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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes.WHLR.20240110.Regular1 Wheeler Advisory Board Meeting Minutes January 10, 2024 | 3:00 p.m. In Attendance: Wheeler Opera House Advisory Board Members: Chip Fuller, Chair; Amy Mountjoy, Vice- Chair; Dr. Tom Kurt, Secretary, Nina Gabianelli*; Ziska Childs; Richard Stettner*, Lauren Forman*, Daniel Benavent*; and Kate Northfield Lanich of Aspen Music Festival & School. Wheeler Opera House/City of Aspen Staff: Nicole Levesque, Marketing Director; Karen McConnell, Administrative & Artistic Specialist; Michael Baca, Production Manager, Alex Glen Front of House Supervisor; and Malia Machado* Programs Administrator. Also in attendance from City of Aspen were: Sara Ott, City Manager; Diane Foster, Assistant City Manager and Pete Strecker, Finance Director. *Attended via Zoom Recorder: Karen McConnell Chair Chip Fuller called the meeting to order at 3:02 p.m. and observed presence of a quorum. Chair Fuller mentioned December minutes had been presented to the Board and there were a couple of minor edits. Dr. Tom Kurt moved to approve minutes from the December 13, 2023 Board meeting and Board members unanimously approved adoption of same. Public Comment: Chair Fuller requested public comment. None was offered. Wheeler Updates, Nicole Levesque Ms. Nicole Levesque shared December had great ticket sales and proceeded to provide information on ticket sales number which had been sent to Board members highlighting information regarding the events during the holiday season and events in the coming season. In addition, Ms. Levesque shared the ticket sales transition currently underway with an expected launch the following day. School Outreach information was provided by Malia Machado, Programs Administrator. January 25th Outreach will be Glenwood Middle School and Aspen Middle School. Ms. Levesque 2 responded to Amy Mountjoy’s question that fees, expenses and travel for Outreach come out of the Wheeler Presents program. Marketing budget is separate. Rentals were touched upon and the possibility of adding a few events in the Spring. Co Pro events with Belly Up are going well. Chair Fuller announced Pete Strecker, City of Aspen Finance Director, who was present at the Board meeting to answer financial questions from the Board. The first question regarded the Aspen film partnership with the City of Aspen and Isis Theater and whether Aspen Film has any debt forgiven by the City. Pete Strecker shared that the debt service payments were temporarily adjusted during Covid but that Aspen Film has paid all amounts due in full to the City for the sale of the Isis Theatre per the original Lease Agreement. Sara Ott responded that sale date occurred in the first quarter of 2023. The second question regarded the RETT (Real Estate Transfer Tax) and its workings. Mr. Strecker shared that there are two (2) totally separate, unique RETT funds, adopted at different times which go into separate funds. One is for the Housing Fund and one goes into the Arts and Culture Fund, which includes the Wheeler. The separate funds were distinguished in 2021 as a result of the vote to expand RETT usages. Annual financial reconciliation of the RETT is performed by Finance to ensure that collections prior to the certification of the November 2021 vote are accounted as a historical RETT balance and collections after the certification are accounted separately. The historical RETT balance includes a reserve of one year of Wheeler Operating costs (100% reserve) as opposed to virtually every other City reserve which is typically around 25% Sara Ott shared her recommendation to Council would be against encumbering more than 100% a year’s reserve just for Wheeler. If the fund ever should fall to 10% that would be cause for concern. Mr. Strecker added that in other City funds, If reserves fall below 25%, the reserve fund must be built back up within a 3 year period. Mr. Strecker commented that information about all City funds can be accessed on the city’s website. Mr. Strecker also provided information on account interest earned. The Arts & Culture Fund (which includes the Wheeler Opera House) participates in the City’s pooled investment program and is thoughtfully managed. State statues regarding investments are followed. The diverse portfolio is doing well due to thoughtful investments and records may be accessed by the public based on annual report date. Current new investments are earning 4.5 to 5% annually. Since the Wheeler has a bigger percentage of the total, it receives a larger amount of the distribution in proportion. November marked $1.6 million in earned investment revenue for the year. Mr. Strecker and Ms. Ott then answered question regarding Council’s current policy about spending the RETT. The current policy is to access historical Wheeler RETT funds for the current operations of the Wheeler until that historical fund reaches a 100% reserve floor (equal to one year’s operating expenses). Funds for the Red Brick Center for the Arts and Arts and Culture grants are being distributed from the RETT collections post-2021 ballot initiative and certification. These policies were presented to and approve by Council at an October 24, 2022 Council Meeting. The Board was encouraged to access this meeting through the City website (www.aspen.gov ) if they wanted more detail about the Council decision. The next question for Mr. Strecker was “What funds from the RETT are returned or paid to the general fund? And, are other City departments also paying to the general fund?” Mr. Strecker answered that the Wheeler and other city departments all pay into the general fund to pay for shared city services such as finance, payroll, human resources, etc. Calculations are performed 3 per individual departments and are assessed according to the department’s full-time employee (FTE) count. “Are there any outstanding loans from the Wheeler RETT or Affordable Housing?” was the next question. Mr. Strecker responded “No, those have been fully paid back.” Ms. Ott commented Council encourages early “pay off” of interdepartmental loans with thoughtful fiscal management. City Manager Ott mentioned that cost recovery at the Wheeler will continue to be a conversation with the Council. There’s been debate about presenting big headliners with high fees, cost recoveries, and how to agree upon a target subsidy. Further discussion is warranted. Chair Fuller inquired of Board members present and attending by zoom if there were any additional questions of Pete Strecker. There were none. Board Discussion Chair Fuller then welcomed additional discussions regarding their Wheeler meeting with City Council February 5th and proceeded to read the summary and asked Board members for additional items. Once all input is received this date, Chair Fuller will prepare a memo to City Council and they’ll choose from the list the items to discuss. 1. Role of the Wheeler Opera House Board and expectations of City Council. So what is the Board doing right? What is the Board doing wrong? 2. Direction, variety and diversity of programming at the Wheeler. What metrics should the Board use to measure success or Council use to measure success? Is the Council in support of the direction of programming? Especially in expansion into new areas such as family programming and new genres? And is it all in the Wheeler building or in outside venues, as well? 3. Construction of a building or more active use of the parcel lot next door. Does the Council have interest in discussing potential new uses for the parcel for building rehearsal, performing spaces and housing as proposed previously. 4. Wheeler staffing support and attraction and maintenance of staff. Ensuring that the Wheeler is properly staffed with the appropriate number of employees needed to execute the vision of the Board and Council. Discussion of efforts to hire and retain Wheeler staff. 5. The Wheeler’s role as a leader in the arts community throughout the Roaring Fork Valley. Wheeler’s artistic role in the community. What needs does Council see for Wheeler’s lead role in the community? Thoughtful Board discussion followed expanding on ways in which to address Council February 5th. Ms. Childs commented that she wanted to discuss operational excellence as a way to secure outstanding shows for the Wheeler. Chair Fuller asked her to expand on her definition of operational excellence, and she shared that it was not just front of house personnel but especially back of house staff. She replied that good shows aren’t even approaching the Wheeler; Dr. Kurt mentioned that it might be possible to discuss an arts council that could discuss booking shows with partners throughout the valley. Ms. Childs said that there should be a focus on education and training for production staff so that Wheeler staff could be at the level necessary to attract the shows she is thinking of and that she believes the Wheeler is not currently. Chair Fuller replied that his perception is that the items Ms. Childs was raising are not borne out in practice. Dr. Kurt added that in addition to high profile shows, the Wheeler hosts city graduations and events and that these, 4 too, are important for the community. Ms. Northfield Lanich commented that for the Music Festival, their artists return largely based the money they are offered and upon a sense of connection to the Aspen area, and that the Festival has a large number of fairly inexperienced students working backstage to learn their craft, and it has not proved to be an impediment to booking great artists. Ms. Childs mentioned the cancellation of the HBO Comedy Festival 20 years ago as evidence of a decline in organizational excellence. Ms. Forman, who worked for the Wheeler at the time, shared background to explain that specific external factors led to that cancellation, not staff ability. She also commented that over her tenure of 20 years of working and then watching Wheeler staff, they rise to every occasion. She also cited instances of artists try to ‘steal’ staff from the Wheeler. Chair Fuller then invited any additional comments and shared that in conversation with Mayor Torre the two things he’s interested in are: (i) Is the Board operating the way it should? And (ii) is the Board communicating well internally? Chair Fuller inquired again for any other proposed topics for the February 5th joint Work Session before City Council. He will prepare the list and send to Mayor Torre. City Manager Ott commented on Aspen Public House negotiations regarding their lease which will occur following the Wheeler’s Board discussion with Council. Discussion continued regarding traffic near the Wheeler, loadout, lighting and need to represent the area near the Wheeler optimally. Signage outside the Wheeler and preservation regulations were also discussed. Ms. Ott also mentioned Council will be holding discussions regarding all 16 Boards throughout the city and will be working to standardize Board and commission practices, focus on transparency and will return to train the Wheeler Advisory Board on Council expectations. Chair Fuller inquired if there were any additional topics to be discussed by the Board and noted the schedule of upcoming Wheeler Advisory Board meetings and the February 5th 4 pm meeting before City Council. No other comments were offered. Dr. Tom Kurt moved to adjourn the meeting, Nina Gabianelli seconded the motion and Board members unanimously approved with no abstentions. The meeting concluded at 4:25 p.m. Future Meetings Schedule February 14, 2024 3:00 p.m. March 13, 2024 3:00 p.m. April 10, 2024 3:00 pm