Standing Committee Meeting

MEETING OF STANDING COMMITTEES Community Center October 17, 2022 The meeting of Standing Committee met at the Community Center at 5:55 p.m. on October 17, 2022, with the following Committee persons in attendance: Councilmembers Kelly Dunn, Daryl Kruse, Simon Harding, Dustin Ganfield, Gil Schultz via videoconference, and Dave Sires; absent: Susan deBuhr. Staff members from all City Departments and members of the community attended in person. Finance & Business Operations Committee: Chair Dunn called the meeting to order and introduced the first item on the Finance & Business Operations Committee Agenda, Human Rights Commission (HRC) Annual Report and introduced HRC Chair Eashaan Vajpeyi. Mr. Vajpeyi provided a brief background of the Commission, the focus of the past year and goals for the current year. Mr. Vajpeyi asked for questions. Councilmember Harding asked what support is needed by Council and is the Commission on a strong trajectory; Mr. Vajpeyi responded the Commission feels well supported and is on a good path. Chair Dunn introduced the second item on the Finance and Business Operations Committee Agenda, Council Meeting Procedures – Order of Agenda (Rule 3.1) and Miscellaneous Administrative Corrections. Chair Dunn introduced Councilmember Kruse. Councilmember Kruse addressed changing the order of the agenda regarding referrals; City Attorney Rogers stated that since City Council changed the ordinance, amending the Council Meeting Procedures policy is all that needs to be changed. Mayor Green stated there is duplication of text and other unintentional errors in Administrative Policy requiring change. Councilmember Harding motioned to direct staff to make changes as directed by Council; seconded by Councilmember Kruse. Chair Dunn called for a vote on the motion: Aye – Councilmembers Dunn, Kruse, Harding, Ganfield, Schultz, and Sires; Nay – none. Motion passed. Committee of the Whole: Chair Harding introduced the only item on the Committee of the Whole Agenda, UNI Dome Fundraising and introduced UNI President Mark Nook. Mr. Nook spoke on UNI’s Capital campaign goal to raise $50 million for the UNI Dome; he gave an overview of the Dome’s notoriety, various hosted events, and the economic impact of visitors. Mr. Nook introduced Jamar Thompson, Associate Director for External Affairs. Mr. Thompson provided the history of the original Dome project and stated this funding campaign will extend until 2026. He stated current events bring in $17 million in community economic impact with over 500,000 visitors annually. Mr. Thompson introduced David Harris, Director of Athletics. Mr. Harris provided background of UNI’s 2018 strategic plan “Panthers Rising” and a feasibility study from 2019. He outlined the project’s goals and highlights and provided visual renderings. He stated the project goal is $50 million and will have three phases; he outlined anticipated future opportunities. Mr. Harris stated the campaign is requesting the City to contribute $3-5 million. Chair Harding opened for questions from Council. Councilmembers asked about alternatives to a donation, longevity of the Dome without immediate repair/updating, the ability to host NCAA events, how less seating will affect revenue, projected effect on community revenue, and comparison of the Dome to similarly sized facilities. Mr. Nook, Mr. Thompson, and Mr. Harris responded UNI would be open to discussion of donation alternatives, that the Dome requires a new roof and updates to continue to be viable moving forward, that requirements for NCAA events vary by sport, that there will be fewer seats but they will be better quality, there are currently no projected numbers regarding community revenue, and have made comparisons with similarly sized facilities that all host football but not all are domes. Chair Harding asked if Council needed more from the presentation; City Administrator Ron Gaines stated Council can discuss at Goal Setting and staff can look at different funding opportunities to bring to Council. Chair Harding requested a motion to review at goal setting; Councilmember Dunn moved to discuss funding sources and support the Dome project at Goal Setting; Councilmember Kruse seconded. Chair Harding called for a vote on the motion: Aye – Councilmembers Dunn, Kruse, Harding, Ganfield, Schultz, and Sires; Nay – none. Motion passed. Meeting adjourned at 6:45 p.m. Minutes by Katie Terhune, Administrative Assistant