DISCUSSION
On May 12, 2020, the Board was presented with this amendment for consideration, but tabled the item, requesting that Health and Human Services (HHSA) Director Donnell Ewert attempt to renegotiate the daily rent amount for the Civic Auditorium. Mr. Ewert met with Julie Dyar, the Executive Director of Advance Redding, on May 15, 2020 to discuss the daily rental rate, and the following additional information was obtained.
Overhead to operate the Civic Auditorium is $4,400 to $4,600 per day. These costs fall into the following categories: $2,217 for facilities and equipment (rent, utilities, property taxes, security system, janitorial supplies, etc.), $1,765 for personnel, $223 for operations (internet service, computer and software, office supplies, etc.), $188 for business expense (bank fees, business license and permits, insurance), and $34 for travel/mileage.
Advance Redding’s normal contracts are structured in an ala carte fashion, which is the industry norm. Labor, equipment, and other costs are then charged out at a bill rate, over and above rent, on a per use, per hour, per day, or flat rate basis. Third party contracts are billed with an additional administrative fee. In the case of this MOU amendment with the County, Advance Redding is charging rent of $4,500 per day, which is its basic overhead costs, as well as charging additional costs incurred, such as redundant power, furniture rental, telephone use, cleaning and consumables, direct labor, and use of forklifts.
One measure of fair and reasonable would be whether Advance Redding is charging the County a similar rental rate compared to other users of the Civic Auditorium. The Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry uses the Civic Auditorium with minimal support for 121 days a year at the daily rate of $6,128. This ongoing usage is the most similar to the 39 day usage the County acquired. Bethel Church pays between $9,500 and $11,000 per day when it hosts multi-day conferences at the Civic Auditorium. Single day users hosting banquets pay between $7,000 and $14,000 per day, tradeshows pay $10,000 to $12,000 per day, and concerts and other ticketed events pay $4,500 per day or a percentage of ticket sales, whichever is higher. The City of Redding, which owns the building and leases it to Advance Redding, pays approximately $10,000 for the Freedom Festival on July 4 and pays approximately $4,600 for the State of the City event, which includes rent and other billable services.
Ms. Dyar and her staff worked very closely with the county staff assigned to organize the Alternative Care Site (ACS) at the Civic Auditorium, researching and organizing to procure many wrap around services to assist the ACS, should it admit patients. Advance Redding was integrated into the Incident Command structure, and prepared to provide all non-medical staffing, all supplies except pharmaceuticals, and additional necessary infrastructure. The contribution of Advance Redding to the preparedness of the ACS was significant and helpful to the whole community.
After gathering this additional information from Ms. Dyar, Mr. Ewert believes the daily rental rate of $4,500 to be fair and reasonable for the use of the Civic Auditorium. |