a mixture of two year and one year terms. Current board members still having a year to go in their service include Tim Coonen (the current chair), Dick Van Nostrand (the current treasurer), Brenda Caley (Guggieville), Peggy Amendola (Visitor Reception Centre) and Kim Bouzane (Bombay Peggy’s) Elected by acclamation were Heidi Bliedung (White Ram Manor), Wayne Rachel (Callison Waste Management), Eric Zalitas (Trek Over the Top) and last minute nominee Barb Hanulik. While there was much discussion at the meeting about the need for members, no one stepped up to the plate, much to the disgust of the ever feisty Hanulik, who chastised the membership for letting things get to such a state where they had to draft an old lady to fill the slate. The KVA is not in great financial shape at the end of the 2003 year, having lost $41, 708.92 after all the bills were paid. It had budgeted to lose almost $10,000, but the total collapse of the revenue from the Palace Grand Show took everyone by surprise. In his oral report, chairman Tim Coonen blamed much of this on Holland America’s decision to pull the Gaslight Follies from its bus tour schedule. The show had lost $34,585.00 in the 2002 year, and the 2003 budget projected a loss of around $60,000, but the actual damage was $110,924.00, not something that anyone had foreseen. Cutting its ties to the Follies is one reason that the KVA expects to be in the black again in 2004, though not by much, at a figure of $103,350.00. That said, there are a lot of expenses coming up that it will be hard to put off. Coonen said that 10 slot machines need to be replaced right away, and some of the others are so old now that it’s hard to get parts for them. The building needs work both top and bottom. The other half of the roof need proper insulation and the floor needs to be resurfaced - replaced in some places. The KVA leases the building from the City of Dawson for a nominal amount, but it foots all the bills. Jon Magnusson, of Dawson City Bed and Breakfast, asked why the organization doesn’t just buy the building, especially since the Carrel Report has recommended that the town sell off surplus properties, and then the organization could gain equity from the money it spends on the hall. There will be changes to the way in which the KVA handles its Community Event Casinos. First, it is planned to simply come up with a list of weekend casino dates, which Coonen suggested might be most weekends from February through April (many of which are already open). This way non-profit organizations could plug themselves into the available schedule instead of the KVA having to react at the last minute to the creation of a new community event. The organization gives out thousands of dollars in grants every year, but this year will be leaner than most, and it may have to skip a year in 2005. By 2006 it is projected to have built up a fund to allow the grant system to continue with stable funding. The outgoing board feels that this service to the community is an important one, but it also knows that it has some big repair bills coming in the short term. The KVA puts about $1,000,00.00 in wages into the community out of its $2.5 million in annual revenue. When asked from the floor if the wage costs weren’t excessive and ought not to be trimmed, both Coonen and treasurer Van Nostrand characterized the operation as labour intensive and actually very lean considering the nature of the business. Coonen remarked that it needed to be remembered that the KVA was actually a non-profit marketing agency which happened to own a casino, and not the other way around. | 
