HomeMy WebLinkAboutInformation Update 101722AGENDA
INFORMATION UPDATE
October 17, 2022
4:00 PM,
I.Information Update
I.A Lift Corridor Status Update
I.B Wheeler Opera House Proposed Rental Fees
INFORMATION ONLY_ Lift Corridor status update_2022.10.06.docx
2023 INFO MEMO Wheeler Opera House Proposed Rental Fees.pdf
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INFORMATION ONLY
MEMORANDUM
TO:Mayor Torre and City Council
FROM:Jen Phelan, Development Manager
THROUGH:Scott Miller, Public Works Director
MEMO DATE:October 5,2022
RE:Status update of Lift One Corridor project (8)
This memo is providing City Council with a current progress update of the Lift 1 Corridor project. As
mentioned in the initial memo in 2020, voter approval of the multi-stakeholder project1 was granted in
March 2019. The project stretches from Dean Street to the southerly termination of S. Aspen Street.
Five stakeholders are involved in the project: Lift One Lodge (LOL), Gorsuch Haus (GH), the Aspen
Historical Society (AHS), Aspen Skiing Company (ASC), and the City of Aspen. Besides a land interest in the
corridor project, the city also has a financial interest.2
Stakeholders are continuing to work with Lift One Lodge by reviewing the plats and agreements that are
required to formally entitle the project. As the redevelopment of the LOL properties and city property
directly affects four stakeholders, the documents are being carefully reviewed to ensure stakeholders are
comfortable with the content. Stakeholders meet weekly to go over the documents (such as a base area
construction and maintenance agreement, white box delivery agreement, and civils). Many documents
are in a finalized draft form, but some of the more complex documents are still being discussed. All
documents should be finalized and recorded by the end of first quarter 2023.
Stakeholder discussion has also included representation from OKO Group,when construction timelines
and sequencing expectations are being considered. Currently, the only ‘hard’ deadline for the developers
is the expiration of vested rights on December 24, 2025.Both LOL and OKO Group will need to submit
1 The project includes two hotels (Lift One Lodge and Gorsuch Haus), installation of a new telemix lift that loads
closer to Dean Street and skier return, relocation of the historically designated Lift 1 bullwheel and associated
towers, development of a ski museum and ticketing/skier services, as well as the redevelopment of city parks,
Dean Street, and the termination (a new cul-de-sac) of S. Aspen Street.
2 The city has allocated $4.36 million dollars within an escrow account to help fund certain “public facing” elements
of the project such as improvements to Dean Street and relocation of the Skiers Chalet Lodge (home of a future ski
museum and ASC services) that will benefit the public. These funds are to be released to Lift One Lodge when overall
improvements are constructed and “once the new ski lift is in a working condition.”
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complete building permit applications by the noted deadline to maintain their development rights.
Otherwise, the rights expire and the developers may request an extension of the vested rights which is
considered by City Council.
Discussions on construction timelines are occurring but are very much estimates at this point and
should not be relied upon. Following is a high-level development timeline:
Lift One Lodge - 2023 permit submission. LOL has indicated that they would like to submit a
building permit once their entitlement documents are recorded.
Lift One Lodge - Summer/Fall 2024 permit issuance. For a large-scaleproject, it is anticipated at
least 1 year for permit review and issuance.
Lift One Lodge - Summer/Fall 2024 construction start. LOL is assuming:
-Concrete subgrade structure set and ready for terminal installation 16-20 months from
start. Total subgrade construction timeline of 18 – 24 months.
-Exterior enclosure of lodge building 22 months from start.
-Skiway grading complete 30 months from start.
-Fire Alarm and sprinkler sign-off 36 months from start
-Skier’s Chalet Lodge foundation set 17 months from start. Completion of core and shell 21
months from start.
OKO Group anticipates a shorter timeline, so stakeholders are beginning to discuss it relation to
Lift One Lodge’s anticipated timeline and coordination with sequencing. OKO Group is still
working on their timeline but expects to submit for building permit well before the expiration of
their vested rights.
Stakeholders are still working on timelines, so this is very much an estimate.
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INFORMATION ONLY MEMORANDUM
TO: Mayor Torre and City Council
FROM: Lisa Rigsby Peterson, Executive Director Wheeler Opera House
THROUGH: Diane Foster, Assistant City Manager
MEMO DATE: October 10, 2022
CC: Sara Ott, City Manager
RE: Wheeler Opera House Proposed 2023 Fee Changes
BACKGROUND: To allow more time for Council to review extensive proposed changes
to the Wheeler Opera House fee schedule, staff have prepared this informational memo.
The proposed changes included here are consistent with what is currently in the 2023
Proposed Budget which staff will present at the October 24th Council Work Session.
DISCUSSION:
Fees associated with renting the Wheeler Opera House were last adjusted in 2020.
Staff have evaluated these fees and are recommending changes intended to achieve
the following goals:
1) Simplification of a complicated fee schedule, allowing clients to better
estimate their expenses.
2) Baseline cost recovery of event-specific labor and charges.
3) Adjusting rates box office and other rates to better align with the local
market and client needs while prioritizing our community non-profit
partners; and
4) Allowing non-profit partners to retain full ticket sales income for all
on-site events at the Wheeler.
The Wheeler Advisory Board provided constructive input to staff earlier this year, and
unanimously endorsed the proposed fee changes at its July 13, 2022 meeting.
1) The current fee schedule for renting the Wheeler is complicated to navigate,
includes multiple fees for items as small as individual batteries, and does not reflect
current actual costs of labor and some services such as piano tuning. By simplifying the
venue rental fee schedule and folding many costs into one simple rate, it will be easier
to understand and estimate rental costs.
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The proposed venue rental rates include new categories, including rehearsal rates, for
high-demand weekend rental rates, and new private usage rates. At the
recommendation of the Advisory Board, a private corporate rate has been created
which is significantly more expensive than any other type of use. This reflects a shared
commitment to making the Wheeler affordable and accessible to community non-profit
partners above all, while making sure that non-public events with a commercial purpose
do not enjoy the same level of tax-payer subsidy.
2) Wheeler staff feel that it is fiscally prudent to realign labor charges to a
baseline cost recovery level. The proposed labor charges reflect the true estimated
cost of salaries and benefits at current pay rates. The Wheeler only charges labor for
those personnel who are necessary to execute the event – there is no overhead for
personnel such as the executive director, building manager, marketing manager, etc.
charged to rental clients.
3) The simplified box office structure eliminates eight separate small categories
by creating a single box office set up fee and one charge for ticket printing. As with all
the other suggested changes, these fees were established by evaluating prior client
usage and creating categories intended to accommodate both one-night users as well
as multiple event renters.
Staff are also proposing updating, simplifying, and/or eliminating several existing
miscellaneous technical supplies rental fees.
4) This proposal includes the elimination of the box office “sales commission”
charged to non-profit partners. In the past, the Wheeler has retained up to 6% of all box
office proceeds of rental events. This practice was partially to help fund arts and culture
grants in successive seasons. With the proposed increase in Arts and Culture Real
Estate Transfer Tax (RETT) funds available through the city’s grants program moving
forward, Wheeler staff feel it is appropriate to allow non-profit partners to retain all
their box office proceeds for on-site rentals.
The Wheeler will continue to retain a commission from:
For-profit rentals (to offset the generous subsidy all rental clients enjoy as a
result of the RETT); and
Box office services for events that happen anywhere other than the Wheeler
(e.g., activities at local hotels, the District Theatre, movie theatres or meeting
spaces, etc.), in keeping with the priority of on-site activities.
One other change to note is that staff is proposing a change in ticket handling fees.
Currently, there is a $5 per order fee charged to customers who purchase tickets
through the Wheeler box office. The proposed 2023 fee is $3 per ticket rather than
order. Charging a ticket handling fee to the patron is industry standard, and most
performing arts venues charge far more than $3 per ticket. This modest increase in
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handling fees is designed to offset the decrease in several current box office fee
categories.
Finally, if these proposed fee changes are approved, staff would recommend that all
existing approved 2023 rentals (from January 1 – June 30, 2023) be contracted at
current rates to allow rental clients time to adapt to future fee increases. Any 2023
rentals which are booked after Council budget approval will contracted at the new rates.
FINANCIAL IMPACTS: In considering the accompanying fee changes, Wheeler staff
modeled scenarios for multiple existing rental clients to assess the impact of the
proposal. These models showed that costs will increase for many rental clients, but that
the proposed changes in most instances will result in a modest change only, particularly
for the many non-profits who only rent the Wheeler for one or two events in a year.
The biggest impact would be on multi-day users who present high-activity and long-
duration events – these costs could increase by a thousand dollars or more, particularly
as a function of the proposed cost-recovery for labor.
Increased expenses for community non-profit partners are anticipated to be tempered
by the following:
Elimination of box office commissions mentioned in this memo.
Many non-profit users of the Wheeler already receive in-kind grants which
directly and sometimes completely offset the equivalent of expenses for a full day
usage or more, so the actual financial impact could be minimal.
Given the proposed increase in funds for the city’s arts and culture grants, non-
profit partners have the opportunity to apply for more funding than in previous
years, making 2023 the right year in which to implement these proposed
changes.
The impact to the annual operating income of the Wheeler itself is to be determined, as
there are an exceptional number of variables, including number of rental clients, nature
of those rentals, Wheeler-specific programming, etc. As a placeholder, Wheeler staff
have ballparked that annual income from the proposed fee increases could increase by
approximately $20,000, depending on the number and nature of rentals in 2023. It is
worth noting that some of the increase in income would directly offset actual labor
expenses incurred. Wheeler staff will closely monitor how the fee changes are affecting
income lines as the year progresses and will work closely with our non-profit partners
through the transition.
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Wheeler Opera House
2023 Proposed Rental Fee Schedule
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Sec. 2.12.045. Wheeler Opera House For-Profit Non-Profit**
As approved by Aspen City Council, November 2019 2020 2020
Facility - Public Events* plus labor
Ticketed Performance Day Rate (includes rehearsals + performance)$685.00 $390.00
Ticketed 2nd Performance Same Day Rate (includes rehearsals + performance)$340.00 $190.00
Ticketed Performance 2nd Day Rate (includes rehearsals + performance)$480.00 $270.00
Ticketed Performance Weekly Rate - 5 days (includes rehearsals + performance)$2,600.00 $1,550.00
Non-Ticketed (Free) Community Events Day Rate N/A $130.00
Lobby Event Space (105 seated, 125 standing)$800.00 $525.00
Facility - Private Events* plus labor
Non-Profit / Day N/A $815.00
Corporate / Day $1,700.00 N/A
Lobby Rental Meeting Flat Fee (max 20 people, no AV, no food, max 4 hours)
Outside of Business Hours (M - F noon - 5pm) Flat Fee + labor $200.00 $100.00
Lobby Rental Private Event (hourly, max 125 ppl, 2 hour minimum)$100.00 $75.00
Wedding Flat Fee (Full Venue, 450 ppl max)$5,000.00 n/a
Wedding Flat Fee (Lobby Only, 125 ppl max)$1,750.00 n/a
Photo Shoot in Venue/ Hour (during business hours)$150.00 FREE
Box Office Fees
Sales Commission (as a percent of gross sales) Wheeler events 5.00%5.00%
Outside Sales (as percent of sales)6.00%6.00%
Box Office Set-Up & Services
5+ days notice $30.00 $28.00
3-4 days notice $40.00 $38.00
2 or less days notice $60.00 $55.00
Ticket Printing / Ticket Sold $0.12 $0.08
Pass Barcoding (per barcode entered)$0.50 $0.25
Pass Database Entry (per 100 entries)$125.00 $95.00
Client Database Entry $95.00 $95.00
Labor*
Production Manager & Audio Engineer Rates / Hour (minimum 4 hours)$35.50 $33.50
Lighting Designer $35.50 $33.50
Theatre Technician Rates / Hour (minimum 4 hours)$29.50 $27.50
Catering Coordination / Hour $35.50 $33.50
Custodial Charge / Event $95.00 $68.00
Custodial Charge / Event (with food service)$160.00 $95.00
Front of House Manager / Hour (minimum 2 hours)$35.50 $33.50
Front of House Staff / Hour (minimum 2 hours)$28.50 $26.50
Front of House Staff (Off Site, includes transit time)$35.00 $35.00
Ticket Seller (Box Office)$28.50 $25.00
Ticket Seller (Off Site, includes transit time)$35.00 $35.00
Merchandise Seller $150.00 $26.50
Security Officer (1 per 150 people, at venue discretion)$48.00 $40.00
Support Services
Non-Standard Lobby Set-Up Fee (stage, chairs, tables, etc.) $200.00 $100.00
Auditorium Seat Removal (pit area)$250.00 $100.00
Backstage Coffee/Tea Service (per 100 ppl)$30.00 $20.00
Merchandise Fees (as percent of gross sales) | Lobby Sales 10%/20%N/A
Signage Hang Fees (per hang)$350.00 $250.00
Misc. Supplies At Cost At Cost
Equipment / Instrument Rental
1999 Steinway Rental / Performance $360.00 $255.00
Piano Tuning $250.00 $225.00
Intelligent Light Package / Day $250.00 $100.00
Dance Floor / event $200.00 $150.00
Presentation Laptop (mac or PC) / day $100.00 $65.00
Keyboard Rental / Performance $150.00 $100.00
Drum Rental / Performance $250.00 $200.00
Fender Rental / Performance $75.00 $50.00
Pro Bass Rental / Performance $75.00 $50.00
Fogger / Hazer / Performance $40.00 $25.00
Video Media Rental Day Rate (Projector/Screen/DCP)$250.00 $100.00
Video Media Rental Weekly Rate - 5 consecutive days $900.00 $400.00
**In order to qualify for non-profit rates, organization must be a registered Roaring Fork
Valley non-profit organization
*For Full Facility Rentals, the following labor is a requirement:
Production Manager
Audio Engineer
Front of House Manager
Ticket Seller (if ticketed event)
Custodial
*For Lobby Rental, the following labor is a requirement
Production Manager (if AV is used)
Front of House Manager
Custodial
WHEELER OPERA HOUSE FACILITY RENTAL RATES 2022
Current 2022 Wheeler
Rental Rates
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proposed to City Council October 24, 2022 For-Profit Non-Profit
2023 2023
Facility Rental - Public Events* | Mainstage and Vault Bar Lobby
Public Event Day Rate | Monday- Thursday (limit two events per day)$875 $490
Public Event Day Rate | Friday-Sunday (limit two events per day)$965 $540
Tech/Rehersal Rate | Monday- Thursday $685 $390
Tech/Rehersal Rate| Friday-Sunday $965 $540
Weekly Rate | Monday - Friday (5 day max)$3,500 $1,960
Private Corporate Event Day Rate $5,000
Private Non-Profit Event Day Rate $975
The Vault Lobby Only (max. 4 hours)$200/hr $100/hr
Box Office Fees
All tickets sold exclusively through Aspen Show Tix at the Wheeler.
Sales Commission, onsite events 6%0%
Sales Commission, offsite events 6%3%
Credit Card Processing Fee | Visa & MasterCard
Credit Card Processing Fee | American Express
Aspen Show Tix, Event Set-Up Fee
Single Event Set-Up $200 $100
Event Set-Up | 5-9 events (over 9, additional $150 per event)$800 $400
Client Ticket Charge | Comps, Pass Bar Codes, & Consignment Tickets
(per ticket over 25)
Labor Rates PER HOUR
Production Manager |4hr minimum per staff
Audio/Lighting Supervisor |4hr minimum per staff
Theatre Technicians| 4hr minimum per staff
Box Office Staff Onsite | 2hr minimum per staff
Box Office Staff Offsite |2hr minimum per staff
House Management Staff | 2hr minimum per staff
Custodial Services Technician
Catering Coordination | requires prior arrangement
Foodservice Cleaning Rate
Equipment and Instrument Rental
9' Concert Grand Steinway Day Rate | approval required
Piano Tuning
Drum Kit Rental Day Rate
Video Media Rental Day Rate (Projector/Screen/DCP)
Video Media Rental Weekly Rate|5 consecutive days
PROPOSED
$37
$40
$75
3%
4%
$0.50
$40
$30
$31
$40
$30
Patrons will be charged a non-refundable $3.00 per ticket handling charge.
WHEELER OPERA HOUSE Facility Rental Rates 2023
$40
$255
$250
$200
$200
$500
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WHEELER OPERA HOUSE VENUE RENTAL RATES Proposed ChangesItemTypeCurrent RateProposed RateDollar Change Percent ChangeStandard$685$875$190 28%Non-Profit$390$490$100 26%Standard$685$965$280 41%Non-Profit$390$540$150 38%Standard$685$685$0 0%Non-Profit$390$390$0 0%Standard$685$965$280 41%Non-Profit$390$540$150 38%Standard$2,600$3,500$900 35%Non-Profit$1,550$1,960$410 26%Standard$1,750$5,000$3250186%Non-Profit$815$975$160 20%Standard$800 per event$200/hr$0 0%Non-Profit$525 per event$100/hrup to $125 less(25 - 81%)Venue Rental fees eliminated for following items which will now be rolled into a single venue rental fee:Previous ratesSame Day Ticketed 2nd performance $190 - 3402nd Day Ticketed Performance Day Rate $270 - 480Non-Ticketed/Free Community Events $130Tech/Rehersal Rate | Mon- ThursEvent Day Rate | Mon- Thurs (up to two events per day)Event Day Rate | Fri-Sun (up to two events per day)Lobby Rental Only (max 4 hours)Tech/Rehersal Rate| Fri-SunWeekly Rate | Mon - Fri (5 day max.)PRIVATE CORPORATE EVENT |Day RateNew CategoryNew CategoryNew CategoryNew CategoryV2 2022.07.1511
WHEELER OPERA HOUSE LABOR RATES Proposed ChangesItemTypeCurrent RateProposed Hourly RateDollar ChangePercent ChangeStandard$35.50$40$5 13%Non-Profit$32.50$40$8 23%Standard$35.50$40$5 13%Non-Profit$32.50$40$8 23%Standard$29.50$30$1 2%Non-Profit$27$30$3 11%Standard$28.50$31$3 9%Non-Profit$25$31$6 24%Standard$35$40$5 14%Non-Profit$35$40$5 14%Standard$28.50$30$2 5%Non-Profit$26$30$4 15%Standard$95 flat fee$37switched to hourly rateswitched to hourly rateNon-Profit$65 flat fee$37switched to hourly rateswitched to hourly rateStandard$35.50$40$5 13%Non-Profit$32.50$40$8 23%Standard$160 flat fee$75switched to hourly rateswitched to hourly rateNon-Profit$90 flat fee$75switched to hourly rateswitched to hourly rateProduction Manager | 4hr minimum per staffAudio/Lighting Supervisor | 4hr minimum per staffFood Service Cleaning ChargeHouse Management Staff | 4 hr minimum per staffTheatre Technicians| 4hr minimum per staff Catering Coordination | requires prior arrangementCustodial Services Technician Box Office Staff Onsite | 2 hr minimum per staffBox Office Staff Offsite | 2 hr minimum per staffV2 2022.07.1512
WHEELER OPERA HOUSE BOX OFFICE RATES Proposed ChangesItemTypeCurrent RateProposed RateRate/$ ShiftPercent ChangeStandard5%6%1% 20%Non-Profit5%0%-5% -100%Standard6%6%0% 0%Non-Profit6%3%-3% -50%Standard$30 - 60$200$140 - 170Non-Profit$28 - 55$100$62 - 45Standard$800newNon-Profit$400newStandard$0$0.5050%Non-Profit$0$0.5050%Standard3%3%0% 0%Non-Profit3%3%0% 0%Standard4%4%0% 0%Non-Profit4%4%0% 0%New CategoryPer Ticket Handling Charge TO PATRON$5 per order$3 per ticketRental fees eliminated for following items which will now be rolled into the Event Set Up Fee:Previous ratesTicket printing / Ticket sold$0.08 - 0.12Ticket template change per occurrence $10Promotional Script Changing$10 - 15Pricing Configuration / Template $25Pass barcoding per code entered $0.25 - 0.50Pass database entry per 100 entries $95 - 125Client database entry$95Short notice set up requests$10 - 30Credit Card Processing Fee | Visa & MasterCardCredit Card Processing Fee | American ExpressSales Commission onsite eventsSales Commission, offsite eventsBox Office Event Set Up Fee - Single EventBox Office Event Set Up Fee - 5 - 9 events(Over 9, $150/50 per)Client Ticket Charge | Comps, Pass Bar Codes, & Consignment Tickets (1st 25 -- no charge)New CategoryNew CategoryV2 2022.06.2913
WHEELER OPERA HOUSE MISCELLANEOUS RATES Proposed ChangesItemTypeCurrent RateProposed RateDollar ChangePercent ChangeStandard$360$255-$105 -29%Non-Profit$255$255$0 0%Standard$250$250$0 0%Non-Profit$180$250$70 39%Standard$250$200-$50 -20%Non-Profit$200$200$0 0%Standard$250$200-$50 -20%Non-Profit$100$200$100 100%Standard$900$500-$400 -44%Non-Profit$400$500$100 25%Previous ratesIntelligent Light package $100 - 250Dance floor$150 - 200Presentation laptop$65 - 100Backline instruments$25 - 75Fogger/hazer$25 - 40Miscellaneous supplies (batteries, etc)$1 - 25 perRental fees eliminated for following items, which will now be available through the venue rental fee at no additional charge depending on availability:9' Concert Grand Steinway Day Rate | approval required Video Media Rental Weekly Rate|5 consecutive days Piano Tuning Drum Kit Rental Day RateVideo Media Rental Day Rate (Projector/Screen/DCP) V2 2022.06.2914
VenueCapacity Rental TypeTrained Professional Staff AvailableSet-up or Load-In/OutTech Rehearsals, M-Th daily rateTech Rehearsals, F-Sun daily ratePerformance, daily rateSame day MatineeM-Th,4hr rateM-Th,daily rateF-Sun, daily rateWeekly RateOver Time Rate, hourlyRehearsal Day, Over Time Rate, hourlyStandardYES$685 $965$875 $965$3,500Non-ProfitYES$390 $540$490 $540 $560StandardYES$2,000$4,000$750 $375Non-ProfitYES$1,000$2,000$375 $125StandardYES$330$1,320$660Non-ProfitNOStandardNO+ 22%service Non-ProfitNOStandardNO+ 22%serviceNon-ProfitNOStandardNO+ 22%service Non-ProfitNOStandardYES$8,000 $25,000 $25,000$50,000Non-ProfitYES$5,000 $5,000 $5,000$30,000StandardYES$750 $750$3,500Non-ProfitYES$400$750StandardYES$10,000Non-ProfitYESStandardYES$650 $975 $1,350Non-ProfitYES$485 $730 $1,000Lone Tree Arts Center MainstageAspen District Theatre Aspen Meadows PaepkeAspen Meadows Albright480130-165Theatre Aspen Lobby & Patio Only (June - October)Aspen Music Festival & School Benedict Music Tent Aspen Music Festival & School Harris Hall1502050500WHEELER OPERA HOUSE Rental Rate Comparison535550406330Wheeler Opera House MainstageAspen Meadows McNolty500Vilar Performing Arts Center$6,000 $2,500 feefee$3,000 feeV2 2022.06.2915