With you all approving both of those budgets, the CVC approving the operating center budget as well,
and we're onto the next steps and I'm happy to answer any questions. Yeah, the only other point that
I would add, and maybe Jeff said this and I just didn't pick up on it, although the council is looking at the
operating budget, none of the operating budget funding comes out of the city's funds. It's all from
the Convention and Visitor Center, from the innkeeper's tax, but the interlocal agreement was created
and has this approval by both bodies of those budgets. So that's why we're presenting that tonight.
And I would cordially invite any of you to join with us for item number seven of nine on the city council's agenda.
bring your toothbrush and your change of clothes and you're welcome to come with us to City Council
meeting. Any hands? Any hands? All right, seeing none, we'll move on. People in comment? Yes. Am I correct
in saying this is the last construction budget, 2027? Yes, this will be the last food and beverage
appropriation budget with the City Council. Okay. All right, thank you. Well done, Jim.
Item number five, construction. Oh, I'm sorry. Item number four, president's report, change authorizations.
Your agenda says those under $25,000. We had some that I sent to you late this morning that are over
$25,000. I sent an email to you last evening explaining why you were getting those. And I apologize
for getting a lot of this information out to you late before we had the meetings.
But in many cases, like these change orders, we're trying to keep to the construction schedule and make
sure we're not delaying anything. So sometimes timing is such that we get them out to you pretty close
to the time we actually meet. So we attempt not to do that, but in this case, we had to. So I'm going to let
turn this over to, I think Jay has held, but if I may, let me handle the first one and then we'll move
to the second one. So the first one is the change order under $25,000, which you've given me the authority
to approve that. I sent that out to you earlier. It's a change for steel tubes for the elevator brackets.
It's coded as item as number two, an error and omission. I forwarded that to you and I signed off on
that and that's already been approved.
If you have any questions about it, I'm happy to answer them. Okay. If I'm not seeing any, so let's
move to the line to those below the orange line, which are the approvals of over 25,000. And your first
question could be, well, wait a minute. One of those is $21,000. You will hear in the description of
it that it is actually an addition to one you approved last month. So the cumulative,
effect of what you approved last month, plus this one is a figure much greater than $25,000. So that's
why 21,168 is still on for your approval as a board today. So with that, let me turn this over to Jason
Larson, J.S. Held. Yeah, Mr. President, you took away the thunder for the most interesting part of the
conversation, but in terms of the under 25 or over 25, but it's under 20, 25.
I digress. Did I do okay? You did very well. All right. So thank you. Okay. So as mentioned, the CA
59 is related to a change order that was addressed at the last meeting. This is additional cost for
the steel that is needed for the north feature wall. So in both 59 and 60 on these feature walls,
what was missed was the need for structural capacity to hold these limestone pieces in place. And that's
where these adjustments are coming in. CA 59 is specifically for the north feature wall. And I believe
this wraps up any intended costs for
or the North wall, correct? Yeah, so the original PCO of the 100,000 was based off of assumptions while
the SI, the supplemental instructions were being finalized. So we built a little bit of a contingency
in there. When the documents were released, we got final pricing, which put us at the 121,000 here.
So the additional 21,000 is where it comes into play. So that actually leads in then to the discussion
about CA 60, which is revisions for the West feature wall. That is the final numbers are still
under development. This 275, it feels like it's going to capture the extent of the changes. What this
does is give the ability to, assuming that your approval comes through, for Weddle Brothers to be able
to continue moving forward with the work once they receive that final number. But this 275, you could
think of as a not to exceed,
authorization so that way they can move forward. Whatever that balance is between the final number and
this 275 will come back into the contingency after it's identified. And we can provide that update at
the next meeting or as we get those updated numbers in. So this is changing, it is changing the wall
structure, sorry,
side is a similar situation. What's challenging about it is this is where the wall is also intersecting
with the bridge that is connecting from the new convention center over to the existing convention center.
So there's some additional details to be addressed with that. But it's a similar situation in that the
Anchorage, the structural support, was not adequately incorporated into the original design.
Yeah, and let's go ahead. Are there any other questions? I mean, normally we have a motion and then
we have the discussion, but let's go ahead and ask questions if you have them and then we can deal with
a motion. Yes, Mr. Cassidy. Are there concerns that the 275 allocated for that isn't enough? Because
it seemed like that $100,000 for the north wall was supposed to have that buffer. So are there similar
concerns here that that's not going to be enough? I think it's the
There was a swag blow on this one, low end to high end, and this splits it in the middle. So we believe
it's enough. And we've given buffer to really believe it's enough. So question. So in building with
limestone, that's pretty common in Indiana. And I'm just wondering why we've got $400,000 worth of missed
anchorage here. How does that happen?
Maybe that's a question for Mr. Layton. Yeah, I can answer that one. So I think it's partially the unique
details we're going for here. The size of the blocks are very unique. It's not a traditional stacked
masonry stone. In hindsight, we would have went with the masonry construction back up to begin with.
That's what we're changing to. And then I think on top of that, when we got the actual stones that were procured,
just the natural limitations of how they break the stone. Many of them are larger than we expected,
and that's kind of compounding the issue. You may recall that in February of 2025, we approved the design,
and we approved the quarry-type stone that would have different sizes, variegation color, and all of that.
So we are getting what we approved. We're getting what we asked for in the design. Obviously, what's
been missed is the weight of it, the size and the weight of it, and what that means to the structural
support that's required. So it was missed. So what we're dealing with is we're getting what we asked
for. If we had known these things in advance, this dollar figure would have been incorporated.
in the original budget for the stone and we would have decided we wanted to have that stone or we didn't
want to have that stone. But we are getting what we asked for and we're running into what we run into
from time to time, which is a review and looking at structural changes means it's going to cost more
than originally anticipated. So that's where we are. Any other comments or questions? Yes, Mr. Big.
Yeah, I think that's a fair point that if we would have
fully understood and articulated the weight of these blocks to begin with, the project would have been
$400,000 more expensive to begin with, right? And so it's not as if we've added anything. It's just
it comes as a shock because it's so unforeseen when 18%, approximately the entire budget for overages
are for two walls. It's just difficult to
difficult to swallow, and I think difficult to explain to folks as well. So unfortunate set of circumstances,
and I hope they're the nicest walls in town. Yeah. Unless there are other questions. Now let's have
a motion. So we need a motion to approve, and let's do it in one motion unless you want to break them
out. But let's have one motion to approve CA 59 and CA 60. So is there a motion for approval? It's moved.
Is there a second?
Second. I'm going to let Mr. Hannan get in the minutes and we'll accept his second and I'll catch you
up later, Mr. Bruce. All right, so it's been moved and seconded and now is there any further discussion
or any additional questions? If not, Mr. Parrish, would you take the roll? John Weichart? Yes.
Doug Bruce? Yes. Jim Silverstein? Yes. Jay Baer? Yes. Galen Cassidy? Yes. Kyle Hannan? Yes.
Somehow I'm turning my, I don't want to say I'm turning myself off, that would sound inappropriate,
but somehow my microphone keeps being muted. So let's move on then to the construction update from Weddell,
Mr. Sherry. Yes, thank you, John. Andrew Sherry, project manager with Weddell Brothers. So overall,
a ton of progress. Get this to blow up here.
So we'll go through the construction progress, upcoming activities, and then hit some highlight areas
like the connector and then the third street improvements that we're in the middle of. As far as exterior
concrete, so our east exterior work, our hardscapes are completed. Topsoil and planing is going to take
place in October. Our north exterior work on the north side of the building, our curbs are poured. Light
pole rough ends are in progress as of this week. And then sidewalks are starting between the curbs and
the building this week into next week.
Existing courtyard works, our sidewalks are completed, and then our paver bases have been poured as
of this morning to prep for all of our paperwork. So the picture here is the northeast entrance. So
as you can see, the ADA ramps are in place. The sidewalk heads to the south, and then we have our topsoil
area over here on the left-hand side of the photo. Next year of progress, masonry works, our feature
walls are completed in the south lot.
Our vision wall along the south lot and College Avenue is in progress. And then we're preparing to start
our column wraps at the connector right now. Our glazing systems, curtain wall systems have been completed
on the east and north and patio elevations. Curtain walls are in progress on the west elevations.
As of today, all openings have been released. We have one last opening that is currently being procured
at the southwest side of the job.
But everything has been released, field measured, glazing on site. And then glazing is being installed
in the frames on the patio in the west elevations as we speak. Here's some exterior photos. So the top
photos are the curtain wall systems on the patio. The top left, you can see the existing convention
center in the background. And then on the bottom here, these are the feature walls around the trash
enclosures with the brick laid and stuff in the south side of the lot.
Additional exterior photos, the photo on the left is the north side bus lane. So the bus lane has been
poured. The top right photo is the connector going into the expansion. And then again, another photo
on the bottom right hand side of the east elevation. So all the glazing in place, we have a couple of
pieces that need installed. The canopy system, the glass has been field measured to be procured, gutters
tied in, and then prepping to install all of our doors and everything in that corner.
Interior progress. So drywall and framing is continuing throughout the building. Miscellaneous bulkheads
and bump out framing. Whenever we say bump out framing, these are the bump outs around the large duct
in the exhibit hall. So frame the walls, hang the walls, install the duct risers, and then build the
bump outs around it. The exhibit wall has over 90% of the drywall hung and currently being finished.
And drywall finishing being completed on the second floor as we speak.
Ruff ins, all in wall inspections are completed on the project other than the elevator shaft. That's
a huge milestone. Overhead ruff ins continue throughout the entirety of the building and then overhead
inspections, a lot of our overhead inspections are completed, actually getting ready to start ceilings
and areas. And this photo right here on the right hand side is looking south out of the lot. So all
the conduits and everything going from the south lot and basically behind this picture is the overhead
door into the main exhibit hall.
Interior progress, all back of house masonry is completed. Our stair towers are completed as far as
the masonry walls. The divider wall in the mechanical room is in progress to allow our fire protection
equipment to be set. So we have our lines roughed into the building, field measurement taking place.
The photo right here is as of this morning set in the last stairs in Unit D, the south side of the project.
Back of house stairs are the only item in steel that we're showing to be in progress, and those are
going to be completed next week, which we'll then pour those and use those as access. Interior progress,
so painting continues throughout the project. Painting is completed in the east and the north corridors
on the walls. The mechanical mezzanines both north and south have been painted to allow for us to set
equipment.
Back of house block filler and first coat is completed. So the kitchen area the loading dock area Storage
rooms and then the painters are preparing to start painting in the exhibit hall and on the second floor
On the right hand side here. You'll see one of the office spaces on the first floor Basically finished
out ready for ceilings and flooring Paint around the door frames things like that trim out Tile so restroom
tile in the north restrooms is going to be completed next week. We have probably
10 employees on site right now, laying tile in the North corridor, the North restrooms, and then progressing
to the West corridor and West restrooms. I have a photo coming up here on the top right. This is one
of the restrooms on the North side with all the tiles set. So we're moving forward to get our toilet
partitions, our carriers, casework, things like that. The bottom right hand side is the second floor
drywall progress.
as of this morning. And then on the left side here, that is all the large duct and overhead in the storage
room in the back of house near the kitchen. Here's some more interior photos. The left-hand side is
the loading dock area. The top right is the exhibit hall, so south wall on the right, the east wall
and the far portion of the photo, all the duct and everything on the ground. And then the bottom right
is all the tile backer board in the west corridor, where the tile go up in the corridors.
Upcoming activities, so partition wall installation starts this coming Monday. So we have deliveries
of our partition walls on Monday. They will hang those and put them into the recess pockets in the exhibit
hall. Casework and solid surface has been field measured and will be delivered in October. So we'll
start setting desk solid surface underneath the windows. Ceilings will start in the exhibit hall by
1st of October in areas also in the East corridors.
Corridor tile will progress, so the wall tile in the corridors. Equipment to be set with final terminations
to start by October. So a lot of our equipment is going to start hitting next week for the mechanical
mezzanines that allow us to do our termination points for electrical ductwork, final piping,
things like that. And then our kitchen cooler is in progress of being procured. They field measured
and released the kitchen cooler. So again, just large milestones there.
Upcoming activities for exterior work. Our north sidewalks and light pole bases will be installed. Our
west curbs will be demolished with new curbs following in the next couple of weeks. Last section of
our exterior CMU to be completed at the southwest portion of the project. Exterior metal panels to progress
around the project. They're currently being installed on the east side, the parapet walls between the
low roof and the high roof. The north feature wall, based off of today's approval, will start.
And then exterior units to be set on the back of house roof. So we have a crane coming to site next
Wednesday to set the unit on the back of house roof, which is approximately 55 feet long. Connector
activities. So the photo here shows the sidewalks poured and then the bands here where pavers will go.
So the concrete's poured in that to prep for the paver to be released. Artwork connection points have
been installed. We are preparing to start on the connector roof.
and then metal panels will be installed on the bottom side of the connector also. Third street improvements.
This has been our biggest baby over the last few weeks. So storm systems and structures are installed.
The bus lane has been completed. The north curbs are completed along with the median, which you can
see in the photo here. Paving will take place tomorrow morning for striping to be completed on Friday.
We will then relocate our barricades, set up our pedestrian diversions, and reopen the road Friday afternoon.
So that's a huge milestone. Here's a photo looking towards the east. So the turn lanes with college
behind. Again, we get the pavement down, the pavement markings. All this will start to come together,
and then we'll button up the sidewalks on the north side of the job site. And then here is the bus lane.
So I thought this was a neat picture. And that is the construction update.
Very nice. Any questions or observations? Yes, Mr. Barrett. Is the column wrap material under the connector
the same brick as it is in other places or is it a different material? Yes, sir. Same to Mexico. I didn't
ask when the change orders went up. The change order percentage were about 54% into the contingency
fund with about 1.1 million still left. Where would you estimate we are into the construction activity?
Over 70%. I'd say the mid 70s for the expansion portion of the project. Okay, so we're about 70% complete.
We've used about 54% of the contingency and we still have a balance of about 1.1 million in that contingency
fund. Yes, sir. Can you give us an update on where we are with the demolition process? Yeah, so in regards
to Seminary Point, we have the environmental testing has taken place everywhere except for Jeff's warehouse.
We're waiting on the final reports and results.
BRCJ is working on compiling the construction set so that we can get that in plan review and continue.
And then we're still on track to start our demolition activities in the November timeframe to be done
by end of year. Okay. Thank you. Any other questions? Let me ask Mr. Layton, I asked him if he could
give us an update on where we are with our lead certification. So I'll turn to Mr. Layton and let him
tell us about that.
Yeah, happy to do so. So just a quick kind of update kind of where we were, where we are, where we're
going on the lead submission. So you might remember during the design phase, we were tasked with achieving
lead silver, which that requires 50 to 59 credits. At the time, we were targeting 53 as the items we
felt like we could get with a kind of targeting
A few key areas, having to do with the urban location, you get a lot of credits for that in regards
to public transit and ease of access, that sort of thing. Heat line reduction through roofing materials,
optimizing our water and energy use through selections of equipment. Enhanced commissioning is a process
that is part of the construction process that gets us in points.
a lot of the material selection using recycled or more environmentally friendly materials are the ways
that you would get credits. So we target all those items. Some of those have to do with the things we
picked during the design phase. Some of those even started before many of you were even involved in
the project. For example, the
We are getting an innovation credit or going after an innovation credit for community outreach
and involvement, which goes all the way back to 2018 when we started this process and getting doing
design shreds and that whole process of getting community engagement and that sort of thing. Just the
site that's selected helps with the density and diverse use credit access to transit. So, you know,
we are utilizing all the
Bloomington Transit lines to go around the city and the fact that we're right adjacent to the transit
station as a way to get some credits. And then bicycle facilities as well. You might remember we had
a lot of discussion around bike racks all around the building and a bike shelter. Those get us credits
as well and having the regional and state bike routes nearby are all data points that help us achieve
those credits.
During the construction phase, as just a screenshot of the process, Joey and Sam with Weddle are working
through how to submit those lead online. It's a little bit of an arduous process, but they all get submitted.
Even both the design and construction credits get submitted throughout the project phase. And then once
the project is complete, it gets reviewed and we get comments back and kind of see how we do. The things
we're tracking currently have to do with
landfill diversion, keeping materials out of landfill, recycling them. The enhanced commissioning is
definitely part of it. They're sitting in our owner meetings or doing site visits and testing and that
sort of thing. And then we are monitoring the products in the middle. So we may select the right materials.
We gotta make sure those materials end up in the project on the job site as well. So we're tracking
those environmental product declarations that they provide to show where materials come from, how much
they're recycled, for example, things like that.
And then Weddell is tracking all their tickets for trucks that leave the sites and where they're going,
how much of that weight is diverted from landfills and that sort of thing because there's targets towards
those numbers. So we're still on target for silver. It's a little unfortunate because we don't know
that for sure until LEED reviews it when we submit it. We just have to follow the rules and track that
out as long as we go. But so far, looking good. Any questions?
Yes, Mr. Bay. Is that final dispensation post-opening of the Convention Center, or we don't know? Yeah,
once construction is 100% complete. So I should say 100% complete for the expansion, because we're treating
the expansion as the lead project. So the renovation is not considered as part of that. So once that
phase is complete, we'll be able to submit all the information, and they'll review it, give us comments,
make any adjustments or responses. So don't order a plaque, apparently.
They'll be happy to sell you one. Yeah, sure. It feels a lot like a Michelin guy restaurant. Yeah. Yes,
Mr. Hanna. What is enhanced commissioning? So building commissioning is having a third party engineer
come out and review the functioning of the
different systems in the building. So that's the baseline thing that you'd expect in most projects.
Enhanced commissioning, which is more of a lead requirement, starts even during the design phase. They
review our specifications, they review the submittals as they come in, and third party oversight across
the entire project. Any other questions? OK. Thank you, Mr. Layton. Working group.
updates, anything from wayfinding this month, Mr. Layton? No, we're just working through the submittal
process and waiting for things to arrive on site. Okay, thank you. Furniture fixtures and equipment,
I know we have a presentation from JSL. Yes, I'll ask Mary Kropinski from the team to walk through the
latest regarding the FF&E
As you may remember, we have Reload Strategies as our FF&E consultant. So as they presented last month,
we received all the bid work. So that's any cumulative items over $150,000. This month, we are working
on the quotes, which are from materials that don't exceed $150,000.
That's what we'll be presenting today. We are required to get three quotes for each of the items that
we're searching. So with this, you have in front of you a list of approximately nine items that we've
gotten quotes on. This shows you the successful quote and the total amount. We had an early estimate
figure of 550,000.
for all the quote items. And we're coming in as a total of $532.129.05. Most of the items already include
shipping. There's one or two that don't. So there may be an additional small amount to adjust on the
stage drop figure for the stage 40 by 40. These items have all been reviewed with
the staff, as well as Jeff. Jeff's been involved in seeing the quotes ahead of time. If you turn to
the second slide, and we'll come back to this, but the second slide shows you, I know that's very difficult
to read at this level, that we did receive on most items three quotes.
We at least sought out three or more quotes on each. And so we are presenting those successful ones
to you. They all were the low quotes that we are bringing forward that you see back on slide one. If
we could go back there. Happy to answer questions as we can. I'm sure you're interested in the one ton
box truck. That's a Chevy product. It is a
2027 Chevrolet Express commercial cutaway 3500 V8. White standard. And then you can see that the forklift
and scissor lift, those are both Toyota products. Stage drop for the stage and stage risers is someone
that the convention center has worked with.
give us a very favorable price on that. The other items, tabletop covers, dance floor and dance caddy
to carry all that material, rolling bars and rolling food break stations. So the box truck will have the
logo that we've approved, rather than any other logo that may be floating around in conversation right
now. That's been included yet. I think that comes out of operations, not sure. Mr. Baird, do you have
a question? Just one. I don't think we have quite the right total on the rolling bars, ice covers. 12
at 79 is not 97. OK. That's 95 something. Not a big deal, but that's a couple. No.
The difference that you would find between those is the shipping costs. So when you're looking at unit
prices, I knew you would be interested in that, but that also includes shipping costs. And so doing
quick math, it looks like this is coming in about, what, $18,000 under what we had budgeted for it.
Okay. So you're asking for our approval to move forward? We would like approval to award
the quotes to the lowest bidder in each of these categories so that we can move on to getting those
purchased. Okay. Do we have a motion to approve that recommendation? Is there a second? It's been seconded.
Any discussion or questions? All right. Seeing none. Mr. Paris? John Weichart? Yes. Doug Bruce? Yes.
Jim Silverstein? Yes. Joyce Poehling? Yes. Jay Baer? Yes. Galen Cassidy? Yes. Kyle Hannan? Yes.
Just to let you know, we will be back for items that are under $25,000 that are direct purchase. So
you'll see us again talking more about FF&E. But those don't come out of that $550. No, they had their
own budget. Thank you. Hard installation. We've got a couple of things from our bead advisory group,
and I'll turn this over to Mr. Cassidy. Thank you. I believe we have
a slide up here too. So yeah, today wanted to update you on the remaining 1% for the arts budget and
a policy recommendation regarding third party displays. So we can go forward. And just a reminder of
our committee members, which is on this next slide, our active members, including myself, are Malcolm
Abrams, Talisha Coppock, Dallas Evans, Jennifer Muezevich,
uh, Chad Rabinovitz, Ajaan Rose, Rob Shakespeare, Betsy Stewart, Steve Versaugh, and Holly Warren. Um,
Rob and Betsy are the, are the two newest members. And then Joyce and Jim are contributing CI members
to our group for this next phase of, um, selection. So, um, and onto the next slide, just to review,
um, the 1% gave us a total budget of 520,000. Um, we ended up using, uh, just,
under $432,000 for the large-scale installation you see pictured here. That also included the travel
expenses and auditoriums for the finalist in that number as well. That left us with just over $88,000
remaining in this budget, and the purpose of that will be the expansion of the permanent art collection.
And on to the next slide, just some details. So that remaining budget,
will be used to expand the Convention Center permanent art collection through local artists. That is
the priority there is local artists. Next steps include these following items and tentative timelines.
This is a little bit ambitious, but this is what we're going for. So we need to finalize and release
a call for artists. And then that process we plan on having it done in October.
which that will be open. And then by November, we would close that and begin a review and recommendation
process that would come back to the CIB for final approval with the hope that the art pieces would be
installed within January. So again, that is a tentative timeline. There's many more details with that
too, but our group is meeting to finalize all these things.
as well. So that is a brief update on the remaining budget. The next slide here. Gail, can I ask a question?
Sure. How does your group define local? We're talking about local art. How is local defined? We have
met on that and we have defined local as Monroe County in every county touching Monroe County. So if
you think of Monroe County as the donut hole, any county that is touching
Monroe would also be included in eligible for a local artist. Yeah. Okay. So Monroe and adjacent County.
So we're, yes. Okay. All right. Thank you. Sorry to interrupt. Go ahead. No, no problems. Are there
any questions before we move on to the, to the policy, are there any questions or comments? When we
do a call for artists in this part of the project, what are we asking for? Like, cause there's a lot
of different things that, that,
but there's only so many things that can go in a convention center. So how are we guiding the submissions
to make sense for something that could be installed here? Are we giving them certain areas of the building
to shoot at? What is the process? We are. We have been coordinating with Schmidt about those
art opportunities. But this leaves us with a lot of different opportunities in terms of the specific
media that goes in. Our group has talked about digital media.
They've talked about more permanent things, even sculptures. But this is something that our group is
still finalizing in the call for ours. But we don't really want to put a lot of limitations on this.
We want to be able to receive a lot of different kinds of art within the budget, of course, which will
be a big piece on how pieces are valued. But we're primarily looking at pieces that already exist. We're
not trying to commission new pieces due to time.
And we're also considering maintenance of these pieces too. So all those things need to be finalized
in a call for artists that will come back to the CIB before it is released too. Gail, and you mentioned
two new members, Rob Shakespeare and Betsy Stewart, is that? That's correct, yeah. And Rob is currently
on the Bloomington Arts Commission. I think Betsy is a former member of the Bloomington Arts Commission.
Betsy's on there as well. It has been a part of the current
And then we also have an art collection. So we wanted to make sure we had that representation on the
beat advisory group. Absolutely. Thank you. The next item is a policy recommendation to our board. We
in light of some requests we've received from third parties about display are the beat advisory committee
was asked to consider this.
And our group came to the conclusion, and I'll start reading here, that the CIB does not accept third-party
permanent displays in the Convention Center. Only the work the CIB owns or commissioned is displayed
at the building's permanent collection. So we may approve temporary art exhibits in designated gallery
spaces. The Convention Center right now is a part of the gallery walk and has some rotating art pieces.
that is a possibility in this policy, we may approve that, but it will be time-limited, confined to
a space designated for that purpose, and removed at the close of a approved exhibition period. Event
banners and client graphics in a rented room are permitted during this event, so this does not prohibit
those. And there's some examples at the bottom of this policy. Again, everything we own or commission
is allowed as well as temporary art exhibits approved by the Bloomington Convention Center and installed
designated gallery spaces and short-term decor that a paying client puts in a rented meeting room or
ballroom for an event. Of course, that is taken down after the event ends. What is not permitted is
third party that are not clients for standing or long-term displays. So our group
has asked that this policy be considered and would encourage approval from the CIB. Why don't we do
this? Why don't we take that as a motion from Galen? Is there a second? And there's a second. And I
want to point out that Jim and Joyce have also been involved with Galen as they've reviewed this.
So it's been moved and seconded. So is there a discussion about us adopting this as a policy, Mr. Baer?
Just one at the expense of being persnickety about it, because I think it could happen at some point.
We specifically say that event banners and client graphics in a rented room are permitted during the
event. We do not mention banners or graphics on the exterior of the convention center. And for large
events, that is not only possible, but likely. So I think we might consider looping that into this policy.
So I'm sorry, which one of the points where? It's the third paragraph there where it says event banners
and client graphics in a rented room are permitted during the event. I would suggest it would be event
banners and client graphics are permitted during their event without mention of where it is. Because
if you have a large conference, a thousand people, you're going to have a sign outside that says welcome
to the conference hanging off of the building. And that is not allowed based on the way this is currently
written. Is there any objection from the committee to making that
substitution? Is there anything that we would, is there an unintended consequence of doing this? So
the only problem I have with it is that if we had six different events going on in the building at one
time and they all wanted to put a banner on the front of the building, how do we prioritize that? That's
the issue that I have with that.
I'm not sure your microphone's picking up your comment, Joyce. Are there city regulations about signage
that we need to keep up? I don't know. Would you entertain this? Can we entertain passing this as a
policy and amending it, doing some more research and coming back if we need to and amending it? Oh yeah,
it's fine by me. I just want to make sure we don't get caught out and a big conference is going to ask
for it, for sure. Yeah, yeah. Why don't we
We have a motion and a second for the policy. Like any policy, we may find there were unintended consequences
that developed over time, and we'd have to amend it later on. So let's come back to this as a policy
for now. Are there any other questions or discussion about the policy as presented? Do you want the
committee to come back with more on this topic? No, I think this is our starting point.
As we live with it, we're going to know what we need to come back with, if anything. All right. Any
other questions or comments? So seeing none, if you would take the role, please. So to adopt this as
a policy. John Weichart? Yes. Doug Bruce? Yes. Jim Silverstein? Yes. Joyce Polling? Yes. Jay Baer? Yes.
Galen Cassidy? Yes. Kyle Hannon? Yes. Okay, thank you.
Thank you, and thank your committee for all the work that it puts in on this. It's much appreciated.
I know it's very time consuming. Item number seven, internet provider recommendation, Mr. Underwood.
Yes, we have talked in the past about AV and IT equipment, and we've got most of that on order. One
of the things that we need is an internet provider. We currently have that for the existing building.
So we solicited quotes to provide internet services for both the current and expanded building. Three
companies submitted proposals, AT&T, Comcast, and Smithville. The proposals were reviewed by ProBlue,
the current IT service manager for the convention center,
delicious coffee can her staff and myself and after reviewing that we are recommending approval of Smithville
as the primary provider with Comcast as the backup provider. This provides by having to this provides
continued service should one or the other service become available. This combination is the lowest price.
Smithville and Comcast are the incumbent providers now, and Smithville is obviously a local company.
You can see down at the bottom a summary of that. The two services between Smithville and Comcast would
be $1,650 per month combined. In addition, we would have fire alarm and elevator
line service monitoring as well. And that would be $114.36 provided by Smithville. And you can see what
the other two combinations were. I might note that if Smithville, if we would recommend an award to
Comcast and AT&T, there was a termination penalty for Comcast under the contract. So it would have affected
that number, but it doesn't really matter because we're recommending the low. I'd be happy to answer
any questions you might have.
So let's see if we have a motion to approve this and then we can have questions or discussions. So is
there a motion to approve? So moved. Second. Okay. So it's been, I'm sorry. It was, it was, let me guess.
Mr. Bruce isn't in the minutes yet. So it was moved by Mr. Bruce and seconded by Joyce Bowling. So any
questions or discussion about a motion to approve this recommendation?
Jeff, is this in addition to what the convention center is paying today for internet service, or is
this replacing? This replaces this. Yes. Do we know what the current fee is for that? I do not. I don't
know if Kalisha's in that room right now. She is. She might go offhand. Oh, here she comes.
Here she comes. Dun-dun-dun-dun-dun-dun-dun. Just half that amount. Yeah.
So, uh, and we've got great internet service right now and this will double it. And the question was
what, how much are we paying now? Yeah. Oh, I'm sorry. I missed that. Yeah. Uh, it's Smithville and
it's about six 50 a month and Comcast, which is like two 50 a month. Okay. Thank you. Thank you.
Is this, this is all, is this fiber or is the backup fiber? Yeah. Yeah.
Okay, any other questions? So we have a motion and a second. Mr. Paris? Just one real quick. Oh, yes.
It is... Alicia, I think in some cases, we would charge exhibitors or events to use the Wi-Fi. So this
isn't necessarily a sunk cost. Most of our office could actually be defrayed by fees paid by clients
over time. Right. If they use any of the AT or IV services, then they get charged directly for that.
All right. Anything else? Mr. Barrett, please take the roll. John Weichart. Yes. Doug Bruce. Yes. James
Soberstein. Yes. Joyce Pulling. Yes. Jay Barrett. Yes. Galen Cassidy. Yes. Kyle Hannan. Yes. Okay.
Thank you. Item number eight. We have a presentation from Visit Bloomington. Sean Ballard, Convention
Sales and Marketing Director is here and he's going to give us an update on information related to Visit
Bloomington and the Convention Center.
Yeah, thank you so much. Appreciate it. Thank you for the invite. Glad to be here and to share some
sales and marketing updates that we've been doing really this entire year, even go back to late 2025.
So I want to first just give an update on our team and who's doing the sales and marketing efforts for
the really entire Bloomington Monroe County
as far as hotels, meeting space, but specifically the convention center course as well. So again, John
already introduced myself. Thank you, John. We have Maddie Quiggins, who's our new convention sales
representative. She started in June of this year. She graduated from IU, the Kelly School of Business
in May. So we are thrilled that we were able to keep an IU student here in Bloomington. And again, she's
only been with us a few months, but has been absolutely fantastic addition to our team. And then many
of you probably already know Jean Coutt with the Bloomington
Blumenton Convention Center, excuse me, and she's still doing all the great work that she's been doing
for several years here at the Convention Center.
First, I want to start with some marketing updates. You know, we've talked to you all probably maybe
a year ago or so. And so a lot of it could be some repeat information, but I wanted to just put up there
many different types of marketing that we that we've been doing. When I started about five years ago,
it was really more kind of that traditional print marketing, which we're definitely still doing. However,
we've really shifted and done a lot more digital marketing. As many of us know, we can track that, see
who's clicking on our ads, where they're coming from.
We've been partnering with several companies to really target in specific groups that we are looking
for. And we're really focused on several things, but mainly this four hour driving radius to Bloomington.
And so if you kind of think about that for a second, that includes Chicago to the north, Nashville,
Tennessee to the south, St. Louis,
Columbus, Ohio, and a lot of major cities, which is a really great market for us. And we focus on that
because we know that that would be roughly a half day's drive for folks to get to Bloomington for conferences
and conventions.
We were able to do a few new things this year. One is ASAE, which is the American Society of Association
Executives. That convention is often called the Super Bowl of Meetings, and that was actually held in
Indianapolis this year for the first time ever. So we were able to attend that, and we were able to
do some digital marketing to attendees that were at the Indiana Convention Center in downtown Indianapolis.
About 6,000 attendees for that, and again,
mostly associations all throughout the country that came here. We had really great success. I'll mention
something about a little bit later. But really, at the end of the day, the most effective thing that
we do is kind of traditional sales calls, essentially, where Maddie and I and or I will set up meetings
with event planners and association management companies.
which we're thankful that Indianapolis is one close to us. And two, there's a lot of meeting and event
planners in the association space and also fraternal organizations too. So at least once a month,
if not more, we are going to Indianapolis. We are meeting with folks talking about Bloomington Monroe
County and definitely talking about the convention center expansion. Next slide, please. These are just
a few advertising.
advertisement examples for you all to see. A mix of prints and then the one in the middle is one of
our digital ones that we use for ASAE. Next. So trade shows, you can see the photo with IU's favorite
mascot, Hoosier the Bison. We were able to get him to attend. That's the Bison, right? Yes. That's the
mascot. That's right. Yes. Yes. Yeah.
And so myself, Maddie and Jean were able to attend. Again, this was in Indianapolis and it was super
successful. You'll see we received four to five quality. We're really always focused on that quality
of groups that are actually interested in Bloomington and what we have to offer. So again, super successful
event for us. And we usually go to about six to eight different trade shows throughout the year in different
markets, fraternal organizations, associations. You'll see Destination Midwest.
So Maddie and I were in Buffalo, New York last week for the Professional Fraternity Association Conference. We have
At least three, if not more, really strong leads for the Convention Center for future business opportunities.
And then next week, we're back on the road to Grand Rapids, Michigan for Destination Midwest, where
we will have individual appointments with 18 to 20 give or take event planners that plan meetings in
the Midwest, which of course, Luton is in the Midwest. So we are very excited about that one next week.
It's been a really exciting year, and I want to first thank Weddell Brothers as far as having them work
with us to provide Hard Hat Tours. It's been really great as the projects progress to, one, just see
the progress, but two, we've been able to bring several different event planners and potential clients
to the convention center for a tour. The group in the photo there is the Corden Group, which
is an association management company based in Indianapolis. They plan
and worked with probably 20 to 30 different associations, mostly in Indiana, which is really advantageous
for us. We have scheduled a VIP hard hat tour and lunch for, as you'll see, October 13th and 14th. We've
invited about 300 planners, mostly from Indiana, but several from out of state as well. And we are going
to show off the convention center and provide them lunch. And really, we're really excited about that.
probably have about 10 to 12 RSVPs so far. And that postcard just landed in folks mailbox probably within
the last week. So we're still early in that RSVP stage. We will send out an email on Monday reiterating
and also inviting more folks to that. And we do have, we have reached out to some media in the meetings
and events landscape to have them come. We do know Inside Indiana Business will be coming and writing
up something about the convention center.
give you an idea of some progress. Really the focus is that target group of 500 plus attendees and 100
plus peak rooms that is on hotel room nights. It's not a perfect science necessarily because you know
you might have a group of 200 people but they could have 100 exhibitors and you need that whole exhibit
hall space but you might have a conference that's 800 attendees and they don't have as many breakout
needs. So really the sweet spot
that we're looking for with this expansion, the 500 plus again significant hotel rooms. We're really
excited to partner with Dora with the new hotel coming and we look forward to working with them as that
project develops.
For 2027, we have five groups that have officially booked, and that number grows, honestly, probably
weekly at this point. Same with the opportunities that are kind of in this proposal stage still. For
an overview of the groups we are working with, mostly state associations, we also have several international
associations and Midwest as well, which has changed because now that we have more space, we're able to
to grow and get those more regional groups that are in the several hundred as far as attendance. And
that is the goal to fill the convention center space. And believe it or not, we actually have inquiries
as far as 2032. So I'm not terribly surprised on my end because bigger space, people book out a lot
farther, which is great. So that way we can really do some calendar planning and look forward to groups
coming in future years.
And then the last thing I mentioned in case there are any questions. If some of you have seen downtown,
we are moving our visitor center downtown. It will be in the 4th Street parking garage in the first
level. There's some signs down there kind of announcing that. So early next year, our visitor center
will be downtown. Currently, we're on North Walnut Street, kind of heading out of town towards I-69.
But we're excited to have that move downtown and be connected with the convention center. Any questions
from? Very well. Any questions for Sean?
Okay, thank you. Thank you for the presentation. All right, item number nine is old business and old
business to be brought before the board. Thought I'd mention very quickly that August 31st was the end
date for leases, both residential and for three of the four commercial. The residential tenants had
all moved out prior to August 31st.
of the four commercial tenants. All four of them have found new locations. Blue Tip Billiards actually
sold their business and it's being relocated by the new owner. But all four tenants have found new locations.
Jeff's Warehouse is still in their building. You may recall that Jeff's Warehouse had actually until
February of 2027 under their lease and they've agreed to
to be out of the building by September 30th or approximately September 30th and they've made significant
progress towards that. So we do continue to get our rather nightly reports from security about trespassing
in the apartment buildings and we'll deal with that until the apartment buildings aren't there. So that's
an update on where we are with those leases and what's happened with them.
Other old business, do we envision a hotel report next month? Pardon me? Do we envision a hotel agreement
report in the next meeting? Yes. In fact, I'm glad that you mentioned that. We do have our first meeting
with DORA set up for next Monday. So yeah, we'll have a report back October, even if the report is we're
making progress, but we'll have a report back. And you may recall that the letter of intent basically
said that once we begin these conversations, we're trying to wrap them up in 90 days.
So we will have a report for you in October. Thank you. New business. I would like to share with you
the Distinctly Bloomington brochure. And you can see the ad that we put in the Distinctly Bloomington,
which is our art installation. So that will hit all of the hotels and restaurants and all of our visitors
to Bloomington will be able to see what we're up to with the new Bloomington Convention Center. Comments
from board members.
Any comments from board members? Seeing none, our next board meeting, oh, I'm sorry, comments from the
public. Any comments from the public? Seeing none, our next board meeting is October 21st at 3 p.m.
here in the Convention Center. You don't have to go home, but you can't stay here. We are adjourned.