MANAGER HIRED FOR FIELD HOUSE
BOB CARRUTH SHARED BY PAGEL CENTER
"I'm here as one of the proud devel-opers of one of the finest facilities in the State of Minnesota," stated Mike Ayres about the Victoria Field House.  His com-pany, Oppidan Investment, was also involved with the Pagel Center and ice arena at Minnetonka.

He then introduced Bob Carruth to the council as the Pagel Arena manager as well as the new manager of the Victoria Arena.  Mr. Carruth is part of an  "out-sourcing agreement" worked out over the last several weeks between Pagel and Victoria whereby personnel will be hired by an outsource and contracted by the city.
The agreement is expected to "pro-vide and ensure a safe and secure facility, provide a clean, well maintained facility, and manage the financial performance of the facility to maximize revenues and minimize expenses."
Bob Carruth is the facility manager, provided by Pagel, who will report to Victoria.  He will hire, schedule, super-vise, and conduct performance reviews for future staff at the field house.
He will report monthly to Victoria on expenses and revenues.  He is responsible for routine maintenance as well as special planned and unplanned maintenance, both emergency and non-emergency.
"Very importantly," he is responsible for generating revenue, the selling of all ice and dry floor time, the scheduling of ice and dry floor activities, including the gymnasium.  Staff is being shared by both the Pagel and Victoria facilities.
Mayor Mary mentioned the various Victoria activities and festivities that can now be held at the field house, including the Chamber's Business Expo and Touch of Bavaria, the Lions Breakfasts and Tournaments, the Legion Breakfast, and other gatherings.  "It's important for us to have good community relations with our many volunteer community organiza-tions," she stated.
Mr. Carruth was born and raised in Minnetonka, graduated from Gustavus Adlophus in 1986, taught at Jackson Hole, Wyoming, where he came to manage a 53,000 square ice arena, a ski lodge, club room, and ski teams.  He came to be creative in the generation of revenue, and he's done other consulting for successful facilities.
Stated Mr. Carruth, "A lot of your community events that are already held will be bolstered by this place."

He will receive $30,000 from the City of Victoria and spend 65% or more of his time at the Victoria office.

THE FIELD HOUSE IS A WINNER
"PEOPLE SAY IT'S INCREDIBLE"
Mayor Mary Meuwissen reported on September 12th that she has personally taken several groups through the Victoria Field House.  "People think it's incred-ible," she said.  "They're behind it!  That makes me feel good.  It's going up and it's a beautiful facility!"

Councilmember Richard Tiden also said he's received an outpouring of sup-port for the field house ever since it was first approved, when people came out to a city council meeting in the middle of a huge snow storm to show their support for it.  "It's an exciting time," he said.
Tim Amundsen, visiting former city councilmember, stated, "I haven't heard one negative comment."
Added Mayor Mary, "It's a lot easier to do nothing.  You always get some crit-ics when you do something."
On September 26th she added, "We are meeting and making progress on the field house.  We are staying within bud-get.  We are working within contingencies on upgrades.  We are adding two more bathrooms or we'd have to put a cap on the number of people who can visit the place.  We keep plugging away. It's really a beautiful facility.  They've already started to pour concrete and lay coils for the arena.  A lot of councilmembers and staff are putting a lot of time into it."

TAMARACK CAUGHT IN CONSTRUCTION
  On September 12th, Council voted unanimously to facilitate the moving of the Tamarack Preschool from its current location at the Acorn House to the St. Victoria Parish Center for the rest of the season, due to heavy construction at Diethelm Park, safety concerns, and upon advice of RSP contractors and the city attorney.
But at a special council meeting on Friday, September 20th, it was decided Tamarack will be allowed to remain at the Acorn House if parents of the children sign a release of liability and a waiver of indemnification. 

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