HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes.WHLR.20150114.RegularWHEELER
OPERA
HOUSE
MINUTES
OF
THE
MEETING
OF
THE
BOARD
OF
DIRECTORS
DATE:
Wednesday,
January
14,
2015
TIME:
Noon
LOCATION:
Second
Floor
Lobby
PRESENT:
Board
Members:
Brian
O’Neil,
Chairperson
Richard
Cohen,
Vice
Chairperson
Christine
Benedetti,
Secretary
Daniel
Song,
Ex-‐Officio
Richard
Stettner
Tom
Kurt
Doug
Clayton
Chip
Fuller
Absent:
Guests:
Randy
Ready,
Assistant
City
Manager
Staff:
Pete
Strecker,
Interim-‐
Executive
Director
Rose
Bennett,
Sr.
Manager
–
Finance
Amy
Kaiser,
Sr.
Manager
-‐
Operations
RECORDED
BY:
Lauren
Pierce,
Marketing
Coordinator
I.
CALL
TO
ORDER
O’Neil
called
the
meeting
to
order
at
12:06pm.
II.
APPROVAL
OF
THE
NOVEMBER
12,
2014,
MINUTES
The
Board
reviewed
the
minutes.
O’Neil
made
the
motion
to
approve
as
drafted;
Kurt
seconded.
The
Board
unanimously
voted
to
accept
them.
III.
INTRODUCTION
OF
INTERIM
EXECUTIVE
DIRECTOR
Ready
introduced
Pete
Strecker,
the
Assistant
Finance
Director
for
the
city.
Strecker
will
hold
the
post
of
Interim
Director,
while
the
city
seeks
a
new
Executive
Director.
Ready
informed
the
Board
that
Strecker
was
brought
on
for
his
institutional
knowledge,
strong
approach
to
management
and
to
be
the
liaison
between
the
City
Managers
Office,
Finance
and
the
Wheeler
for
the
staff.
IV.
FINANCIAL
REPORT
Bennett
presented
the
preliminary
budgets
for
November
and
December
2014.
The
finance
department
is
still
closing
out
2014,
so
the
December
budget
will
not
be
actual
for
several
months.
The
RETT
did
extremely
well
in
the
month
of
December.
V.
ACTION
ITEM
1. Election
of
Officers
O’Neil
reported
that
City
Council
had
reappointed
Brian
O’Neil
and
Richard
Stettner
to
the
Board.
O’Neil
called
a
motion
to
nominate
Chairperson
and
Vice
Chairperson
positions
for
the
Board
of
Directors.
Kurt
nominated
O’Neil
for
position
of
Chairperson;
Cohen
seconded.
Stettner
nominated
Cohen
for
Vice
Chairperson;
O’Neil
seconded.
The
Board
unanimously
voted
to
accept
the
nominations
into
position,
with
no
discussion.
VI.
INFORMATION
AND
DISCUSSION
ITEMS
1. Executive
Director
Transition
Ready
updated
the
Board
on
the
recruitment
process
for
the
Executive
Director.
The
position
has
been
posted
on
the
municipal
website
and
five
national
arts
websites.
As
of
the
meeting,
there
was
a
total
of
52
applicants,
31
had
been
determined
to
meet
the
minimum
qualifications.
The
application
process
will
close
on
January
30th.
2. Update
on
Recent
Performances
Strecker
reported
December
was
a
successful
month
for
the
Wheeler.
The
Wheeler
had
a
strong
house
of
350
attendees
for
Best
of
the
Fest
on
December
20th.
Ticket
sales
came
in
at
87%
of
goal.
Crystal
Palace
on
Christmas
Night
was
a
well-‐received
show.
Attendance
and
ticket
revenue
were
equivalent
to
last
year’s
revenue
numbers.
The
show
exceeded
the
revenue
goal
set
by
Slaton
for
2014.
NYE
was
sold
out.
There
were
501
tickets
sold
this
year
vs.
the
450
tickets
sold
in
2013.
This
year,
the
Wheeler
sold
standing
room
only
tickets
for
the
dance
floor.
The
ticket
price
increased
from
$65.00
to
$89.00
and
ticket
buyers
were
not
deterred
at
all.
The
revenue
rose
to
$43,500
vs.
$23,500
in
2013.
The
staff
had
a
great
response
from
both
the
artists
and
the
patrons
for
this
event.
They
did
a
great
job
of
ending
the
year
strong.
Ticket
sales
for
Jeff
Austin
this
Sunday,
January
18th
are
moving
very
slowly,
approximately
100
tickets
sold.
The
box
office
is
offering
two
for
one
tickets
to
City
of
Aspen
employees
and
are
hoping
this
will
help
increase
ticket
numbers
before
Sunday.
To
date,
the
box
office
has
sold
322
tickets
for
Lewis
Black
on
January
30th,
which
is
84%
of
the
income
goal.
It
is
highly
likely
that
the
show
will
sell
out
and
exceed
income
goal.
VII.
MEMBERS
COMMENTS
Cohen
suggested
increasing
the
Board
membership
by
one
position.
Following
the
Board
member
interviews
the
previous
evening,
Cohen
expressed
the
idea
of
bringing
on
one
of
the
candidates
who
would
bring
a
dynamic
to
generate
energy
for
the
Board.
Ready
explained
that
City
Council
has
limited
the
Wheeler
Board
to
seven
members
and
one
ex-‐officio.
Cohen
proposed
that
the
Board
look
into
reintroducing
a
black
box
theater
project.
The
21st
Master
Plan
included
a
black
box
theater
to
be
built
in
the
parcel
of
land
between
the
Wheeler
and
the
Mother
Load
buildings.
Currently,
small
arts
groups
and
businesses
are
biding
for
the
Powerhouse
Plant,
to
produce
a
small
theater
and
event
space.
Cohen
suggested
that
The
Wheeler
reintroduce
the
plan
to
build
a
small
space
in
the
parcel
to
support
the
arts
groups
and
provide
a
producing
space
in
the
summer
season
for
the
Wheeler.
Clayton
requested
a
summary
of
the
Executive
Director
hiring
process
from
Ready.
Kurt
requested
clarification
on
the
Board’s
position
for
the
repurposing
of
the
RETT.
Ready
assured
the
Board
that
he
will
explain
City
Councils
goals
and
prepare
reports
for
the
Board
to
review
at
the
next
meeting
of
the
Board
of
Directors,
on
March
11th.
VIII.
CITIZEN
COMMENTS
None
IX.
ADJOURNMENT
O’Neil
called
for
a
motion
to
adjourn;
Cohen
made
the
motion;
Kurt
seconded.
The
meeting
was
adjourned
at
12:55pm.