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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes 2019-08-19SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO CONFERENCE CENTER MINUTES REGULAR MEETING OF THE SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO CONFERENCE CENTER AUTHORITY South San Francisco Conference Center 255 South Airport Blvd., South San Francisco, CA 94080 August 19, 2019 Meeting was called to order at 5:16 p.m. by Authority Chairperson McGuire. Authority Members Present: Tony Clifford, Jeff MacDonald, Jim McGuire, Liza Normandy, Buenaflor Nicolas, and Vanessa McGovern. Authority Members Absent: B.J. Patel and Richard Garbarino Staff Present: Steve Mattas, Kathleen Kearney, Jorge Cruz, Cameron Fujii and Dean Grubl Authority Chairperson McGuire requested a roll call and asked the Authority to stand for the pledge of allegiance. Public Comment: There was no public comment. Presentations: 1. Presentation of Conference Center Staff (Dean Grubl, Executive Director). Executive Director Grubl requested that the Conference Center staff introduce themselves and state theirjob responsibilities. The staff included: Bryon Tuttle, Facility Services Supervisor; Silvia Wagner, Event Manager; Julian Torres, Sales and Administrative Assistant; Stacey San Pedro, Meetings Manager; Mary Ishida, Sales Manager; Judy Reyes, Director of Catering; Sheila Lauchengco, Catering Associate; Adolfo Ochoa, Banquet Captain; Mike Ramirez, Executive Chef; Chris DeGrande, General Manager of South San Francisco Conference Catering, LLC; Ace Seradilla, Director of Audio Visual from Projection Audio Visual Presentations; Kathleen Kearney, Director of Sales; Cameron Fujii, Facility Services Manager; and Jorge Cruz, Director of Facilities Operations. Grubl mentioned that the Chief Financial Officer, Katie Leung is currently out of the office on bereavement leave. Action Items: 1. Review/Approval of Minutes from the June 3, 2019 Regular Meeting. Executive Director Grubl stated there are two corrections to the minutes, and they are: 255 South Airport Boulevard I South San Francisco I California 1 94080 t: 650-877-8787 ssfconf.com EEEO Cp�a SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO 'S CONFERENCE CENTER replace the words "was instilled" with "was installed" on page two, paragraph two and replace "they conference' with "the conference" under the Sales and Operations Update on page three. Authority Member MacDonald moved to approve the minutes with the corrections and Authority Member Clifford seconded the motion. The Authority agreed unanimously to approve the minutes. Discussion Item/s: 1. Review of June Preliminary P&L for Fiscal Year 2018-2019. Grubl reviewed the preliminary P&L fiscal year 2018-2019 to the Authority. He mentioned that net revenue for the fiscal year was short by $55,000 to goal; however, room rental exceeded goal by $102,000 and event services exceeded goal by $131,000. Food and Beverage revenue was $157,000 short of goal Grubl mentioned that in the Administrative and General accounts, the Conference Center was $92,000 under budget, due in part to the Conference Center being understaffed for the fiscal year. In the Operations and Maintenance accounts, the Conference Center was about $70,000 below budget for the fiscal year. In Sales and Marketing accounts, Grubl stated the sales department came in under budget by almost $9,000 for the fiscal year. He noted that did include the anniversary event the Conference Center hosted in April. In the Depreciation Expenses, Grubl mentioned to the Authority that in June the Conference Center did a "true up" adjustment for the fiscal year in depreciation that has been carried over in the past. He stated that the Auditors are aware of this and it conforms to the Conference Center Authority's Capitalization Policy and Procedures that was approved in 2016. The Net Income for the Fiscal Year 2018-2019 was a little over $457,000. Grubl mentioned that it is $252,896 short of budget; however, he reminded everyone that the Depreciation Expense ($689,839) was not initially factored when the 2018-19 budget was put together. He clarified to the Authority if the Depreciation Expenses is taken out of the equation, the net income would be $1,147,193 (surpassing the budgeted $710,251 net income without Depreciation Expenses). 2. Review of July Preliminary P&L for Fiscal Year 2019-2020. Grubl reviewed the July 2019 Preliminary P&L to the Authority. He mentioned that with the new accounting software, the Authority is seeing a true comparison of this year versus the previous year. This year's July gross profit was $31,000 (23.9%) better than last year's July. The total expenses in July 2019 showed an increase of 15.4% from July 2018 as there were substantial increased costs in professional services and software/systems management costs. Operation and Maintenance expenses was almost $6,000 under last July's expenses (7.9% lower). in the Sales and Marketing expenses, the Conference center was a little $1,400 (8.6%) over compared to last July's expenses. Overall, the net income was 43.4% below last year's July figures; however, Grubl mentioned 255 South Airport Boulevard I South San Francisco I California 1 94080 t: 650-877-8787 ssfconf.com <9>SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO CONFERENCE CENTER that the Conference Center Tax revenue is still a preliminary number as all hotel revenues have-not been accounted for at this time yet. Authority Announcements, Referrals and Future Agenda Items: Grubl mentioned that Chavan & Associates, LLP will be conducting the audit FY2018-2019 of the Conference Center on September 23-24, 2019 and present their findings to the Authority during the December Regular meeting. Executive Director's Report: I. Update on Conference Center Sales Activities (Director of Sales; Kathleen Kearney). Kathleen Kearney, Director of Sales for the Conference Center gave a presentation to update the Authority on the sales activities. Kearney informed the Authority that the Conference Center has a new YouTube video that was produced to showcase the Conference Center and its amenities. She stated it is a part of the new marketing efforts for the Conference Center and to bring more social media attention to the Center. Kearney reviewed the upcoming sales activities for the next three months that include: a Fam Trip with the San Mateo County Convention and Visitors Bureau, Destination West, Connect Marketplace, Sacramento Sales Mission and reception with partnering South San Francisco Hotels and the new Catering Menus. She gave a brief description of the Conference Center's new website design and how it is going to work better for the Conference Center to target specific areas and incorporate the social media aspect as well. She mentioned that the new website should be online at the beginning of October. 2. Update of the FY2019-20 Capital Improvement Projects (Director of Facility Operations; Jorge Cruz and Facility Services Manager; Cameron Fujii). Jorge Cruz, Director of Facility Operations and Cameron Fujii, Facility Services Manager gave the Authority an update on some the Capital Improvement Projects for fiscal year 2019-2020. Cruz reviewed the projects and mentioned that the replacement of wallpaper in the lobby areas had started and should be completed by the first week in September. He stated that the purchase and replacement of the carpet extractor machine has been completed. He is currently working with a company to schedule the replacement and installation of the amplifiers and equalizers for the audio-visual room. Fujii discussed progress in the networking upgrade including a secondary internet service provider. He explained that the upgrade focused on security, reliability and speed. The Project is to be completed on or before September 6`n. 255 South Airport Boulevard I South San Francisco I California 1 44080 t: 650-877-8787 ssfconf.com teeo cavo SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO CONFERENCE CENTER Chairperson McGuire asked Cruz if the Operations team would explore and recommend to the Authority the possibility of installing a generator at the facility and report back to the Authority during their October meeting. Cruz mentioned he would look at getting bids on such a project and report their findings back to the Authority. Chairperson McGuire announced the next Regular Authority Board Meeting will be on Monday, October 21, 2019 at 5:15 p.m. The meeting was adjourned at 6:23 p.m. L cGuire ority Chairperson Dean Grubl Executive Director 255 South Airport Boulevard j South San Francisco I California 1 94080 t; 650-877-8787 ssfconf,com