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will in operating Belmont; (3) The desire of the Institution to preserve Belmont as an historic property; (4) possible appreciation of the property as a real estate investment. It was agreed at the May meeting that the matter of Belmont would continue to be considered and reexamined by the Regents at an appropriate time.

[[underlined]] Expansion of Belmont Facilities [[/underlined]]

A study of the possible expansion of the conference facilities at Belmont in order to accommodate larger groups was prepared by the Business Manager in July 1979. This study concluded that the required investment in physical plant would not be cost effective and could not be amortized over a reasonable period of time; in addition, certain of the charm of Belmont as a small conference center could be lost by large expansion.

[[underlined]] Operations for Fiscal Years 1979 and 1980 [[/underlined]]

In Fiscal Year 1979 Belmont operated at a $131,000 deficit, which included some major repairs and refurbishments. The operating budget for Fiscal Year 1980 provides for an $87,000 deficit, and it appears that this loss may be improved on due to extremely strong bookings this year to date. Contributing to the strong bookings was a memorandum to Smithsonian staff in September reminding them of the facility and encouraging staff to consider Belmont for meetings of organizations in which they participate. A planned mailing to organizations in the Washington area has been postponed for the time being because there is no need to stimulate demand for the facility. Steps to improve operating results have included an increase in the daily rate from $45 to $50, and an increase in the minimum number of participants from 15 to 20. Neither of these changes have generated any criticism.