In addition to exercise equipment, he said people are looking for "comfort, security, support, safety for their kids.  You need to look at your operation from a female perspective.  During the day at Lifetime Fitness, you see a lot of moms coming in toting kids ... Lifetime Fitness has certainly impacted you."
He also said that the upcoming senior population - the baby boomers - is differ-ent than senior citizens of the past.  The "new seniors" will not be interested in billiards and cards and bingo.  They're interested in travel, for one thing.
As for the ice arena at the Victoria Field House, Mr. King reported, "Your primary users of the ice arena are non-Victoria residents.  That's a precarious position.  Waconia is getting its own ice.  It's not a matter of if, but of when.  Now is the time to be proactive.  Don't wait until Waconia leaves.  What did Victoria do, knowing that Lifetime Fitness was going to occur?"
Of his consulting report he said, "Our focus is not whether the Field House should have been built.  But people are still upset that they didn't get a chance to vote on the Field House.  Some stay away for that reason."
"The amount of tax burden to support the Field House is growing," he contin-ued.  "It would be sad if recreational dol-lars are taking way from dollars needed for public works or police … You have no backup plan if the zam-boni broke down.  You have some expo-sure there, when ice brings in $500,000 a year for you ... Your management structure doesn't work.  Concessions lack proper inventory control.  You find unused hotdogs and cheese in the garbage.  Marketing efforts are ineffective.  Direction and leadership are lacking … You don't have a traditional man-agement model, which would serve you better.  The right person is a jack of all trades - a marketer, a people person, someone available weekends and even-ings, with a strong business sense, a coach, a mentor, a leader to give clear direction.  You need a package.  You need a facility manager."
He said Victoria could probably find such a person for a salary of $70,000 or so, "not a lifer, but an up and coming person who is willing to invest time ... There are steps you can take to improve the financial situation of the Field House, but it would not cash flow unless there is significant growth … You have some part time staff that has taken ownership and have pride in their work.  You've got a pretty dedicated group there ... But you need a Manager on Duty schedule.  Currently you have part time staff operating weekends and evenings.  You have to remember that staff is working in this field when other people are playing.  You want your best people there when you are the busiest.  The manager really doesn't know what's going on here in the evenings and on weekends … Reduce the number of your fitness attendants ... Look at Xcel Energy de-mand charges ... You absolutely must have concessions inventory control ... Coca Cola has a wealth of resources.  You have a ten-year contract with them.  Think of a marketing co-op ... Condense your summer ice.  Summer is the most expen-sive time to make ice.  Enhance the space you have … Call city groups to come out and use the facility.  Give them incentives.  Your membership is declining.  Have existing members bring in new members to win a prize.  Work with Best Buy to get a TV and give them free advertising … Review your contracts on dasher boards.  Some advertisers have paid and got no dasher board.  Some advertisers have not paid and got a dasher board … You might be suffering from Com-munity Education, not just Lifetime Fit-ness.  Maybe you want to lease a portion of the Field House to the School District.  Perhaps there should be more dialogue with Community Education.  They can offer programs at less cost because they don't have to pay for the building; the tax-payers do.  Maybe you should work with the School District ... You could sell the Field House.  At what point do you say that you can't afford the losses? … There would still be some associated costs with mothballing the Field House, but you'd get rid of the annual $300,000 subsidy … We could assist you in the process of analyzing these options and do some financials for you so you can make the best decision."
Asked Councilmember Terry Bishop, "Have you got the experience to nego-tiate with the Y for us?"
"We advise.  We can assist," replied Mr. King.  "The true negotiation would have to be between them and the city."
Councilmember Roden also made a motion to work with the city's Personnel Committee to make a recommendation concerning the hiring of a Parks and Recreation Director to help negotiate with the Y.
"I think that's redundant," stated Mayor Jerry Schmieg.  "We don't need a Parks and Rec Director and the partner-ship.

When asked about the debt service on the Victoria Field House, City of Victoria Finance Director Jylan Johnson informed the Gazette that the Field House was financed with the sale of two bond issues:
"The first is $6,570,000 in Gross Revenue Recreation Facility Bonds which mature in 2032.  The annual payment of $374,722.50 is paid by Field House reven-ues, i.e., ice rental, membership fees, et.  (The debt payments will increase in 2008 to approximately $498,000/year.)  There-fore, when revenues are not sufficient to pay operational expenses after the debt payment has been made, the city will ap-propriate funds from the general fund to make up the shortfall.
"The second bonding, $875,000 in General Obligation Equipment Certifi-cats, matures in 2007.  The annual pay-ment of approximately $190,000 has been paid by park improvement fees, instead of the customary special tax levy."

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