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Tuesday, May 20, 2008
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Olson presents arenas proposal BRAINERD CITY COUNCIL Staff Writer A Brainerd City Council member has offered a proposal for managing the Brainerd Area Civic Center.
The financial plan, presented by council member Bob Olson at Monday's council meeting, has three points: Creating a management team, reducing expenditures while increasing revenue and creating an arena management policy.
The proposal, Olson said, would keep the arenas self supporting with revenues from operations paying expenditures, instead of the current method of using other city and public utility funds for the arenas.
Olson's is the second proposal the city has received in the past month for operating the civic center. The other plan was from Brainerd Amateur Hockey Association, which is proposing a five-year lease to manage, operate and maintain the center's ice arenas in return for $100,000 in annual payment from the city.
The council took no action Monday on Olson's proposal. Both Olson's and BAHA's proposal will be considered following a public hearing at 7:30 p.m. on June 2 at Brainerd City Hall.
"I recommend the council implement and try it for least one year before considering to pay BAHA $100,000 to manage the arena," Olson said.
On his first point, Olson suggested the creation of the management team to make recommendations to the city council regarding the arenas, with the city administrator supervising daily operations. The five-member team would be made up of two elected officials and one representative each from BAHA, Vacationland Figure Skating Club and dry floor events. Olson recommended for the committee himself and council member Mark O'Day as the elected officials, BAHA President Bob Joyce, Vacationland Figure Skating Club President Toni Renford and dry floor representative Shelly Trimble.
On his second point, Olson recommended reducing expenditures and increasing revenues by decreasing personnel costs by $88,536, increasing supply costs by $5,210, increasing service expenses by $10,630 for an overall expense decrease of $72,696.
Olson also said his proposal will generate a revenue surplus of $6,597 by: Increasing dry floor event rates by 15 percent; setting winter ice rental hours at $110 per hour; setting summer ice rental rates at $125 per hour with a 900-hour minimum; setting non-prime ice rental rates at $90 per hour, Monday-Friday from 8 a.m.- 3 p.m. in January, February, March, November and December; and by discontinuing ice rate discounts currently offered to Minnesota Hockey Camps and BAHA.
His third point, developing an arena management policy, would outline the duties of the management team, the city administrator and the city council in relation to the ice arenas. The policy, Olson wrote, would be conducive to the arenas being self-supporting and financially sound.
Though no decision was made Monday, several council members had questions for Olson concerning employee job descriptions, possible overtime costs for employees, union employee contacts, concession revenue and whether depreciation should have been included in a financial plan.
"And Bob, all work you put into this, thank you," council member Mark O'Day said. "You did a good job."
Olson said he would be willing to meet with the Personnel and Finance Committee, other council members and city staffers to discuss his proposal. He said there was room to negotiate his proposal.
Olson, who served as the arena manager for 19 years, also prepared a financial history of the arenas, which showed that, while commitments were made by the city and BAHA to keep the ice arenas self-supporting financially, they have not been.
MATT ERICKSON may be reached at matt.erickson@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5857.
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