GALLATIN COUNTY FAIR BOARD
December 20, 2005 Minutes
As Approved on January 17, 2006
ATTENDANCE:
Fair Board Member Present – Greg Raths, Chris Budeski, Bob Brekke, Jim Oberhofer, Betsy (Centa) Anderson, Misty Radue, Blair Howze,
County Commissioner – Joe Skinner
Guests-Harry Huntsinger, Travis Burian, Connie Garrett, Todd Saunders, Erica Amistad, Kyle Lancaster, Clancy Powell, Pam Peiper
Staff – Sue Shockley, Debbie Ehlert – Secretary
Public – Sonja Berg, Lorna Simard
1. CALL TO ORDER: Chairman Greg Raths called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m.
2. PUBLIC COMMENT: None
3. MINUTES FROM NOVEMBER 18, 2005: Chris Budeski requested the correction of the spelling of Betsy Centa’s name. Jim Oberhofer moved to approve the amended minutes of the November 18, 2005 meeting. Bob Brekke seconded. All in favor. None opposed. Motion carried.
4. GUEST PRESENTATIONS: Erika Amistad and the MSU Marketing Group presented the results of the marketing study completed by the MSU Marketing Group along with their recommendations.
5. COUNTY COMMISSIONER UPDATE: Joe Skinner reported that the Fair Board needed to present recommendations for the new Fair Board applicants by December 27, 2005 to the county commissioners.
6. COMMITTEE REPORTS:
A. 2006 Fair Report: Travis Burian reported that the PBR is interested in putting on a PBR bull-riding event for the 2006 summer fair but that it would have to be on Saturday. There was discussion regarding the conflict with the Ranch Rodeo. The cost of the PBR event would be $60,000 but Harry Huntsinger said that this would be covered with sponsorships and the gate would go to the fairgrounds. A motion was made by Greg Raths to ask the Ranch Rodeo to move the date of their event. Chris Budeski seconded the motion. All in favor. None against. Motion carried. A motion
to move forward with the PBR was made by Jim Oberhofer and seconded by Chris Budeski. All for. None against. Motion carried.
B. Contract Review Committee: No update.
C. Winterfest – Connie Garrett reported the idea of having a horseshoe to mark horse events and a paw print to mark dog events on the schedule. Sue Shockley and the staff were working on additional ideas.
Cardinal Distributing would be the official sponsor with Budweiser.
Sue reported that the teaser posters were out.
Carter Benedict was handling the Cowboy Gathering and he had some big names lined up.
SCS was not going to be able to attend and the Winterfest Committee was looking for a replacement.
Advertising, posters and press releases are scheduled once every 2 weeks until December 31, 2005 and once a week after January 1, 2006.
Working on ½ page ad including Business Sponsors.
Working on the graphics design on the posters and Coke is paying for the posters.
Connie Garrett suggested re-instating the ad “Countdown to the Fair” and reworking the web site and checking into a new web address to make it easier to find the web page.
D. Committee: Next meeting is scheduled for January 18, 2006 at 6:30PM. Will be discussing the PBR.
E. Marketing: Harry Huntsinger reported that they had received $6200 in cash sponsorships and $3800 in In-Kind Sponsorships.
F. Volunteer: Committee has not met – no report.
G. Policy/By Laws: No report.
H. Pricing: No report.
I. Parking Committee: Chris Budeski said the parking committee met and suggested that only the east gate should be open and parking in front of Building #4 would be limited to handicapped. Sue did not think that would work because of a bottleneck problem. Going back for review.
J. Security Emergency Planning: Has not met.
K. Alcohol Policy Committee: Jim Oberhofer said they have not met yet but they will regarding proposed signage and meet again with proposed language change
7. FOUNDATION UPDATE:
A. Arena Project: Nothing new.
B. Fund Raising: Harry Huntsinger reported it was going good.
C. Winterfest Involvement: Bob Brekke reported that they were going to have a booth during Winterfest.
D. Annual Dinner: Lorna reported the annual dinner was on January 25, 2006 at 6:00PM for the social hour and dinner at 7:00PM.
Took a short break from 6:55PM to 7:05 PM.
8. CORRESPONDENCE – Nothing new.
9. MANAGER’S REPORT
A. Sue reported the Fairgrounds had trouble with a heater quitting and pipes freezing and a refrigerator quitting. All had been repaired.
Renovation of X1,2,3 to start after Christmas. Energy efficient lights have been ordered. Thermostats on heaters have been replaced. Furnaces have been cleaned and maintained. Starting the electrical and insulation soon and will start work on the mechanical room. Talked about moving forward and taking before and after pictures of building and improvements.
Sue mentioned that the Fairgrounds have an additional $8000 in PILT for capital outlay.
10. FINANCIAL REPORT: Motion made by Jim Oberhofer to approve the Expenditures on the financial reports. Motion was seconded by Blair Howze. All approved. Motion carried.
11. DECISION ITEMS
A. Fair Board Shirts – Sue had the Board Members write down the requested sizes and she was going to order the shirts.
B. Sheriff’s Posse – Greg Raths reported that the Posse Shack was notified that they could not sell Pepsi products but had to sell Coke products because of an exclusive deal with Coke. Sue corrected the misunderstanding by letting Greg know that the Fairgrounds had not entered into an exclusive agreement with Coke and that Coke was donating $5000 for the Western Underground concert. The decision was made to talk to the Sheriff’s Posse and try to make the arrangement to serve Coke for the night of the concert in addition to Pepsi.
Bob Brekke made a motion to try to work out serving coke by the Sheriff’s Posse the night of the concert. Blair Howze seconded the motion. All approved. None opposed. Greg Raths abstained. Motion carried.
C. Bylaws – Tabled until February meeting.
D. Shooting Range Lease – Jim Oberhofer said the 10-year lease was too long. Suggested a 5-year with first refusal and 5-year renewal option. Jim Oberhofer recommended taking the matter back to the county attorney. Joe Skinner was going to address this with the county attorney’s office. The matter was tabled for now.
E. Bozeman High School Swim Team Requested to use Bldg #4 for their team dinner before heading to State Finals. Greg Raths made a motion to allow the swim team to use the facilities at no cost. Blair Howze seconded the motion. Discussion called. Sue did not want to set precedence by not charging for the use. Sue suggested billing them for the time and letting them work it off the same way the 4-H Clubs do. Greg Raths amended the motion to allow the Bozeman High School Swim Team to use the facilities in exchange for in-kind service. Blair Howze seconded the motion. All in Favor.
None opposed. Motion carried.
F. Jim Oberhofer made a motion to support Blair Howze and Misty Radue for re-appointment to the board. Chris Budeski seconded the motion. All in favor. None opposed. Blair Howze and Misty Radue abstained. Motion carried. The Fair Board decided to wait until January to appoint two additional board members.
G. Changes to Fairgrounds General Lease Agreement: Tabled for a later date.
H. Bob Brekke made a motion to schedule a special meeting on January 11, 2006 at 6:00PM. Blair Howze seconded the motion. All in favor. None opposed. Motion carried.
I. Winterfest Alcohol Sales: Sue recommended Phil Schneider be allowed to provide a full bar during events in the Indoor Arena and the Lion’s Club beer in the People Barn. Bob Brekke made a motion to allow Phil Schneider to sell liquor in the Indoor Arena and the Lion’s Club to sell beer in the People Barn. Chris Budeski seconded the motion. 3 in favor. 4 against. Motion denied. Discussion was called. After discussion Greg Raths called to reconsider motion. Roberts' rules pertain. Greg Raths changed his vote. Motion carried. Jim Oberhofer agreed to accompany Sue to
discuss this with the Lion’s Club.
Jim Oberhofer wanted to go on record with his opinion that because this is a family oriented location he did not approve of the hard liquor being served.
J. Dinner for retiring Board Members: Suggestion for dinner out at a later date.
12. DISCUSSION
A. Draft Proposal for Improvement of Motor Sports Area – Blair Howze suggested sending letters to all involved parties.
B. Committees for the upcoming year – No Report.
C. Board Training or Retreat – Decide after Special Meeting on January 11, 2006.
D. SAR Building Update – Completed.
E. Capital Improvement Projects status – Bldg 1-2-3 Work in progress.
F. Personnel Update – Sue said she was pleased with the existing staff and their efforts.
G. New County Personnel Policies – Sue discussed the new County Policy regarding no children or dogs in County offices.
H. Other Items Not on Agenda – Chris Budeski discussed a problem with the Kiwanis Club in the clean up of Bldg #4 after their pancake breakfast. Sue said that they had been charged for the clean up.
13. ANNOUNCEMENTS – Bidding farewell to Greg Raths and Betsy Centa to leaving the Fair Board.
14. AGENDA ITEMS FOR NEXT MONTH’S MEETING
15. ADJORNMENT – Chairman Greg Raths adjourned the meeting at 10:00PM.
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