Board of Selectmen Minutes 11/01/2012 DRAFT Special Meeting

TOWN OF SIMSBURY - BOARD OF SELECTMEN MINUTES
SPECIAL MEETING DRAFT MINUTES - NOVEMBER 1, 2012

CALL TO ORDER
The Special Meeting of the Board of Selectmen was called to order at 7:03PM, Thursday, November 1, 2012, in the Main Meeting Room of the Simsbury Town Offices. Present were: First Selectmen Mary Glassman; Board Members: John Hampton, Nancy Haase, Lisa Heavner, Moira Wertheimer and Sean Askham. Others in attendance included: Tom Cooke, Director of Administrative Services and other interested parties.

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
Everyone stood for the Pledge of Allegiance.

PUBLIC AUDIENCE
There was no public audience.

UPDATE ON HURRICANE SANDY RESTORATION EFFORTS
Ms. Glassman began by stating that Simsbury is now down to approximately 1% of people without power and she will be having a call with CL&P this evening to find out the status of the remaining 1%. Ms. Glassman gave an update some of the services social services still being providing in response to the storm. Ms. Glassman said the estimated cost to the town of approximately $35,000, was filed with FEMA. Ms. Glassman said they will be monitoring that last 1% and will provide an update tomorrow. She thanked everyone involved with the neighbor to neighbor program that reached so many citizens and also thanked the Board for stepping up while she was unable to get back from traveling during the storm. She also thanked Town Staff for their work. Mr. Askham said he was impressed with the preparedness of the Town. Ms. Glassman mentioned there would be debriefing in the near future.  Mr. Hampton thanked all the emergency personnel for their actions and composure during the storm.

SELECTMEN ACTION
a) Approve the request of Jay Burrow to install a Map Kiosk at Town Forest Park as part of his Eagle Scout project
Ms. Glassman welcomed Jay Burrow and congratulated him on his accomplishments. Jay explained that there are trails that don't have a good map to show where they all go and he is proposing to put up the map kiosk to give people a better sense of where the trails are. He said he is currently working on the project and just waiting for approval. Ms. Glassman asked about the plexiglass material he proposes to use and Jay spoke about the benefits of the material. He then explained how he will be creating the map.

Mr. Hampton moved approval of  the installation of a Map Kiosk at Town Forest Park as part of Jay Burrow’s Eagle Scout project. Ms. Heavner seconded the motion, which was unanimously passed.

b) Approve resolution amending the Town of Simsbury 457 Plan to permit borrowing by active employees
Mr. Askham read the motion into the record:

RESOLVED, that the Board has previously approved and adopted the Town of Simsbury 457 Plan (“Plan”) to provide employees of the Organization/Agency with retirement benefits. The Organization/Agency amends the Town of Simsbury 457 Plan (“Plan”) to reflect that effective October 15, 2012 the plan will allow Loans.

RESOLVED, that the Board does hereby declare the intention of the Organization/Agency to continue the Plan, but reserves the right to terminate or amend the Plan at any time.

RESOLVED, that the members of the Board are hereby jointly and severally authorized to take such actions and to execute such documents as they deem necessary or desirable in order to carry out the intent of the foregoing resolutions and required under the Plan to make the Plan fully effective in accordance with its terms and intent.

Ms. Wertheimer seconded the motion, which was unanimously passed.

Mr. Cooke confirmed that this is consistent with previous actions of the Board including specific terms about how and when loans could be taken by current employees.

c) Presentation of final report on the Performing Arts Center by Webb Management, Inc. with possible Board action
Ms. Glassman thanked everyone on the PAC Board for all of their work. She noted that they love the Hartford Symphony and she hopes their relationship will continue and grow.

Mr. Cooke said extensive interviewing was conducted earlier this year in order to get to this point and he expressed they are grateful to Mr. Duncan Webb, Webb Management Services, Inc., and his team that worked on this with Town Staff and the PAC Board.

Mr. Webb thanked the Board of Selectmen for allowing him to present their findings and recommendations. Mr. Webb provided the Board some background on his company, experience, services and staff. He moved on to an Activity Review of the PAC, saying it is active about 25% of the summer season. Mr. Webb said the facility is hampered by a lack of clarity around policies and procedures. He noted this lack of clarity limits the rental activity and creates frustration with HSO. Mr. Webb then gave a financial review of the PAC. Mr. Webb spoke about community perceptions of the amphitheater, saying it is perceived as a wonderful, but underutilized asset. He spoke about the issues resulting from parking and the resulting friction that creates with downtown merchants. Mr. Webb spoke about the physical aspects of the venue and the issues that put constraints on its use. Mr. Webb benchmarked the venue by comparing it to other community Amphitheaters with respect to use, operating budget and income sources. Ms. Glassman asked if the other venues are run through the city operating budgets or special revenue funds, Mr. Webb said they are line items within the city budgets. Mr. Webb continued by saying all of these compared venues also need contributed income in order to run, as earned income does not cover their operating expenses. Ms. Glassman and Mr. Webb spoke about the different operating models that other areas use for their amphitheaters.

Mr. Webb moved on to the topic of audience assessment, reviewing the demographics of Simsbury and the surrounding area. Mr. Webb then reviewed Webb Management’s conclusions and recommendations, saying there are a range of options, depending on the money put into the operation/facility. Mr. Webb reviewed the operating goals for the facility. He spoke of the importance of the relationship with GHO and also additional types of events that could be held at the facility.  Mr. Webb said the nonprofit should be activated and be prepared to take on a larger role.  Mr. Webb said the function of the 501(c)(3) would adopt the role of fund raising and he also described the ideal relationship between the nonprofit and the Town. He then reviewed short-term and long-term recommended improvements to the facility. Ms. Heavner asked about the source of funds in order to do this type of capital campaign, which was discussed.

Ms. Glassman said there were some grant opportunities that Simsbury was previously ineligible for because we did not have this report, so this will be an asset moving forward. Mr. Webb spoke about their recommendations regarding rental rates.  The cost of the different events was discussed by the Board and Mr. Hensley.  Ms. Glassman said they should consider fees for next year now so the Board of Selectmen can act accordingly. Mr. Hensley said they anticipate this year to be a year of transition. Mr. Webb reviewed facility management and the potential changes to enhance the customer experience and then went on to review a marketing plan, stressing the importance of strong partnerships. Mr. Webb reviewed a pro-forma operating budget summary. The topic of fund raising was discussed. Mr. Webb then reviewed next steps, by an annual basis, in order to implement these recommendations.

Ms. Glassman thanked Mr. Webb for the thoroughness of his presentation. Ms. Haase asked about some of the assumptions Mr. Webb used when preparing the pro-forma, which was discussed. Mr. Hensley said this shows a “wish list” and can be used as a model, baseline, or benchmark, but they might want to modify based on what seems to be realistic.  He suggested the Board members digest this information and then make some decisions on what they deem to be realistic. Mr. Cooke asked Mr. Webb to speak about how they ended up at this model as opposed to having a third-party manage the facility. Mr. Webb spoke about the issues related to having a third-party manager and provided gave examples of unsuccessful relationships he has seen first-hand.  Mr. Cooke then asked about the flexibility in terms of capital input, while still working within this plan. Mr. Webb spoke of non-essential elements of the plan that could be skipped, but then the venue will not reach its greatest potential. Ms. Glassman mentioned the idea of adding community center space at the facility and asked if that would be consistent with this model. Mr. Webb said absolutely yes, that would help create a year-round facility. Ms. Glassman mentioned this is something to think about as they move towards the budget cycle.  Ms. Heavner asked Mr. Webb asked about ROI (return on investment) and if this plan would require a capital investment from the town. It was discussed that this is an infrastructure investment and ROI cannot be clearly quantified and Mr. Webb said he has not made assumptions regarding the sources of the funds. Potential revenue sources were discussed. Ms. Haase spoke about the synergy between the senior center project and mentioned the multiple potential sources of funding. Ms. Heavner asked about the Executive Director position and sourcing a candidate, which was discussed. The next appropriate steps for Mr. Hensley were discussed as well as communicating with local businesses and getting their feedback on this plan. Ms. Wertheimer suggested adopting the portion of the report suggesting the activation of the 501(c)(3) in order to send a message to the PAC Board that they will be transitioning. The procedural process was discussed. Mr. Webb suggested keeping the Town involved for now. Mr. Hensley said he thinks they need a year of transition but he can start speaking with the business community now. Timing was discussed further.

Ms. Glassman asked if everyone agreed upon accepting the report and the Board members did agree. She then asked if the PAC Board to establish a timeline. She suggested the PAC Board and Board of Selectmen decide when they can get the focus groups together (suggesting the following focus groups); Business Community, Non-Profit & Senior Groups, HSO.  Ms. Wertheimer asked if Mr. Hensley is comfortable with this process. The best process moving forward was discussed by Mr. Hensley and the Board members. Ferg Jansen said he thinks they need regional support and representation on the 501(c)(3) Board. Mr. Cooke said this will take a massive effort and they will need to get a large group excited about this project in order to raise these funds. Ms. Glassman asked about marketing in the short-term and what the low-hanging fruit may be captured. It was discussed that a movie series would be a good idea and Mr. Hensley said the PAC Board has discussed it, but it will take some capital investment.

Ms. Haase made the motion to approve the Business Plan for the Simsbury Performing Arts Center prepared for the Town of Simsbury by Webb Management, Inc.. Mr. Hampton seconded the motion, which was unanimously passed.

ADJOURNMENT
At 7:09, Mr. Askham made a motion to adjourn the November 1, 2012 special meeting of the Board of Selectmen. Ms. Wertheimer seconded the motion, which was unanimously passed.

Respectfully submitted,

Leslie U. Faraci, Clerk