The members of the Burnsville City Council, acting as commissioners for the Burnsville Economic Development Authority met following the August 1st Burnsville City Council meeting to discuss and then approve a $50,000 ‘loan’ to the BPAC. This loan is intended to help change the way that the Burnsville Performing Arts Center handles events and the majority of the commissioners hope it will fix the on-going problems the PAC faces.
According to Deputy City Manager Tom Hansen, the purpose of the $50,000 BPAC loan is to, “promote city economic development through the Performing Arts Center Economic Development Account (PACEDA) or, as it’s known in the industry, an angel fund.” Mr. Hansen goes on to explain that by changing the BPAC from a ‘rental house’ to a ‘presenting house’, the city would get to share in the risk and the profit which comes from the booked events. He notes that it is the consensus of “many in the community” that this would a “useful tool for our Performing Arts Center to have.” However, the PACEDA would not solely be shouldered by the taxpayers, as the rest of the BPAC has been, but instead the BPAC Commissioners and City Staff are convinced that they can get businesses within the community to match the funds backed by the taxpayers through the $50,000 loan.
As it currently stands there are local donations from: Pepsi, PawnAmerica, and VenuWorks who have each donated $10,000 to the fund. Mention was made that FOBPAC wanted to get involved as well as naming rights, etc which could get the PACEDA to the level the commissioners believe it needs to be in order to make the BPAC the success it has yet to become.
The only commission/councilmember to object to the ‘donation’ of $50,000 of additional taxpayer funds came from Mary Sherry. While Dan Kealey and Dan Gustafson both noted that investments in any business venture are necessary, Mary Sherry felt the outlook was “very sunny.” Eventually the commissioners voted and the EDA agreed to fund a loan of $50,000 to the PACEDA.
What do you think about another $50,000 tax outlay for the BPAC? Do you believe the PAC will be able to quickly repay the loan? Do you feel that it’s a slap in the face that VenuWorks is credited with donating $10,000 to the fund which is, in effect, also taxpayer dollars as the city pays them $120,000/year to run the facility? Do you believe that this is an appropriate use of economic development funds? Whatever you have to say about the Burnsville EDA’s 3-1 decision to throw another $50,000 at the Burnsville Performing Arts Center go ahead and comment on as I’d love to hear your thoughts.
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August 5th, 2011 at 8:27 am
Burnsville “leaders” need to try something to salvage this white elephant. Throwing stuff at the wall and what sticks. is worth trying I guess. On the other hand, until the larger community backs the larger project through financial support and attendance, the place is headed down the gurgler.
August 5th, 2011 at 8:30 am
Nice to see Venueworks is making so solid a profit that it can afford to make a donation. No conflict of interest there when the contract comes up for renewal.
This whole thing amazes me, that they continue to throw good money into nothingness, in particular the pipe dream that the government can be in this for the sake of making a profit.
There is not much more to be said than Chad has said a multitude of times on the multiple of discussions on this money pit.
I don’t have time to watch the video, but is the new guy who got elected last week already on the team? If so, not shocking to see he has already fallen in rank and file with the band of idiots running Burnsville.
August 5th, 2011 at 9:55 am
I wonder how much of that “loan” was used to finance the new street signs at Travelers Trail? That’s right, they took the old ones off the stoplights and put up new ones, twice as big, with a big arrow pointing people to the PAC.
That’s money well spent. Clearly the problem is that nobody knew where to drive to get to the PAC, and putting those signs up will make all the difference in the world.
I’m not sure whether to be mad, embarrassed, or just start laughing uncontrollably at how much of a mess this failed abortion has become.
August 5th, 2011 at 10:27 am
How about just holding VW responsible to deliver results in exchange for the money they are paid. It feels like an ongoing attempt by the council to enable VW so as to convince themselves and the public that they didn’t make a mistake in hiring them in the first place. VW duped these folks with Wolf Larson for 2 years and then created the illusion of a slight uptick in 1 quarter of performance under new leadership, and somehow that was enough for them to buy in to giving them 2 more years paid for by us.
An angel fund can definitely open some doors to share in some of the profits, but you also have to have experienced professionals in that arena that can negotiate effectively and recognize legitimate opportunities to invest in, otherwise your angel fund will be depleted immediately and you wind up in the same boat VW left you in after 2 years of eating losses from a charlatan effort like Wolf Larson. I haven’t seen anything to believe these folks realize when they are being had, and if they did they would rather put lipstick on pig and tell us everything is wonderful.
August 5th, 2011 at 10:48 am
1st thought. 50,000 is a drop in the bucket compared to the millions already spent.
2nd thought. At least they are trying something.
3rd thought. We recommended all this stuff years ago.
4th thought. It wont work anyway.
Common sense is in short supply.
August 5th, 2011 at 10:51 am
Silverlight Bill??? Your’e drinking the MS Kool Aid now? (At least that’s what’s popping up in the video box telling me to install it instead of the link although I will say that I am work now and my company filters out Youtube, Facebook, and for whatever reason the Flicker photo site)
August 5th, 2011 at 10:55 am
nurd, it’s required by whatever company Burnsville uses for video streaming/archival and it’s cross platform. I have no control over it nor do I see it as a problem. *shrug*
August 5th, 2011 at 11:02 am
NP Bill, I just thought it was amusing is all.
August 5th, 2011 at 11:11 am
Maybe they should put some eye-catching colored lights on the building to lead people there.
Ya think?
It seemed pretty clear quite a while back when we were all talking about why legit promoters, etc. wouldn’t touch the PAC with a 100-foot pole, the answer was acceptance of financial risk, etc. (I’m trying to remember the details). It was a chicken-and-egg…if there wasn’t a fund to support the risk, the promoters wouldn’t come but if the promoters wouldn’t come, they couldn’t create the fund.
Regardless of how it’s being funded/supported, my hope is that this breaks down that obstacle.
And, again, what the hell is it that VenuWorks does? I said it a long time ago…Iwould love to see the daily calendar of these PAC employees. What do they DO all day long?!?
August 5th, 2011 at 11:16 am
At least one member of the Economic “Disaster” Authority voted against flushing more taxpayer money down the PAC toilet!!! Thank you Mary Sherry.
August 5th, 2011 at 1:03 pm
I have the same thoughts as MSPD…I have attempted repeatedly to imagine how exactly the PAC employees spend their days.
August 5th, 2011 at 1:27 pm
I wonder if they are hiring. I could keep doing my job full time and just stop in each morning and each night to clock in and out at the BPAC as I drive by. I already stop in front each morning for the Mayors stoplight.
I would do exactly what they do for 75% of the pay.
August 5th, 2011 at 1:27 pm
My Work Day at the BPAC
8:00: Punch in.
8:01-8:30 – Head over to Caribou to grab some coffee. Get some donuts for everyone.
8:30-8:45- Fill out expense report for donuts
8:45-9:15- Check personal email
9:15-9:30- Breaktime
9:45 Get back from break
9:45-10:30- Check Lazy Lightning and report back any negative BPAC comments to Director Elbaum
10:30-10:45- Sold a ticket! Met my quota!
10:45-11:00- Order Pizzas
11:00-11:15- Invite the City administrators over for lunch to celebrate “Angel Day”. “Conveniently” forget to invite Sherry.
11:15-11:30- Wait for Pizza guy
11:30-1:30- Angel Day party!
1:30-1:45- Fill out expense report for pizza
1:45-2:30- Foot hockey in the theatre
2:30-2:45- Break time!
3:15- Get back from break
3:15- 4:00- Attempt astroturf on Lazy Lightning-get foiled by IP address AGAIN! SOOO Frustrating!!
4:00-4:30- Solitare
4:30-Turn off the lights for the weekend. Have a good one!
August 5th, 2011 at 2:02 pm
“Mayor’s Stoplight”
That’s a good one, I always wondered why the entrance to a parking lot for a Subway needed a stoplight. I have to stop thinking about all the Heart of the City mess whether it’s the PAC, the “Mayor’s Stoplight”, or any of the other wonderful “enrichments” made to the area. If someone sent in a script for a movie outlining Kautz’s time as Mayor of Burnsville, it’d get rejected for being too outrageous and extreme.
August 5th, 2011 at 4:52 pm
Sully, what really frustrates me is how that whole neighborhood has christmas lights, and christmas banners, and flower baskets, and brick sidewalks, and flowers in the median, landscaping, priority snow removal (they were doing the sidewalks in Nicollet Commons Park before they did my street), extra stop lights, more police coverage, etc, a 26 million dollar performing arts center, etc, a public parking ramp (although there are very few stores), paved city maintained offstreet parking, etc, etc, etc, etc.
Compared to the rest of the city its a joke, and its not even a part of town people from outside of Burnsville see. If they wanted to make the city look better for visitors they should spruce up the area around the mall. The only people who see the HOC are those of us who have to drive through it ever day to get to 13/35W so we can go to work.
In some areas they cant afford to mow the medians and in the Mayors neighborhood they have roses planted in the friggen medians.
August 5th, 2011 at 7:31 pm
SOME of this might be OK if it was a true downtown, filled with thriving, exciting businesses and lots of customers – a true heart of the city. Can this actually be made to happen?
August 5th, 2011 at 9:34 pm
Sandy, more out of town people visit Costco or the mall in a day than visit the HOC in a week. Want to improve the image, spruce up/clean up those areas.
August 5th, 2011 at 10:29 pm
I gained a lot of respect for Commissioner Sherry after viewing the video. She should not worry about the City of Burnsville being an “Angel”. Before she was elected to he City Coucil, the City of Burnsville became a “Sugar Daddy” to Dan Gustafson and Elizabeth Kautzand their friends in the arts community. Not much can be done now to change that!
August 6th, 2011 at 8:05 am
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August 6th, 2011 at 9:32 am
At what point in time did entertaining us become the job of government?
When I was a kid, free movies showed up every Saturday night on a vacant lot between the butcher shop and the barber shop in Vernon Center. When a neighbor kid and I went to thank Mr. Day, the Mayor for the movies he told us, “Don’t thank the city, it was the Commercial Club that paid for the movies. If your parents think it was the city that paid for the movies they will be angry because it is not government’s job to entertain you.”
I guess there is a reason the Burnsville Chamber of Commerce keeps endorsing Kautz, Gustafson and Workman. How else would they get the taxpayers to pick up the tab for bringing customers to their businesses?
August 6th, 2011 at 12:33 pm
Cliff, regarding your last paragraph concerning the Burnsville Chamber of Commerce. You are aware of the extent of this organization’s involvement in Bill Coughlin’s election campaign for Burnsville council. The “get out the vote” for their chamber member was highly organized. From mass emailings, operating phone banks, to placement of campaign signs. Bill also had help from his chamber members who are presently on the city council. This council allowed the “watering down” of this election by NOT having a primary. When there are nine candidates running for one seat in a general election the best supported candidate will always win.
August 6th, 2011 at 3:10 pm
I agree with statement #21 from Will. If I remember right, the Chamber also endorsed Charlie. They endorsed Kautz after she lied about the operating costs of the BPAC even before it was approved and after the storm of protests from residents. The lies may not have been obvious to most Burnsville residents but to any business person and especially to someone who was at one time a licensed CPA they are hugh.
Now after two years of operation, ThisWeek and the Pioneer Press are still assisting in the massive cover-up. Please compare the Operating Loss they are printing to the Operating Loss on page 38 of the audited 2010 CAFR report. I stood up and asked about depreciation on multiple occassions and each time received a different nonsensical response. Trust me, depreciation is a legitimate expense according to generally accepted accounting principles for a city owned enterprise and amounted to $521,966 in 2010 and is not included in the operating losses reported to the newspapers. I have called this to the attention of the newspaper people and they have egnored me.
If you bother to go to the 2009 and 2010 CAFR reports you will find additional belly laughs. In the column headed “Performing Arts Center” you will find a line for Other income under the subheading Nonoperating Revenue (Expense). The amounts shown were $322,199 in 2009 and $290,616 in 2010. Included in this amount in 2009 were the Tipping Fees for almost the entire amount and I’m guessing they were consistent in 2010. I’m sure we can agree Tipping Fees are Nonoperating but can we also agree that an amout exceeding $200,000 is significant enough to have a line and description all by itself? What are these clowns trying to hide by burying it in miscellaneous? If you get a breakdown of that miscellaneous category it will be obvious they do not want you to see this additional welfare and how little the amount of public donations.
Now that you have gone to the CAFR reports you got from Burnsville.org, can you find even a footnote that discloses the amount for debt service for the $16,800,000 issued to pay for the BPAC?
The Chamber and I are in agreement on Bill Coughlin! I believe Bill is a professional and not a Kautz cronie and I know he has looked at the 2010 CAFR report. Tom Hanson came in second and would be our new councilman had Coughlin not run. What Hanson said to the Burnsville Patch and the newspapers, gives me reason to believe he is a true Kautz cronie. I’m sure Hanson has never opened the CAFR reports and he got the same information the newspapers printed. Perhaps the Burnsville Chamber of Commerce has learned a lesson about their darling Kautz. Hey, those guys pay taxes too and a hell of a lot more than I.
Please accept my apology for being so wordy. This is the only place I can vent. You see, the newspapers do not always like to print what I have to say.
August 12th, 2011 at 10:46 am
Bad management equals bad business.
How many years – how many millions of tax payer dollars will VenuWorks get before ANYONE on the City Council understands it is the management that is responsible for the failure?
And now hours of time and resources are spent raising money for production that doesn’t exist?
If I ran my business this way, I wouldn’t have a business.
August 14th, 2011 at 4:23 am
Yo, Cliffy: I don’t think the chamber endorsed Charlie in 2010. Check me on that and you may do both of us a favor, but I don’t think so. He was inflexible on various sign and land use requests, and that pissed lots of biz people off.
August 14th, 2011 at 10:23 am
I wonder if the Mayor’s congratulatory call to Burnsville’s recent $200 million+ lottery winning couple will include a plug for the BPAC’s “Angel Fund”?
August 15th, 2011 at 7:05 pm
Whit, love the comment. Here is an article referencing Mayor Kautz to the 19 thousand plus seating of the Burnsville Amphitheater project that was quashed by a lawsuit by the City of Bloomington. Here’s the link:
http://www.thefreelibrary.com/City+of+Burnsville+and+NHL%27s+Minnesota+Wild+Announce+Plans+for…-a057234868
What amazes me is the ignorance of the Burnsville resident taxpayer voter.
August 16th, 2011 at 9:42 pm
haven’t the tax payers already loaned the BPAC about 20 mil down the rat hole?
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August 24th, 2011 at 7:02 am
[...] simply gorgeous Burnsville Performing Arts Center Announcements page (PDF), the recently approved $50,000 taxpayer “loan” is bringing in five shows to the center, three of which are new and two which are repeats of shows [...]