Finance Committee Meeting Minutes; June 16, 2017

Mad River Glen Cooperative Finance Committee Minutes JUNE 16, 2017

Attendance: Bruce Button, Sharon Crawford, Andy Dulik, Jim Elkind, Geordie Hall, Pete Ludlow, Meg Hourihan, Matt Kenney, Matt Lillard, Eric Palola, Megan Schultz, Andrew Snow, Deb Steines, John Stetson, John Tobin

The meeting was brought to order at 8:00 AM. 

The minutes from May were reviewed. Geordie Hall moved to approve, Pete Ludlow seconded. All were in favor.

Matt Lillard reviewed the May financials. We received some unbudgeted income from the VSAA voucher program reimbursement and from Sugarbush for the Add Mad and Threesome passes. We are over budget on Basebox expense due to startup costs for opening the pub for Memorial Day weekend, the pub was not budgeted to open until June. We drew another $75K on the line of credit, Matt is hoping to keep the total draw under $375K. Matt is hoping to fund a mountain mower this summer from the campaign.

Matt Lillard reviewed the FY 18 budget proposal, which projects an essentially breakeven NOI of $4K. The total expense budget is an increase of $179K over FY17 Budget and $120K over FY17 Projected. The total revenue budget is an increase of $137K over FY17 Budget and $228K over FY17 Projected. The previously requested ATV and snowmachine will go into the capex budget. Matt is proposing to move to a flat day ticket price structure. Jim Elkind asked about short term blowback on the plan, particularly with midweek prices. Matt replied that is a concern but we will address it with our communications that will push Mad Card and Season pass sales, and planning ahead. The price structure has the potential to significantly increase revenues. Deb Steines suggested that the tab on our website pushing online sales via Liftopia be made more prominent. John Tobin asked about selling tickets directly from the MRG website. Matt replied we will not be doing it this season due to high setup costs.

Deb Steines asked why Basebox revenue was lower. Matt replied that it could end up being higher and will also depend on how the pub does this summer. John Stetson expressed concern about the day ticket sales projection, and given the higher projected expenses, asked if we are prepared to ratchet things down if necessary. Matt replied that he thinks we had some fat last season when things were slow. He felt we need to budget for a reasonable season, also our health insurance costs are up due to more family plans. Meg Hourihan wondered about not including any zero days in the day ticket forecast. Andrew Snow replied that we are using a multiplier based the historic amount the mountain is closed. Deb Steines expressed the hope that with the new ticket structure we’ll see more $90K days when the snow is good. Matt said in the future he expects to move to budgets with positive bottom line but this seemed like a reasonable starting point for this year.

Deb Steines moved that the Finance Committee recommend to the Trustees that they approve the budget and ticket proposal. Bruce Button seconded. All were in favor.

Jim Elkind thanked Andrew Snow for his many years of working on the budget, and also Matt Lillard for being such a quick study.

John Tobin brought up the Financial Strategy Subcommittee and the need to get the committee started again and was hoping for more help. Deb Steines and Jim Elkind expressed interest in helping the committee continue. Deb requested a copy of the subcommittee mission statement.

Deb Steines moved to adjourn, seconded by Bruce Button. The meeting adjourned at 8:41 AM.

The Finance Committee will meet again at 8:00 AM on Thursday, July 13.

Respectfully submitted,

John Tobin, Treasurer