Monthly Meeting of the Prairie Meadows Board of Directors July 27, :00 p.m.

Transcription

1 Monthly Meeting of the Prairie Meadows Board of Directors July 27, :00 p.m. The Monthly Meeting of the Prairie Meadows Board of Directors was called to order by Mr. Myers in the James Rasmussen Board Room at Prairie Meadows in Altoona, Iowa at 2:00 p.m. Roll Call. Mark Cooper Diana Ewing - absent E. J. Giovannetti Linda Grandquist Mark Hedberg Michael Knapp Bob Myers Jack Peters Also in attendance were: Gary Palmer, President/CEO Ann Atkin, Vice President/COO Brian Wessels, Vice President/CFO Kurt Rasmussen - absent Paul Rogness Karen Novak Swalwell Lisa Moody-Tunks Martha Willits Gene Meyer Michael Helak Tom Flynn, Legal Counsel Nancy Winget, Its Recording Secretary Members of the Press, Public, and Staff Approval of the Minutes. A motion was made by Mr. Cooper to approve the Minutes of the monthly meeting of the Prairie Meadows Board of Directors held on June 15, 2016 as written. Ms. Novak Swalwell requested to amend the Minutes to reflect that she joined the meeting via conference call later in the meeting. Mr. Cooper moved to approve the Minutes with the amendment, the motion was seconded by Ms. Novak Swalwell, and passed on a voice vote. Public Comment. Polk County Food Project. John Mauro, Polk County Supervisor, thanked the Board for the opportunity to speak today; he was here last October to present the project to the Board; one in five children and one in eight adults are not getting enough to eat that s 54,000 people in Polk County. Polk County hired Des Moines University to get an accurate account of what s going on in Polk County; has met with all non-profits operating food pantries; the IT Department put together a map of the food pantries and income demographics and it showed many do not have easy access to a food pantry; the food pantries are only open certain hours and don t have enough staff to extend the hours and it was suggested that Polk County raise the funds to hire additional staff and supply food; Urbandale, West Des Moines, and Ankeny all are having the same problems; Des Moines rented a warehouse to Polk County for $1.00 and Hy-Vee spent $40,000 filling it; the community is working collectively together to make this project work; the County is working on wage issues; there is a mobile food pantry to feed the children during the Summer; he invited the Board to do a walk through and see a food pantry in action. Mr. Mauro said Prairie Meadows gave $750,000 in 2016 and Polk County matched that amount; he is now asking for $500,000 more and the County will again do a match; the amount raised to date is $4.8 million and the goal is $5.5 million by October; he s aware that Prairie Meadows is facing 1

2 issues with the IRS and Polk County will work with Prairie Meadows to make things work PM has given Polk County $25 million a year for 20 years. Mr. Mauro handed out an information packet that included a pledge card and said he ll keep Prairie Meadows updated on what s going on. Mr. Myers thanked Mr. Mauro for the update on the program and the information packet and noted Mr. Mauro is requesting $500,000 - we can t take action today as there is not an Action Item on the agenda; any action is for the next calendar year - we ll have five new Board members and we may still be dealing with the IRS; he would like to go around the table and allow Board members to ask questions, make comments, and state if they re willing to commit to a letter of commitment contingent on what the new Board members say, if we have the money, and if we re not dealing with the IRS: Mark Hedberg yes Michael Helak yes Jack Peters yes Mark Cooper yes E. J. Giovannetti yes Karen Novak Swalwell tentatively yes Gene Meyer yes Lisa Moody-Tunks yes Mike Knapp yes Linda Grandquist yes Paul Rogness yes Comments: Some members expressed concerns about going outside of the Grants process, likes that Polk County will match any funds from Prairie Meadows, there is a human need and this is a necessity, it s a great program, this reaches to the heart and fits in with what Prairie Meadows does, Prairie Meadows is proud to be a partner, funding is contingent on approval by the new Board and if funding is available. Mr. Myers said the Board appreciates the information and update and will vote via within a few days; when we have the vote, we ll write the letter of commitment contingent on approval by the new Board members and if funding is available. Mr. Mauro said he understands the Grants process as Polk County has a Grants program; there s a time to say, how important is this, it s not a name on a building people are not eating; there are always exceptions; there are 25,000 children not getting food; a priority is a priority. Mr. Mauro thanked the Board for the opportunity to speak and wished Prairie Meadows luck with the IRS. Financials. Mr. Wessels reviewed the June 2016 YTD financials: Net Revenue below plan 0.9%; Total Expenses better than plan 2.5%; Net Income before Community Betterment better than plan 6.3%. 2

3 Licensee Comparisons Property Net Win 2015 vs Slot Hold YTD PMRC -.1% 8% Council Bluffs Market -2% n/a (Horseshoe, Harrah s and Ameristar) Horseshoe/Harrah s n/a 10.59% / 10.33% Ameristar n/a 9.63% Lakeside n/a 9.55% Wild Rose Jefferson n/a 8.57% State as a whole State without Jefferson +1.7% -0.3% n/a n/a Hotel Occupancy PM vs. Market DM Market Competitive Set YTD 72.3% 62.7% 70.4% Performance Goals June 2016 Year-to-Date Exceeds/Below Plan Casino Revenue -1.7% Total Revenue -1.4% Net Revenue -0.9% Operating Expenses -2.8% Racing Update. Derron Heldt, Director of Racing, reported: Thoroughbred Meet last Sunday was the 55 th day of racing and there are 12 days left; there are 964 horses on the Backside less than in 2015; field size is 7.1 vs 7.3 in 2015; handle is down 15% on and off track; we have a new post time on Saturdays - we re seeing a decrease in handle on Saturdays, but the last three weeks have been up; we had less races due to the Equine Herpes Virus that affected 150 horses that hurt the field size, on/off track handle, and we had less races, some days we had 7-8 races rather than 9. Festival of Racing was June 30, July 1 and July 2 this was the first three-day festival; a plane arrived from California with six horses; Bob Baffert and Jerry Hollendorfer, nationally known trainers, sent horses; we had big name jockeys; some of the horses that won here went on to win big races at other tracks; two big races were won by local trainers; the Cornhusker was won by owner Toby Keith and local trainer Don Von Hemel. Iowa Classic Weekend August 12 is the Hall of Fame reception at 4:30 p.m. and Governor Branstad will be the inductee; August 13 is the parade at 11:00 a.m. and Iowa Classic Day of racing at 1:00 p.m.; there will be seven stakes races and 2-3 additional races all races that day will feature Iowa-bred horses. 3

4 Quarter Horse Meet starts on August 20; we received 830 applications and will have 57 trainers and horses are expected to be stabled at Prairie Meadows; we ll race Fridays at 5:30 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays at 1:00 p.m. Lobbyist Report. Troy Skinner handed out and reviewed the Legislative Update dated July 2016 two bills were approved by the Governor, HF 2458 and HF 2445; page 2 is the Administrative Rule dealing with HF 2445; Rich Arnold is the new Chair of the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission and Jeff Lamberti will continue to serve out his term until next May. Staff Report. Michele Wilkie, Director of Human Resources, reported: She s been here 23 years and has grown and developed with the organization. Human Resources has seven employees: Recruiting and Training Manager, Employee Benefits Manager, Loss and Prevention Manager, three HR Generalists, and an Administrative Assistant; the average tenure of these employees is 16 years; 6 of the 8 employees started in other departments before transferring to HR. HR is known as the enforcer and she d like it to be known as the resource department ; the goal is to ensure the work environment is productive and enjoyable through education all employees go through a 1½ day orientation, then each department has job specific training, we have leadership and Culture of Excellence training, and tuition assistance; as employees grow and be successful, so does the business. Mr. Helak asked the number of hourly employees, the average rate, and do we receive reasonable applicants? Ms. Wilkie said we have approximately 900 employees, on average, the front line makes $13-$14/hour depending on longevity and our starting wage is $ $12.40 for most non-tipped positions, the quality of applicants is not the same we struggle to keep Line Cooks as there s a lot of competition. Mr. Hedberg asked if some of the problem could be due to testing and rules and regulations that are not imposed on other companies and Ms. Wilkie said yes, employees have to pass a physical and drug test and the IRGC license process. Mr. Peters asked about losing good employees and the exit interview reason and Ms. Wilkie said sometimes it s the work schedule, we re a 24/7, 365 day operation. Ms. Grandquist asked about turnover and Ms. Wilkie said the average tenure at Prairie Meadows is seven years the norm is 4.8 years. Mr. Myers said Ms. Wilkie and staff do a wonderful job. President s Report. Mr. Palmer reported: We have a great work force here and our success is due to longevity; being open 24/7 is complicated with a different set of guests after midnight; our success is due to our employees. Construction we re finishing up odds and ends and working on the plans for the remodeling of the Convention Center starting the end of 2017 there are a lot of logistics to work around as we don t want to cancel anyone s event. Iowa Classic Weekend o August 12 Hall of Fame reception at 4:30 p.m. - all Board members should have received an invitation; Governor Branstad will be the inductee. o August 13 Parade at 11:00 a.m., Racing starts at 1:00 p.m. 4

5 Camel, Ostrich and Zebra races people enjoy this event, this was our biggest year and there were no open parking spaces; we did little in gaming revenue, but F&B was up 35% over 2015 and staff is working on ideas for next year; everyone had fun it was a Family Day and a good public relations day; Adventureland had a special day on the same day and there was traffic everywhere. Committee Reports. Finance. Mr. Helak said the committee met on Monday and reviewed the financials and trends; started preliminary budget discussions; we re operating the business as usual pending the IRS appeal. Facilities. Mr. Knapp said the committee did not meet and staff is working on the plans for the 2017 remodel of the Convention Center. Audit. Ms. Willits said the committee met on Monday and reviewed the financials; this is the mid-year meeting and Internal Audit reported the 401k Audit and the Title 31 Audit have been completed; reviewed the Audit Committee s checklist we are on track with the yearly plan. Human Resources. Mr. Hedberg said the committee did not meet, but he did receive the preliminary draft of the Compensation Study and will it to the committee; the committee will meet in August with the author of the study on a conference call. Grants. Mr. Peters said the committee did not meet as its work is done; a couple of grants were adjusted and money was returned it was not a significant amount. Executive. Mr. Myers said the committee met earlier today and reviewed the items on the Board Agenda; there s nothing to report on the status of the IRS audit except all the material and PM s response were sent to the Washington, DC office for review and the audit team has requested a meeting with the Chicago team. Other Business. None. Adjournment. Mr. Cooper moved to adjourn the meeting, the motion was seconded by Mr. Peters, and passed on a voice vote. There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 2:55 p.m. Respectfully submitted, R. Michael Knapp, Its Secretary 5