The regular meeting of the Newnan Convention Center Authority was held on Thursday, November 21, 2024, at 6:30 p.m. at the Newnan Centre, Newnan, Georgia with Vice-Chairman Michael Colpoys presiding.
CALL TO ORDER
Vice-Chairman Colpoys called the meeting to order. Motion made by Treasurer Lovett and seconded by Secretary Stinson, to call the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m.
MOTION CARRIED. (4 - 0)
PRESENT
Authority Members present: Vice-Chairman Michael Colpoys; Treasurer Teresa Lovett; Secretary Carles Stinson; Member John Goodrum; and New-Member Mike Winslett.
Also present were: Newnan Centre Executive Director Peyton Shelnutt; Newnan Centre Sales and Events Manager Kaitlyn Bartlett; Newnan Centre Operations Manager Stewart Johnston; Newnan Centre Assistant Operations Manager Adam Cheek; and City Attorney Brad Sears.
SWEARING IN OF MIKE WINSLETT
Attorney Sears swore in Authority member, Mike Winslett, to serve a 3-year term, until October 2027.
MINUTES - REGULAR AUTHORITY MEETING - August 15, 2024
Motion made by Member Goodrum and seconded by Treasurer Lovett, to dispense with the reading of the minutes of the Authority meeting for August 15, 2024, and adopt them as presented.
MOTION CARRIED. (5 - 0)
FINANCIALS - FOR THE PERIOD ENDING - September 30, 2024
Treasurer Lovett stated that we have $435,745 in the operating account. We moved $800,000 from the Capital Reserves Account and invested it in an investment portfolio. Please note the new line labeled "Commonwealth Investment Account" on the balance sheet. Our total current assets total $1,239,897.
We have taken depreciation for the Gazebo in the amount of $69,839. We are holding $59,251 in customer deposits for future events. We have current liabilities of $70,203. Our total assets and liabilities are $1,781,013.
Charges for Services are $228,675, which is down over the same period last year by 9%. This is due to the loss of Sunday evening church rentals that began at the end of summer. Last year over the same time period, we hosted the church for morning and evening services.
We received $281,591 in Hotel/Motel and Motor Vehicle Taxes through the period ending September 30, 2024, which is $3,654 over the same period last year. These transfers continue to trend upwards after a slow start at the beginning of the year.
Total Income for the period is $615,350, which is down 7% over the same period last year. Please keep in mind that last year, we were able to continue using the ARPA grant, so this year’s numbers reflect no additional government assistance via grants.
Expenses in Personnel Services and Employee Benefits are down 9% over the same period last year. Expenses in Professional and Other Services are also down 2%. Expenses in Repairs and Maintenance are up $23,493 over the same period last year. This is due to the purchase of a new UPS for the AV system, fire panel upgrades/repairs, annuals cleanings of chairs, windows, carpets, and airwalls, replacement of cylinder on kitchen hood system (fire suppression system), walk-in cooler repairs, and a few other minor repairs/maintenances to the HVAC units. All of which were regular repairs that are to be expected given the age of the Centre and the equipment. Total Expenses through September 30, 2024, $515,668, are down $34,903 over the same period last year.
The Net Income through September 30, 2024, is $87,891.
Motion made by Member Goodrum and seconded by Secretary Stinson, to accept the financials as presented.
MOTION CARRIED. (5 - 0)
OLD BUSINESS
Boardroom Upgrade Project - Executive Director Shelnutt shared that more information regarding the upgrade of the boardroom would be available at the next authority meeting in February as we continue to work with Buffy on that project.
NEW BUSINESS
Power at Outdoor Gazebo - Executive Director Shelnutt shared the developments regarding power that is needed at the gazebo to support concert events and prevent the need for multiple generators for every event. This was spurred by Piedmont Rocks, Piedmont-Newnan's first annual outdoor concert in March 2025. Our team has been working alongside Live Event Solutions, Binkley Electric, and Blackbox Productions to gather all the necessary information for what is needed to provide adequate concert/show level power at the gazebo.
Operations Manager Johnston explained the power proposal stating that we currently only have 100 amps of power at the outdoor gazebo. The first part of the proposal is the boring to get the power in place from the electrical room inside the Newnan Centre and down to the necessary panels at the gazebo, which is the most expensive portion since it is done all underground. The total estimated cost for the project is $78,827.88.
Motion made by Member Goodrum and seconded by Secretary Stinson, to approve the contracts for the upgrade of power at the outdoor gazebo.
MOTION CARRIED. (5 - 0)
Roof Update - Assistant Operations Manager Cheek shared that we were still working on the roof repairs with Ben Hill. Everything is on track to complete soon, and many repairs have already been underway. So far, they do not foresee any major issues in their inspections and hope to have a formal, final report for you at the next meeting in February.
PENCO MSA - Executive Director - Shelnutt - explained that as the team worked on our Emergency Response Plans, we began to look into a partnership with PENCO in the event that we had some catastrophic situations take place and needed assistance. The blank MSA before you would ensure that in the event of any emergency, we would be prioritized in PENCO's response time/level and there are no associated costs with signing it. We just wanted to be prepared for any future situations to come.
Motion made by Member Goodrum and seconded by Treasurer Lovett, to approve and adopt the MSA with PENCO for emergency services.
MOTION CARRIED. (5 - 0)
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR REPORT
Sales and Marketing - July, August, and September were slower months for us, which is the usual over summer and when school starts back. August was still very busy on the weekends with 4 out of 5 weekends booked. October through the end of the year is very busy.
New business booked includes American Senior Benefits for an estate planning workshop; Lakeshore HOA for their annual meeting; Concrete Supply Co. for their employee holiday party; McDaniels Acura of Newnan for their holiday party; Dwelli for their holiday party; Chromalloy for their leadership team meetings; Reets wedding who is a past corporate client; Hollis/Tolbert wedding; Troup-Coweta Alumnae Chapter for their founders day luncheon; USA Powerlifting Show; Edward Jones for a luncheon; Piedmont Rocks Outdoor Concert; Jazz in the Park series; and many 2025 weddings. We have already booked nearly half of the weekends for 2025.
Customer Care Analysis - We had a lot of responses to the customer care analysis, all with raving reviews. The overall ratings for all categories are extremely high, all exceeding expectations and very complimentary. For the categories labeled Staff, Service, and Cleanliness we have had a perfect score all year long, which is a true testament to the tremendous jobs Stewart, Adam, and Kaitlyn do with our clients and the upkeep of the venue itself.
The last comment from the Hortons is not a big deal as it is strictly policy, and they knew that upon booking. They ended up selecting Chick-fil-A for their wedding reception.
Occupancy Report - So far this year, we have hosted 285 events with an attendance of 35,282. Our current occupancy rate through September 30, 2024, is 28.5%. We are slightly below the totals from last year, but again we did have the church hosting multiple services weekly then.
Operations - Operations team has worked very hard to complete the fire panel installation and repairs with the contractors. They also worked with PENCO to have the tile and grout cleaned in all the restrooms. We also had our regular annual cleaning of the windows, chairs, and airwalls by Matthews.
2025 MEETING DATES
The 2025 meeting dates are February 20, 2025; May 15, 2025; August 21, 2025; and November 20, 2025, all at 6:30 p.m. at the Newnan Centre Boardroom.
ADJOURNMENT
Motion made by Member Goodrum and seconded by Member Winslett, to adjourn the meeting at 7:19 p.m.
MOTION CARRIED. (5 - 0)

Prepared and Submitted for Review by:           Certified and Attested by:
__________________________________ 	     __________________________________     
Peyton Shelnutt, Executive Director		     Carles Stinson, Secretary
Newnan Centre					     Newnan Convention Center Authority