03/21/05 Meetings

GWCC AUTHORITY
FINANCE COMMITTEE MEETING
March 21, 2005

MINUTES
________________________________________

Present:
Anne Hennessy, Chairman
Elliott Caudell (by teleconference)
Jim Edenfield
Glenn Hicks

Absent:
David Allman

Sherrie Spinks, staff
Khalil Johnson, staff


Chair Hennessy called the meeting to order at 9:32 a.m. and welcomed committee members and GWCCA staff to the inaugural GWCCA Finance Committee Meeting.

The purpose of this meeting was to help the GWCCA Finance Committee members better understand financial matters for the Georgia World Congress Center, the Georgia Dome, and Centennial Olympic Park and to determine the appropriate frequency for future committee meetings. The committee hopes to gain a more in-depth understanding of the finances so that when the Authority is asked to vote on a particular financial issue, everyone feels they really do understand what they are being asked to vote on. The Committee hopes to gain a better understanding and deeper involvement from the Board.

Chair Hennessy noted that the presentation of financials at the monthly Authority meeting was good, but she is not sure she, nor the committee, fully understands the ins and outs of the financial statements. She hopes to become better educated through this committee.

Year to Date Financial Review

Sherrie Spinks, GWCCA Chief Financial Officer, reviewed a combined summary of February financial statements for all three facilities. She proceeded to briefly go through each facility’s statement. She noted that all in all it is a good picture. Net Operating Income/Loss is $2.9M ahead of projection for the combined organization.

Glenn Hicks noted that Dome revenue is restricted and controlled by the Revenue Bond Trust Indenture. All revenue goes to Bank of New York to hold in specific accounts. There was some discussion about the Debt Service and where we stand in relationship to what is still owed.

There is some limited flexibility with funds that are being held by Bank of New York. Funds can be moved up the chart of accounts within the Dome Trust Structure for use by the Dome for “emergency” purposes, but only with Authority approval and Bank of New York approval. It was made clear to the committee that revenue generated by the Dome stays with the Dome and cannot be moved to GWCC or Centennial Olympic Park for any purpose. Money generated by GWCC or Centennial Olympic Park can be transferred between GWCC and the Park, or even to the Dome if necessary.

One member asked for a summary of the Dome structure in relationship to the Falcons. It was explained that originally the Falcons’ goal when leaving the Atlanta Stadium was to get a state of the art facility, $4M in revenue from the stadium, and an additional portion of the revenue to equal a total of approximately $6M per year from “stadium revenue”.

It was noted that facility budgets are first approved by the Authority in August and revised /finalized the following May and then are submitted to Bank of New York.

Sherrie proceeded to go over each facility’s 2006 budget. She noted that all departments are reviewing their budget and some numbers will change but there will not be any major overall changes. The Authority will receive the budget in May for final approval.

The committee wanted to know how we get audited. Sherrie explained that we are thoroughly audited by the State audit department each year. We talk to the State auditor often. Once the State audit is complete, the State sends a report to each Authority and Overview Committee member in November. The committee wanted to know if we do an internal audit. Sherrie explained that different people internally audit each transaction.

One committee member asked, “What are the legal liabilities for serving on the Finance Committee?” The committee was informed that directors and officers liability insurance is in place through the State. A maximum payment of $3M is allowed.

Dome Replacement Parking
At this time Khalil Johnson explained Dome replacement parking to the committee. Originally when the Dome was built there were 1,800 parking spaces assigned to the Dome for seat/suite holders. All revenue from those spaces went to the Dome as “pledged revenue”. The Dome lost these parking spaces with the construction of Phase IV. Consequently GWCC began paying the Dome approximately $450,000 a year for lost parking revenue. In August of 2003 GWCC assigned the Orange lot to the Dome, which still left 1,254 parking spaces to be replaced. We are currently expanding the Yellow lot to 1,300 spaces and intend to turn those spaces over to the Dome when construction is complete. Any revenue generated from these spaces, regardless of the source, will then go to the Dome.

At this time Chair Hennessy asked Sherrie if she would review the individual facility balance sheets in more depth. After discussing the Park, Chair Hennessy asked how we intend to leverage the Park more as the Aquarium comes into play. Do we want to keep it for internal use or commercialize? It was noted that our intent is for the Park to remain a public space, a public park, and not commercialize it. We want to keep it as more of a convenience and enjoyable destination space.

One member asked to receive a copy of the State’s policy for investing since the State controls how the GWCCA can invest funds. The committee thought it would be a good idea to get a list of how funds are invested by GWCCA and the Bank of New York.

Future Meetings Schedule
Anne noted that now the committee needs to step back and figure out where to go next. She thought it might be a good idea to meet again in a month or so to discuss capital budgeting and cash flow and then go to quarterly committee meetings. It was suggested that the topics of Debt Service and Bond Indenture could be discussed at a future meeting.

Chair Hennessy thanked everyone for coming to the meeting. She thought it was a good beginning and a great first step.

There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 11:20 a.m.