11-29-2011 Special Meeting Minutes

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SOUTH BEND BOARD OF PARK COMMISSIONERS SPECLAL MEETING NOVEMBER 29, 2011 The Board of Park Commissioners of the Park District of the City of South Bend, Indiana met on Tuesday November 29, 2011 at the O'Brien Administration&Recreation Center, 321 E. Walter St., South Bend, Indiana for a special meeting. Notice of the date,time and place of the meeting were duly given as required by law. Park Board members present were as follows: Mr. Robert Henry,President Mr. Robert Goodrich,Vice President Ms. Amy Hill Mr. Garrett Mullins Park Board members absent were as follows: None Staff members present: Phil St. Clair, Superintendent; Bill Carleton; Fiscal Officer; Susan O'Connor,Recreation Director; Laura Arriaga, Interim Zoo Director; Charles Leone, City Attorney I. The meeting was called to order by Board President Robert Henry at4:03 p.m. II. The next order of business was new business. 1. Request to Approve Coveleski Stadium Use Agreement- Charles Leone Mayor Luecke addressed the Board regarding the new stadium use agreement. He thanked the Board for agreeing to a special meeting because time is of the essence to approve the agreement. In order to smooth the transition of ownership from Mr. Kernan's group to Mr. Berlin, it is necessary to have the agreement ratified as soon as possible. He thanked Mr. Kernan for finding a new owner that is committed to keeping the team in South Bend. He highlighted the changes in the agreement. These include additional improvements to the stadium in the amount of$1.75 million. The improvements will come from downtown TIF funds. The team will provide additional improvement funding. The agreement will be for four, five year terms. Naming rights will go to the new owner. Attendance bonuses will be retained based on actual attendance. An interim management agreement will be in place allowing Mr. Berlin to manage the team until that point that the sale is approved by major league baseball. At that point the agreement will be assigned to Mr. Berlin. He asked for the Board's favorable approval of the agreement. Mr. Kernan said that next Monday they will be in Dallas for the baseball winter meetings to request approval of the transfer of ownership. He said that because of the amount of debt that was incurred buying the team and keeping it in South Bend,he was unable to do the things necessary to promote the team. Because Mr. Berlin has the resources available to him to do make the investment needed to make the team successful. He requested the Board approve the agreement and introduced Mr. Berlin. - - I - -