Minutes Five Flags Civc C 4 15Five Flags Commission Meeting
April 15, 2002
PRESENT: Gary Dolphin, Cynthia Fuller, Mark Nauman
ABSENT: Rod Bakke, Mike Brannon
STAFF PRESENT: Jamie Blum, Bob Nelsen, Gil Spence, Pauta Wolfe
The Commission meeting convened at 4:35 p.m. in the Manager's Office at Five
Flags Center. Chairperson Cynthia Fuller presided.
The February 19, 2002 and March 18, 2002 meetings were approved.
Manager Wolfe shared with the Commissioners that Jodi Lukens, Five Flags
Secretary, is leaving for another position with the city. She will be leaving on May
1st for the Fire Department.
During the Manager's Report, Manager Wolfe reported financials for March. Non-
revenue events are slowing down. Concessions figures looked good for March.
Manager Wolfe explained Big River had two sold out shows and the Home Show
attendance wes high to make revenue look nice for the month of March. Fernando
Ortega was also a sold out show. This was a great example for future renters
because of its success. There was no novelty percentage from Femando Ortega
because it wes a show for chadty.
Bob Nelsen, Operations Manager, gave his report on his job description. The
Commissioners had many questions for Bob and he answered all their questions to
their satisfaction.
Manager Wolfe reviewed upcoming events. This week we have City Expo, New
Comers Reception and Business PM on Tuesday evening. This event provides
good exposure for the building. The city pays Five Flags for all beverages used.
Gary Dolphin asked if Five Flags will be having a booth in it. Manager Wolfe
explained that we had too many obligations to do a'booth. Gary suggested having
brochures available to hand out to the public. Some of the Commissioners were
going to be available to attend and Gary Dolphin suggested wearing their name
tags since of the Commissioners did not have name tags so Gil Spence suggested
that we order name tags for all the Commissioners.
In the theater we had The Dubuque Community String Orchestra perform "Opera
You'll Love - Really". At the end of the month we have Lonestar in Concert. Right
now ticket sales are going extremely well with 1,999 and 300 in comps. Cindy
Fuller wanted to know if Five Flags keeps all of the concessions grosses from the
concert and Manager Wolfe said, yes.
Five Flags Commission Meeting
April 15, 2002
Page: Two
Manager Wolfe also reported that she & Gil Spence met with Jim Healy from KSF
Associates regarding employee relations. Employee relation's workshops will be
set up in May for all full-time employees to attend. The Five Flags study is moving
right along. CSL met with many of the facility users.
The arena ceiling will be painted this summer. Cindy Fuller wanted to know if this
would cut down on the arena usage. Manager Wolfe and Gil Spence explained its
part of what wa have to do to keep up with maintenance. Manager Wolfe
explained that outdoor festivals and outdoor venues are preferred to "shed' events.
Manager Wolfe explained some ideas for upcoming years for the summer. Boat,
garden and car shows are just some of the ideas.
The Five Flags Center is addressing an issue with security of the building due to
the lack of chains on the doors entedng into the promenade. People are migrating
into areas that should be closed. This item is on the agenda to alert the
Commission that it will be discussed in future meetings.
Gil Spence asked the Commissioners if they would like to discuss the type of
information they would want to see on the financial reports. Gary Dolphin
suggested having a year-to-year comparison and also a projected revenue
amount. They would also like comparisons per event by year. Manager Wolfe
commented that labor and production cost are not reflected in the reports.
Commissioners felt they did not need that figure. Cindy Fuller commented that
concessions revenue shows a decrease in revenue year after year. Manager
Wolfe responded that Dubuque patrons have been spoiled by prices. Patron's
main focus is not to eat but are here for entertainment. Cindy Fuller commented
that creativity might be an issue. Manager Wolfe commented that she has not
researched to see if they are still losing money. Gil Spence explained some of the
reasons why the numbers were down and hopes with better attendance and more
events revenue will go up. Cindy Fuller wanted to know if wa could go back to the
beer garden idea from past years. The Commissioners would like to discuss the
idea of a beer garden in Gate G at later meetings.
There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 5:41 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Cynthia Fuller
Chairperson