That acronym was on the lips of many a Moose Jaw resident through 2018, but for reasons that were far less than positive, to put it mildly – the dismissal of the general manager, accusations of sexual harassment against an employee and a board of directors scandal that saw the entire DFFH board dissolved and sanctions against three city councillors for their related actions.
But through it all, the financial situation for Mosaic Place and YaraCentre remains solid, as was revealed at the DFFH annual general meeting on Thursday night.
According to the statement of financial position, the organization currently holds an accumulated surplus of $503,651, an increase of $294,134 over 2017 – even if it did come with a price.
“Financially we did really well, a lot of it had to do with the events of last year,” said city manager Jim Puffalt, who took over management of the two facilities when the board was removed. “Through dismissals and attrition we reduced the amount of management here and that’s reflected obviously in the financials.
“But other than that we had just as much activity as usual. There were only three concert-type events, but everything else, the conference centres are always being used, the ice is always being used, the curling rink is always busy. We continue to put out a great product and provide great customer service to the people who come to this facility.”
Almost every aspect of revenues for the DFFH saw increases from 2017 to 2018 to a total of $3,332,490 compared to expenditures of $3,038,356, which included reductions in administration salaries, operational salaries and contracted staff. The end result was $294,134 in excess of revenues over expenditures, which combined with $209,517 from last year, sees the current total surplus.
“Sometimes you have to go through fire to get through to the other side and get ahead,” Puffalt said. “We have to thank our staff so much, they all picked up and took on extra tasks and did so much… it’s was tough times, but we persevered, put our heads down and worked and got things done. So we can’t say enough about out staff because without them we can’t hold events, we can’t keep this facility running.
“We have to give them all credit for sticking through the tough times and doing such a great job.”
The plan now is to focus on the future and what’s coming up, beginning with the number of major events Mosaic Place plans to host in the near future.
“We have two or three (shows) we have yet to announce yet that will be happening in the fall and one booked into next March,” Puffalt said. “They’ll be fairly big shows, and I think bigger concerts are what the community is looking for to happen in the city, it’s a great economic benefit for everybody. It gives our residents entertainment and things they can go and do. It’s just a tremendous boon for our city to have all this for our citizens to do.”
Of course, Puffalt couldn’t resist plugging the next big event happening at Mosaic Place – the George Canyon concert taking place next Friday, May 10.
“Next Friday is the first kick at the cat with George Canyon, there will be around 1,500 people in Mosaic Place and if you haven’t got your tickets yet, get them because it’s going to be a blast!”
