Minutes from the March 9th, 2004 meeting:
Present: Ian Allen, Tim Breen, Craig Brett, Robert Inglis, Michelle Strain, Tanya McCormick, J.D. Ney, Alex Nixon, Scooter.
Absent: Nate Cline.
Meeting called to order.
Revisions of last meeting minutes: (1) will remain smoking until the "membership" year is finished, not academic year, and (2) as 132 memberships were sold on discount on the specific date of Jan 5th, 2004, not spread throughout January. No Business Arising from minutes.
Manager's Report - February was a decent month with special events. Tuesday - DJ's, Wednesday - Rock N' Roll DJ's - better than Wednesday's 1st term. Thursday are doing alright, Monday's - doing well with trivia. Next week is Grad Banquet on same night as St.Patrick's - March 17th. An e-mail was sent out to students to recognize that the pub will be very busy on 17th. CD launch of Conduct Becoming coming up on Thursday March 25th. Athletic banquet also coming up. The mural is finished. Line-ups have been good lately. A candidate has been chosen for summer manager and the offer is pending. 24% of profits after cost of alcohol go to the summer manager. Licensing user fee has been abolished as of February 27th - amount paid is same level as consumer would pay for alcohol.
Financial Report - Better month this month and this time last year. Sales even to last years. Expenses are lower. Rent is down for January and February. Saving $1300.00 in February and $1200.00 for January. Beer sales are down - replaced by draft and liquor sales.
Next meeting scheduled for Thursday April 1st at 7:00 p.m. at Rob's place. Meeting Adjourned.
Minutes taken by Tanya McCormick.
Minutes from the February 4th, 2004 meeting:
Meeting Called to Order.
Agenda Minutes Approved.
Present: Scooter, Rob Inglis, Jeff Lamb, Ian Allen, Tanya McCormick, Craig Brett, Tim Breen, Nate Cline, J.D. Ney, Alex Nixon, Dianne Michaud.
Business Arising from the Minutes: Town council Meeting had discussing the smoking-ban issue for the community. Although Sackville will be effectively become non-smoking, the Pub, as a Private Club for Members, will remain smoking until the current membership year is finished (August 31st). After September 1st, the Club will be non-smoking due to overwhelming student/member support. No current word on reduced of eliminated rent, or of VLT information. No replacement for Jeff Lamb as of yet.
Financial Report given by Dianne Michaud. Liquor sales greatly increased year-to-date due to significant increase in Pub activity, as 132 memberships were sold on discount on January 5th, the first day back. 30% revenue increase, considering staff wages cut and rent reduction, $5200.00 made in January. Projected loss for the current fiscal year has been reduced from the original guess of $24,000, to a new projected loss of $15,000.00 by year-end, April 2004.
Manager's Report given by Scooter. Pub attendance increase is creating successful activity nights on Monday, Tuesday, and Saturday. Line-ups in January large on the weekends so the entrance has been re-routed to front of University Center Building for those nights. Seems to be helping thus far. Looking good for March as Pub is already fairly booked for banquets, CB4, and entertainment nights. Constitution and By-Laws need amendments for September 2004, so a sub-committee was established to do this review. Argosy article reviewed. Summer Management selection to be announced, after small sub-board committee conducts interviews in March.
Other Announcements: A great thanks and Farewell to Jeff Lamb for his excellent assistance and participation with the Pub's Board of Directors, as he leaves Mount Allison for a new position.
Next Meeting Scheduled for March 9th, 2004 at the Pub at 8pm.
Meeting Adjourned.
Minutes taken by Nate Cline, Board Secretary.
Minutes from the January 13th, 2004 meeting:
Meeting Called to Order.
Agenda Minutes Approved.
Present: Scooter, Rob Inglis, Tanya McCormick, J.D. Ney, Alex Nixon, Nate Cline, Dianne Michaud.
Financial Report given by Dianne Michaud. Rent has been cut for Jan/Feb 2004. Revenue needs to increase substantially as the overall profit is down until the end of December. Sales lower. Cash-flow remains good. If current conditions continue for several years, the Club might be in jeopardy.
Manager's Report given by Scooter. New insurance policies in place. Non-Member email sent on January 2nd with an option to unsubscribe. Good attendance in January to date. Cover charge remains lowered. Trivia and Rock&Roll nights include weekly changes implemented for ongoing schedule. VLTs looked into for after Convocation weekend with a 64% vote to go ahead, 20% vote saying no of 55 responses to inquiry. Possibility of Sackville initiating Non-Smoking law in February, pub might request a hold until the summer in order to respect the membership contracts. Another letter to be sent, yet again, regarding a lowered rent from the University, although slight reduction has already been offered. Other clubs at Mt.A do not pay rent (CHMA, etc.), rent still in question.
New Announcement: Jeff Lamb accepted a position/promotion outside of Mount Allison & will be leaving shortly.
Next Meeting Scheduled for February 10th, 2004 at the Pub, 9pm.
Meeting Adjourned.
Minutes taken by Nate Cline, Board Secretary.
Minutes from the December 6th, 2003 meeting:
Meeting Called to Order.
Agenda Approved.
Present: Jeff Lamb, Rob Inglis, Ian Allen, Craig Brett, Scooter, JD Ney, Tim Breen, Nate Cline, Tanya McCormick.
Financial Report given by accountant Diane Michaud. Beer margin down, as liquor sales margin is up. Discussion of heavy promotion early in the month for Hard Liquor- Pitchers more profitable than beer. Mention of letter being sent regarding the reduction of rent cost.
Manager's Report initiated by Scooter. Brief talk about not mixing wet & dry events due to new insurance situation. Banquets for Houses to be dry (or wet only). New Privacy Act commencing Jan 1st, 2004 for commercial operations reviewed. Agreed that the Club would comply, although not much needed to be changed except to promote awareness. Availability of advertising to non-members in question. Cover Charge lowered. Weeknight themes schedule under revision to better please the students. Trivia & video-gaming suggested as methods to boost Pub activity. VLTs in question, will do a survey. Smoking briefly discussed as smoking booth (penalty box) is proposed until the Club is a non-smoking establishment. No confirmation. Surveys to be handed out on the last few days of December for feedback. Friday the 19th, TGIF party for Staff in the works. No tickets.
Next Meeting scheduled for January 13th, 2004 at the Pub, 9pm.
Meeting Adjourned.
Minutes taken by Nate Cline, Board Secretary.
Minutes from the November 18th, 2003 meeting:
Present: Jeff Lamb, Rob Inglis, Ian Allen, Tim Breen, Jonathan Clark, J.D.Ney, Craig Brett, Alex Nixon. Scott Embree was also present for part of the meeting, as a guest, on behalf of Sears Insurance.
Meeting called to order. Minutes of the previous meeting read and approved.
Presentation by Scott Embree on behalf of Sears Insurance. Scott has been working with the Pub for about six months on the insurance issues, which need to be resolved by December 31st of this year. The Pub is the first of the four groups on campus which have finalized coverage. Highlights from his presentation:
- We will have coverage in the following amounts:
Contents: $320,000
Consequential Loss of Stock: $5,000
Fine Arts Floater: $20,000 (paintings on walls, decorations).
Professional Fees: $25,000 (for reconstruction of financial statements after a fire).
EDP Equipment & Media: $40,000 (electronic data processing: computers & security system).
Valuable Papers: $10,000 (financial records).
Property in Transit: $10,000.
Broad form M&S: $15,000 (cash and securities on the premises – this is much more than we normally carry on the premises).
Boiler Option #3: $320,000 (heating, electrical, and plumbing infrastructure).
CGL: $5,000,000 (comprehensive general liability – in case someone gets injured or killed as a result of intoxication from the Pub).
TLL: $100,000 (Tenant's Legal Liability – to cover damages to the university's building).
NOA: $1,000,000 (non-owned, ie. if an employee, in the course of employment but not on our premises, caused damages).
Personal Injury: $5,000,000.
Advertising Injury: $5,000,000 (slander, libel, etc.).
Director's and Officers Coverage: $2,000,000.
The total cost for this insurance will be about $17,000 per year, which we researched by comparing costs to other campus Pubs at universities around Atlantic Canada, and which is a competitive and price-effective quote for us.
Manager's Report:
- Sales for October were down from the previous year, despite very heavy promotion by the Pub and Molson Breweries.
- Very little to report in terms of security incidents.
Financial Report:
- Profits were down a great deal, due to lower sales. Expenses were held at about the same levels as the previous year, and the contribution margin on drinks sold actually increased slightly, but the large decrease in sales meant that the Pub suffered a loss of about $4200 for the month of October, compared with a profit of about $1700 for October of 2002.
- One abnormal item on this month's financial statements was a high amount for Repairs and Maintenance, due to a couple of untimely repairs to some of the Pub's equipment, namely the cooler and ice machines.
Budget Report:
- Scooter prepared a budget for the rest of the year, based on projected sales figures and expenses. It did not look favourable for the Club. The loss for this year (ending April 30th, 2004) is projected to be approximately $24,000, compared with a loss of only $6,000 last year. This loss is significant because it will come about despite significant cutbacks in operations and service levels to customers. Expenses will be cut back, including significant cutbacks in wages, but the decreased sales will more than compensate for the savings in those expense areas. Highlights include:
- A drop of $7,000 in sales this past summer, compared to the year before.
- A drop in sales for September and October of this year of 10.2% compared to the same period for the year before.
- A projected drop in total after-tax revenues for this year of about $35,000 (over 10%) due to lower customer levels.
- Insurance costs will increase by about $6,000 this year (fully effects of the increase will take effect in the next fiscal year).
- Wages are expected to decrease by about $6,000.
- Security costs (wages to campus police) are expected to be cut in half, due to the inability to afford using these officers.
Scooter reported that the key problem is not that expenses are not being monitored or controlled. The problem stems from lower sales levels than last year, and a significant increase in insurance costs coming. Last year, we had a slight loss on sales of $285,000. This year, with total revenues expected to drop by $35,000, this will take a large bit out of the bottom line. The only realistic way to solve this problem is to increase sales somehow, but that may be very difficult. There are reports from all around town that alcohol sales are declining everywhere, including at the provincial liquor store.
The end result of the budget assessment was that the Pub has to take a serious look at its business mandate, and look at ways next year of operating on a leaner and more profit-conscious financial model. The Pub does not want to stop offering non-profit generating extra services to students, but the fiscal reality is that if the Pub were to lose in the range of $20,000 or more per year, we will cease operations in three years.
The board asked Scooter to prepare some depreciation schedules for the following year, so we could determine how quickly our cash might last in the next several years at the current rate of decline. The board also asked Scooter to prepare a summary of what the absolute minimum fixed costs are for the Pub for a year (ie. rent, cleaning, etc.), for the next meeting.
Scooter then talked about liability and risk management issues. Among the topics covered were:
- The new federal Privacy Act coming into force on January 1st, and what it will mean for the Pub (not a lot).
- The liability risk that the Pub faces in presenting the Responsible Beverage Service course to non-employees (other students).
- General liability issues.
Next meeting planned for December 5th, 2003. This will not be a dinner meeting in Moncton, which has been the usual December tradition, due to the Board's desire to minimize expenses to the Pub.
Meeting adjourned.
Minutes from the October 7th, 2003 meeting:
Meeting Called to Order.
Agenda Approved.
Briefly discussed security incidents over past two months compared to the previous weekend. Reported that there were many non-members/non-student incidents the previous weekend, which were handled accordingly.
Financial Report given by accountant Diane Michaud. Fluctuating revenue from year to year discussed. Savings noted through Staffing, and repairs. Targets proposed for next meeting.
Manager's Report Conducted by Scooter. September's sales reported. Few returns to smoking email sent to members, mostly positive to non-smoking establishment. New Business: Possible move, with University plan, tentatively set anywhere from 2-6 years. General discussion of capacity, security, location and layout possibilities for the "new" club.
Next meeting scheduled for November 18th, 2003 at the Pub. (9pm)
Meeting Adjourned at 10:30pm.
Minutes taken by Nate Cline, Board Secretary.
Minutes from the September 25th, 2003 meeting:
AGM: Review of operations, budget and accounting comparatively of last year's performance.
Once the new Board was established, the meeting was called to order.
Reviewed the summer sales, then reviewed September's sales, compared to last year's.
Discussed the role of the board, attitudes, responsibilities and regulations, support to Pub staff, etc.
The concept of the Pub as a non-smoking establishment was discussed. Possible ideas, dates, and impacts led to the suggestion that next year, starting effective September 2004, the Pub will be promoting and enforcing our establishment to be a fully non-smoking club, similar to the rest of the university campus. The reason that no current action was taken was due to the fact that smoking members have already paid for memberships for a smoking establishment, and these memberships will expire at the end of August of 2004. More thorough feedback shall be solicited in upcoming weeks through an email to all Pub members. Details to be discussed at a later date.
Next meeting scheduled for Oct 7th, 2003 at the Pub, then meeting adjourned.
(Minutes taken by Nate Cline, Secretary).
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