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Home My WebLink AboutMinutes 2024-04-15SOUTH 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 April 15, 2024 Meeting was called to order at 5:15 p.m. by Authority Chairperson Shihadeh Authority Members Present: Francois Camou, Richard Garbarino, Shila Narottam, Buenaflor Nicolas, BJ Patel, Mary Prem, Pravin Punjiya, lyad Shihadeh, Reena Maharaj Authority Members Absent: James Coleman Staff Present: Ali Wolf, Katie Leung, and Jim McGuire Public Comment: There was no public comment. Authority Chairperson Shihadeh called the Closed Session to order at 5:17 p.m. Closed Session: 1. Conference with Labor Negotiator (Pursuant to Government Code Section 54957.6) Agency Designated Representatives: lyad Shihadeh and Ali Wolf Unrepresented Employee: Executive Director Closed Session ended at 5:50 p.m. No action was reported out of Closed Session. 255 South Airport Boulevard I South San Francisco I California 1 94080 t: 650-877-8787 ssfconf.com SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO CONFERENCE CENTER Action Items: 1. Review/Approval of Minutes from the February 20, 2024, Regular Meeting. Authority Member Garbarino moved to approve the minutes and Authority Member Nicolas seconded the motion. The Authority voted unanimously to approve the minutes, with no abstentions. 2. Review/Approval of an Agreement with Redwood Public Law, LLC for General Counsel services. McGuire presented to the Authority a Memorandum regarding the Consideration and Adoption of a Resolution Authorizing a Legal Services Agreement with Redwood Public Law, LLP to provide for continued General Counsel and Special Counsel legal services with Alexandra Wolf appointed as General Counsel and Steve Mattas appointed as Assistant General Counsel. Rates for all litigation services are as follows: Paralegals - $175/per hour, Associates - $335/per hour, Partners and Of Counsel - $415/per hour. Rates for all basic services other than litigation are as follows: Paralegals - $175/per hour, Associates - $315/ per hour, Partners and of Counsel - $370/per hour, and Senior Partners - $415/per hour. Authority Member Nicolas moved to adopt a Resolution to authorize a Legal Services Agreement with Redwood Public Law, LLP, and Authority Member Maharaj seconded the motion. The Authority, by roll call, voted unanimously. 3. Review/Approval of Resolution to amend the Conference Center Authority Personnel Policies. McGuire presented to the Authority a Memorandum regarding updating the Conference Center's Authority Personnel Policies to include 1). Overtime portion to include California overtime exemptions, and to clarify the definition of an exempt employee 2). Compensation Time Off and Vacation Scheduling to include the number of days to submit the request 3). Authorized Holidays to include Indigenous Peoples' Day in October. Authority Member Garbarino moved to approve the updated Personnel Polices and Authority Member Narottam seconded the motion. The Authority, by roll call, voted unanimously. 4. Review/Approval of Amendment No. 2 to Agreement between the South San Francisco Conference Center and Projection Video Services, Inc. McGuire presented to the Authority a Memorandum regarding changing Section 5 of the Agreement with the South San Francisco Conference Center and Projection Video Services to amended in its entirety to require a commission on labor and service charges of 10%to be paid to the Conference Center, as well as a sum equal to 40% (forty percent) of all rental equipment billings. Authority Member Maharaj moved to approve Amendment No. 2 and Authority Member Narottam seconded the motion. The Authority, by roll call, voted unanimously. 255 South Airport Boulevard I South San Francisco I California 1 94080 t: 650-877-8787 ssfconf.com LEED GOLD SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO CONFERENCE CENTER Discussion Item/s 1. Review January and February 2024 Preliminary Financial Statements. Chief Financial Officer, Katie Leung, reviewed the January and February 2024 Preliminary Financial Statements for the Authority. YTD Gross Revenue was over budget by $2,410. The YTD Total Operating Expenditures are $170,353 below what was budgeted. Administrative & General expenses were under budget by $108,401, Operation & Maintenance expenses were over under budget by $40,996 and Sales & Marketing expenses were under budget by $20,957. YTD Net Income, Net Depreciation Expenses are $384,352 and Net Income is $161,414 over budget. Authority Announcements, Referrals and Future Agenda Items: None Executive Director's Report: Sales Activity Report, Operations Report and Executive Director's Updates McGuire reported that Sales Manager Stacey San Pedro recently attended MeetNY, which was an event hosted by San Francisco Travel Association, where San Pedro met with twenty-seven (27) qualified planners in New York City and New Jersey. McGuire, San Pedro, Events Manager Julian Torres, and Events Supervisor Andy Levene attended the MPI ACE Conference in San Francisco and participated in educational seminars and several networking events. McGuire, San Pedro, and Director of Sales Kathleen Kearney hosted a luncheon for seven (7) qualified meeting planners in Sacramento that included clients from CPS HR Consulting, California Hotel Lodging Association, California Community of Colleges, California Association of Neurological Surgeons, and the Dairy Council of California. McGuire reported that the conference center will be placing a half -page ad in the San Francisco Business Times newspaper in the BioPharma Edition to gain more exposure for the conference center, and McGuire, San Pedro, Kearney, and Director of Catering Judy Reyes will be performing local sales calls to hotel partners, civic leaders, and local clients in May. Additionally, Kearney has sent out an email blast to over 2,300 meeting planners featuring our Value Dates for the remainder of this Fiscal Year. McGuire shared with the Authority that Kearney has secured a list of all the local consulate offices to pursue their business, especially after the success of the Office of the President and the Philippine 255 South Airport Boulevard I South San Francisco I California 1 94080 t:650-877-8787 ssfconf.com �agUILD,,�,C u � JI Z A 7 n , SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO CONFERENCE CENTER Consulate. Kearney and San Pedro have also been entertaining clients in the Cloud Club for the current baseball season. Executive Director's Updates Executive Director McGuire updated the Authority on recent budget percentages as follows: Room Rental is at 92% of budget, Event Services is at 124% of budget, Audio -Visual is at 77% of budget, and Food and Beverage is at 105% of budget. McGuire reminded the budget subcommittee of the upcoming budget meeting on Thursday, April 18, 2024 at 12:00 p.m. in the conference center's Board Room. The budget subcommittee consists of Chairperson Shihadeh, Authority Members Coleman, and Authority Member Camou serving as the alternate member. The conference centerstaff completed their biannual CPR and Violent Intruder training, and special thanks was given to Sergeant Sean Curmi with the South San Francisco Police Department for conducting the Violent Intruder training. McGuire reported that the Navy Industry Day is taking place at the conference center on April 24, 2024, and the conference center staff have been working closely with the South San Francisco Police Department on security measures, as there will be many VIPs in attendance. McGuire informed the Authority that $100,000 was deposited into the LAIF Reserve account, bringing the balance close to $4M, which was the balance prior to the pandemic. Social media presence is very important to the conference center, and McGuire shared with the Authority the recent videos and transitions that the conference center have been posting to Linkedln and Facebook. McGuire showed three (3) clips of the latest social media videos to the Authority. Chairperson Shihadeh announced that the next Regular Authority Meeting is scheduled for Monday, June 3, 2024. The meeting was adjourned at 6:22 p.m. 1 lyad Shihadeh -S)))�_'° VJimcGuire Authority Chairperson Vvz*— � �� '''e Director 255 South Airport Boulevard I South San Francisco I California 1 94080 t: 650-877-8787 ssfconf.com