Bemidji City Council Approves New Contract With VenuWorks

The Bemidji City Council has approved a new five-year contract with a raise for VenuWorks, the Sanford Center’s current management company.

The council discussed and debated the terms, conditions, and the length of the new contract for over 90 minutes at Monday night’s city council meeting. The new contract would begin in January of 2019 and would include new terms such as extending the termination clause from 90 days to 180. Members of VenuWorks’ executive staff were present to answer questions by council members.

Before the final vote, council members debated and discussed at length the ongoing audit of VenuWorks by the Minnesota state auditor and other issues surrounding the new contract. The new contract was approved 6 to 1, with councilman Ron Johnson being the lone “no” vote.