Minutes_Five Flags Civic Center Commission 2 6 12Five Flags Commission Meeting Monday February 6, 2012
Present: Rod Bakke, Bryce Parks, Cindy Fuller, Joyce White, Don Howes, and Ali Levasseur
Absent: Barb Kurt
Commissioner Bakke called meeting to order
Approval of Minutes: Commissioner Fuller motioned to approve minutes of January 3, 2012 meeting Commissioner
Bakke seconded the motion, all approved
Old Business:
• Ali Levasseur reported the Theater Lobby updates are at a standstill
New Business:
• Commissioner Fuller suggested or asked if Five Flags Theater could hold Dueling Piano show on a regular basis
similar to Diamond Jo Discussion continued and concluded that Five Flags Theater hasn't the same social
environment that is needed for a successful Dueling Pianos performance
• Commissioner Parks suggested Five Flags create its own "Teen Dance Club " Utilizing the Night Storm event as
a base, Five Flags could create Local Dance Club, hiring a local DJ to create the same event This could be help
weekly, monthly, twice a month Have a lower admission price, $10 to gain higher attendance Discussion
ensued in generalities and may be revisited in future
General Manager, Joyce White, delivered the following reports:
Operations Department:
• In conjunction with Colts Drum and Bugle Corp's weekend auditions held in November, 2011 and January, 2012,
Dubuque Fire Department has notified Five Flags they are in violation of the fire code when providing the venue
for "sleeping" Management requested a copy of the specific code in addition to engaging a representative from
Simplex Grinnell to assess the cost of compliance Results of the estimate will be forwarded to Marie Ware for
further disposition
• Westphal Electrical has completed installation of additional lighting upgrades around the "horseshoe" area of the
theater After inspection of the new lighting, management determined additional upgrades were needed and
requested a bid for supplemental lighting within the available remaining CIP funding Additional work will be
scheduled in February
• Performance Fabrication has started the process of refurbishing the theater brass in conjunction with an old CIP
item The project was not completed in January as expected, but will be ongoing throughout the spring — as
allowed by both the booking schedule of the theater and Precision Performance availability
Marketing, Promotions, and Events Interests:
• Placed hold for Mannheim Steamroller for December 6, 2012
• Received a commitment from the local chapter of the National Holstein Association to host the cow show portion
of 2014 National Holstein Convention Confirmation of Five Flags center was approximately an eighteen month
process of meeting with and providing tours for the local farm committee
• Communicating with Youth Director at Hope Church regarding bringing a Christian concert to Dubuque in August
Investigation, research, and discussion are ongoing
• In process of negotiating a contract to pick up a date with Jim McDonough in April as he establishes his spring
tour Jim has changed his business model from "renting" to "presenting" — which places the risk on the building
Risk mitigation will be included in the contract negotiation and structure
• Marketing and promoting January event load was a daily occurrence
Page 1 of 3
January Events
• Dubuque Soccer Association convenes soccer practice (T -T from 5PM — 8PM) for the next three months
• Outlaws — January 7
• City Engineering (OSHA Training) — January 10
• City Manager's Meeting — January 10
• Colts Drum and Bugle Corp (full weekend of auditions) — January 13 -15
• Civil Service Tests - January 11 & 18
• MMA— January27
• Gun Hut Gun Show — January 28 & 29
• FBN (begins rehearsals for "Crowns" which coincides with February's Black History Month) January 23 — Feb 4
February Events
• Dubuque Soccer Association (T -T from 5PM — 8PM) — February 2, 7, 8, 14, 16, 21, 23, 28
• FBN presents "Crowns" in conjunction with Black History Month — Feb 3 & 4
• City Engineering Department — February 2
• Bull Ride — February 10 & 11
• DSO (rehearsal Feb 7 -10) — performances February 11 & 12
• University of Dubuque Pi Beta Sigma — February 11
• Gaelic Storm — February 14
• City Manager's Meeting — February 14
• Outlaws Roller Derby — February 18
• Bixby's Rainforest Inflatable's — February 25 & 26
• DSO Youth Ensemble — February 26
F & B Department
• January's programming had four F & B revenue generating opportunities (Outlaws, MMA, and Gun Hut Gun Show
— which ran for two days)
Financial Manager, Don Howes, delivered the following reports:
Financial, Accounting Reports:
• December Adjusted Gross Income down $15,861 to budgeted
"Timing issue" - Christmas concert budgeted for December but occurred in November
• Actual YTD Income down $8,363 compared to YTD budgeted income
• Actual YTD Expenses down $28,365 compared to YTD budgeted expenses
• Actual YTD net loss down $20,002 compared to YTD budgeted net loss
• December forecast reflects beating the benchmark at fiscal year -end by $52,502K
Staff Development
Five Flags staff training initiatives during the past several months have focused on a broad array of topics and
culminated over the weekend of January 20 and 21 with the SMG K'nekt Customer Service - presented by Katie
Wells, KEW Solutions, Charleston, SC Management and staff last participated in corporate Customer Service
program in 2007 — so the K'nekt program was new to staff The overwhelming consensus was "good program, well
presented"! A new and updated corporate K'nekt Customer Service program will be rolled out this year Our goal is
to budget for the new program in 2014
Fifty -one (51) full and part-time staff received training —split into two sessions (some employees trained on
Friday night after work and the others trained on Saturday moming.)
Evacuation and "Shelter -in- Place" Exercise
• To capitalize on availability of personnel present for Customer Service Training, management tacked on a twenty -
minute Evacuation and "Shelter -in- Place" exercise for both full and part -time personnel The exercise was
conducted by John Richardson
Page 2 of 3
Other Training
• Department managers are currently scheduling time for personnel to watch Job specific videos, including those
listed below
Sexual Harassment in the Workplace
System Lifting /Back Injury Prevention
How to Prevent Slips and Falls
New Blood borne Pathogens — The Complete Program
Sanitation for Cafeteria and Food Service Areas
Kitchen and Food Service Safety
• Specific operations personnel were schedule for renewal certification in
Bobcat
Forklift
• Full -time and part -time staff made progress in December and some are continuing to work toward completion of
web based training in
Trained Crowd Manager (IAVM 6 hour plus program)
Workplace Security Awareness (FEMA)
Adjournment of Monthly Commission Meeting: Commissioner Bakke motioned to adjourn the meeting
Commissioner Parks seconded, all approved
Next meeting: in the General Manager's Office on Monday March 5, 2012 at 4:OOPM. Five Flags staff will place an
email "Thursday before" to remind commissioners of the meeting.
Page 3 of 3