At the November 19 meeting of the Lancaster County Convention Center Authority, the Board reviewed the 2010 Convention Center/Interstate Hotels & Resorts Budget. According to LCCCA Executive Director Kevin Molloy, the budget looks healthy in terms of projected revenue and expenses, with the exception of the center’s projected utility costs for next year—ringing in at $300,000 more than predicted in earlier reports.
The $300,000 loss adds to an already-projected operating loss of more than $600,000.
This jump in cost owes largely to the forthcoming removal of energy rate caps, Molloy said. At the time when pro-forma projections were drawn for 2010, Molloy asserted, this development had not been accounted for.
In hopes of shrinking that $300,000 bill, Molloy said that the Convention Center staff has been working with Interstate Hotels, which manages the facility’s operations, to seek opportunities to conserve energy. The efficiency of lighting, heating, and air conditioning systems are all under assessment, Molloy said.
Chair Kevin Fry agreed that these measures could certainly assist in reducing expenses, but noted, “I don’t believe that were going to make up $300,000.”
Molloy noted that the Convention Center’s $1 million line of credit could be accessed for those costs that cannot be offset by improved efficiency. “But that is a little bit of a short term thing,” Molloy qualified, adding that the only ultimate solution will be for hotel revenues in Lancaster County to increase—which would boost income for the Convention Center through the county-wide hotel room sales tax.
Have the Convention Center & Hotel’s utilities been split and metered individually or are they still sharing services?
Editor’s response: As far as we know, no alteration has been made.