HomeMy WebLinkAbout7.1 Modification to Dinner Dance Program IG���OFDU�lI',
0
i9t ON —� �sz- AGENDA STATEMENT
%_.'4ziF01 � SE NIOR CENTER ADVISORY COMMITTEE
R��D
MEETING DATE: November 2, 2006
SUBJECT: Modifications to Dinner Dance Program
Report Prepared by Anna Hudson, Recreation Coordinator
ATTACHMENTS: None
RECOMMENDATION: Receive report and provide input
FINANCIAL STATEMENT: None
DESCRIPTION: The City offers a Dinner Dance program every other month at the
Senior Center. This social event combines a freshly prepared sit-down dinner accompanied by a band
for dancing. Over the past several years, "Manny Gutierrez and His Quartet" has been the house
band. Typically the dance begins at 4:00 P.M. and dinner is served at 5:00 P.M. The dance resumes
around 5:30 P.M. and continues until 7:00 P.M. Event staffing includes a Cook to prepare the meal
and a Recreation Technician and a Building Attendant to setup and sign-in guests, and breakdown after
the event. A minimum of four volunteers are needed for food preparation, serving and cleanup.
PROBLEM AND CRITICAL ISSUES
Attendance at the dances has been inconsistent in the past and has gone from a high of over 60
participants per dance to a low of 31 this September. A majority of the program participants have been
non-residents and when the new non-resident fees were implemented in September 2006, attendance
dropped by approximately 20 participants. Table 1 below shows attendance for the past three years.
TABLE 1 - DINNER DANCE ATTENDANCE
s0
80 '
70
60
50
40
30
20
10 n. 2 �
COPIES TO:
ITEM NO.: 7.1
G:\SRCTRADVCMTE\Statements\2006\11-02-06 Dinner Dance Format pm.doc
The Dinner Dances must have a minimum attendance of 60 to meet the cost recovery objectives identified
in the budget. If attendance remains at only 30 participants the program will be losing $1,800 per year,
which is a subsidy of over $10 per person. The Fiscal Year 2006-2007 Dinner Dance budget is
summarized in Table 2 below.
• TABLE 2 - DINNER DANCE CURRENT NET COST ANALYSIS
FY 06-07 Budget
30 people 40 people 50 people 6v-,people
Total Annual Revenue $2,610 $3,480 $4,350 $5,220+;
I
Direct Program Expenditures
Staffing $1,759 $1,759 $1,759 $1,759
Food $744 $930 $1,116 $1,302
Entertainment $1,950 $1,950 $1,950 ` ! ,.. ` .$1,950'?
Total Direct Expenditures $4,453 $4,639 $4,825 $5,011,
Net Gain (Cost)of Program ($1,843) ($1,159) ($475) $209:°1
•
Net Gain (Cost)per Participant ($10.24) ($4.83) ($1.58) _ $0 5$
Although the table indicates that at 60 participants there is a net gain to the City of$0.58 per person, this
is a reflection of direct costs only. It does not take into account overhead costs such as building
maintenance and utilities.
In addition to the inconsistent attendance, Staff has received feedback that having dances without a dinner
would be more affordable for participants. Patrons are also asking Staff to offer more social dances, with
a wider variety of music on either Friday or Saturday evenings to accommodate working seniors. Staff
received a written request signed by over 300 seniors expressing their interest in having evening dances at
' the Dublin Senior Center. Therefore, Staff recommends modifying the program format. Following are
some alternatives to better meet the needs of residents and increase participation in the program.
ALTERNATIVES
Alternative 1 is to continue to offer the program six times per.year, but discontinue the dinner portion of
the program and make it a drop-in program. Since dinner would no longer be served there would not be a
need to pre-register for the program. This would reduce the registration fee from $14.50 for residents and
$16.50 for non-residents to $10.00 for everyone. In addition, Staff would begin rotating the evenings the
event is offered to include some weekend dates. Staff would also change the themes, bands and musical
styles from event to event. These changes would expand the market for the event and make it more likely
for someone to attend.
Alternative 2 is to discontinue to dinner component and make the other changes in Alternative 1, but
expand the program to offer the dances every month. Increasing the types of dancing offered and
expanding the variety of dates available for the dance could expand the market potential for the program.
However if the actual attendance for the dances continues to be below 50, then a sponsor would be needed
to offset the additional subsidy. .
2 of 3
Alternative 3 is to continue the dinner portion but make it an optional part of the program. However if
there are not enough people ordering the meal, it does not make it cost effective to pay the Cook for the
six-hours of preparation, serving and cleaning. Finally, Alternative 4 is to not make any changes to the
program at this time, but increase marketing efforts to Dublin seniors.
•
RECOMMENDED ALTERNATIVE
In order to better serve customers and reduce the cost of the program, Staff recommends Alternative 1.
Table 3 below is a summary of the estimated budget impact of implementing Alternative 1, which could
be accommodated within the approved budget for Fiscal Year 2006-2007.
TABLE 3 - DINNER DANCE PROPOSED NET COST ANALYSIS
FY 06-07 Budget
30 people 40 people 50 people 60.people
Total Annual Revenue $1,800 $2,400 $3,000 '° $3,600
Expenditures
Staffing $967 $967 $967 $967
Refreshments $240 $300 $360 $420
Entertainment $1,950 $1,950 $1,950 g. $1,950.j
Total Annual Expenditures $3,157 $3,217 $3,277 $3,337
Net Gain (Cost) of Program ($1,357) ($817) ($277) $263
Net Gain (Cost)per Participant ($7.54) ($3.40). ($0.92)
The recommended alternative would be to host drop-in social dances at a fee of $10 per person. The
dances would be held on weeknights and weekends from 6:00 to 8:30 P.M. The dances would include
the entertainment, light refreshments, coffee, tea and water. As shown in Table 3 although the costs of
kitchen staffing and food costs decrease, the $10 fee will still require approximately 60 participants in
attendance at each dance to recover the direct costs of the program. Based on the interest in social
dances demonstrated by the signatures from seniors, with the proposed changes it should be feasible to
reach that goal. However, Staff will still make an effort to expand advertising of the program in the
community. Staff will also attempt to secure outside funding for this program to increase the
entertainment budget and attract a wider variety of talent.
If attendance grows and demand is sufficient then additional dances could be included in future
operational budgets as suggested in Alternative 2. Otherwise, Staff recommends maintaining the level
of service at six dances per year.
Staff anticipates that any changes to the program would be implemented in January 2007.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends the Advisory Committee receive the report and
provide input.
3 of