13-15 ACS December 14 Rain & Hail Winter Agent Training December 14 GFPD Physical Assessment Testing December 14 ND Eye Clinic December 15 Valley Memorial Holiday Party December 17 CHS Holiday Party December 31 Wedding Reception (2) December 31 Young Professionals’ Midnight Masquerade

CLIENT SATISFACTION SURVEY September 2016 Summary For events held during the month of January, Client Surveys were sent to 21 clients. Events are rated on a scale of 1 to 5 with 1 being poor and 5 being excellent. An average of the ratings and additional comments are listed below.

Alerus Center Event Evaluation Survey Recap

Number of Surveys Returned: 11

Average Rating of Surveys Returned:

4.09 Staff

4.35 Food & Beverage including Concessions

4.31 Facility

4.11 Finance Billing in a timely manner

4.18 Overall Rating of Facility Experience

07 out of 11 surveys were returning clients. 10 out of 11 surveys ordered food and/or beverages. 09 out of 11 surveys would recommend Alerus Center to a friend or colleague. 04 out of 11 surveys had an event with less than 100 people. 07 out of 11 surveys had an event with more than 100 people.

Additional comments included:

• Everything was perfect

• Jeff, Carrie, and Shelby were so professional and managed every detail and request without hesitation.

• I would like to recognize Shelby Johnson • Alerus double booked our rooms requested for our wedding. Caused a large amount of stress

since it all came up weeks before our wedding. We went through 3 different sales representatives by the time our wedding came up.

• This year everything went off without a hitch. All the staff was friendly, helpful and around, all were willing to help as needed to make this event go smoothly. My thanks to all for making this event go so smoothly.

• I would like to recognize Beth Chaney • There were lots of hurdles this year but in the end our guests had a great time. • Bubba was awesome helping us out with A/V needs

• Improve the accuracy of initial contract. Make it obvious what the pricing is for use of internet. Your prices are silly and ridiculous. If you want $ for you internet, make a group price. Previous meeting used your internet, and it was horrible (SLOW) and we paid big $’s 50+ users at $10/per. $500+ spent. Did not pay this fee for the last meeting and will not ever pay this fee again. Huge hang-up for my business.

• I would like to recognize Beth Chaney • Thank you so much for having a designated place for breastfeeding mothers. We had three moms

use the room! Great job. • Have not received billing yet. • Food was excellent and abundant

Hotel Facility: • Overall Hotel Rating: 3.7 • Overall Restaurant Rating: 2.5 • Overall Opinion: 3.7

Hotel Comments: Professional and pleasant when setting up a block of rooms