Woodstock Opera House Advisory Commission

MINUTES OF THE WOODSTOCK OPERA HOUSE ADVISORY COMMISSION Tuesday, January 17, 2023 The meeting of the Advisory Commission of the City of Woodstock was called to order at the Opera House at 4:30 pm by Keith Johnson on Tuesday, January 17, 2023. A roll call was taken. I. Call to Order Advisory Members: Present: Keith Johnson, Jeff Kleinschmidt, John Puzzo, and Roger Zawacki. Absent: Judith Svalander and Sue Kazlusky. Staff in Attendance: Opera House Director Daniel Campbell and Opera House Business Operations Manager Betsy Cosgray. II. Approval of Minutes John Puzzo motioned to approve the November 15, 2022 meeting minutes, R. Zawacki seconded. Ayes: Keith Johnson, Jeff Kleinschmidt, John Puzzo, and Roger Zawacki. Nays: none. Absent: Judith Svalander and Sue Kazlusky. Motion to approve the Tuesday, November 15, 2022 meeting minutes passed. III. COMMUNICATIONS a. Managing Director Report: D. Campbell provided a WOH update: The Opera House had a strong holiday season. A Christmas Carol had a respectable turnout and Nutcracker nearly sold out. The holiday season also brought in record concessions sales. Due to weather, the December Comedy Zone and Ed Hall’s Christmas Guitar Night was postponed to later in 2023. Friends of the Opera House donated $10,000 to the Opera House at the same City Council meeting where Judith Svalander was recognized with a Proclamation for her 50 th anniversary of her dance studio. Rigging repairs, building maintenance, stage painting and carpet cleaning took place during a two-week dark period in early January. Due to construction scheduling that is still up in the air, programming will continue as normal through the remainder of 2023. The DECO grant from the State of Illinois is still pending, the City is waiting to hear from the state’s grant manager. Staff is busy working on the budget that is due at the end of January for City Manager and Council review. b. Commission Chair: K. Johnson shared that Off Square Music Open Mic moved back to Friday nights in 2023. c. Commission Member Comments: No comments. IV. OLD BUSINESS a. DECO grant – We are in a holding pattern for the DECO grant. b. OH Tech Report: No Comments from the Commission. V. NEW BUSINESS a. DLR Group: D. Campbell shared the City has hired DLR Group to create a Concept and Design Study plan for forthcoming state grant funding, scheduled to be completed by April 2023. b. Building Engineer Study: In the FY22/23 CIP budget, the Opera House had funding for a Building Engineering Study for the structure of the historic building. With this study the company created a digital scan of the building. There were areas of concern from staff, but nothing was of immediate concern to the inspectors except the fire escape on the east side of the building. Repairing or replacing will be looked at for a future CIP project. K. Johnson asked if the grant money could assist with the costs of the repair and D. Campbell shared that the grant money must be used for the grant request, but possibly the City matching funds may be used for the project. R. Zawacki asked if changing the historic auditorium was a possibility, for example, the height of the balcony seating. Discussion ensued. 2023 Advisory Meeting dates: Jan. 17, Feb. 14, Mar. 14, May 16, Aug. 15, Sept. 19, Oct. 17 and Nov.14  c. Commission Opening: D. Campbell stated Cassandra has stepped down from the Arts Commission and has some interest in joining the Opera House Advisory Board. K. Johnson suggested Ken Johnson for the position. D. Campbell will take these suggestions to the Mayor. It was mentioned that J. Svalander and J. Puzzo’s commissions expire this year and they need to let K. Johnson know if they would like to be reappointed. d. Commission Report: It was decided that D. Campbell and K. Johnson would give one last look to the report and then forward it to the Council prior to the budget being finalized. e. Marketing: J. Kleinschmidt shared that he met with the City’s marketing team to discuss different avenues of marketing the Opera House. VI. ADJOURNMENT a. Motion to adjourn by J. Puzzo and seconded by J. Kleinschmidt. Ayes: Keith Johnson, Roger Zawacki, John Puzzo and Jeff Kleinschmidt. Nays: none. Absent: Judith Svalander and Sue Kazlusky. Motion passed. Meeting adjourned at 5:17 pm. The next meeting: February 21, 2023. Respectfully submitted, Betsy Cosgray 2023 Advisory Meeting dates: Jan. 17, Feb. 14, Mar. 14, May 16, Aug. 15, Sept. 19, Oct. 17 and Nov.14