GALLATIN COUNTY FAIR BOARD
SEPTEMBER 15, 2009 MINUTES
As approved at the October 20, 2009 Meeting
ATTENDANCE:
Fair Board Members Present: Bob Brekke - Chairman, Dennis Farnham, Linda Warner, Chuck Busta, Jeff Wade and Chris Budeski
Absent Fair Board Member: Vickie Johnson
County Commissioner: Joe Skinner
4H Representative: None
Staff: Sue Shockley, Manager and Debbie Holwegner, Secretary
Guests: Zane Burns, Matt & Yvonne Troyer with Premier Auctions; Julie Keck - BAHA; Chris Gray – Deputy County Attorney; Lorna Simard – Fairgrounds Foundation
Public: Sonja Berg; Jim Cashell – Sheriff (present to speak on the Concert Group meeting that he attended last week)
CALL TO ORDER: Bob called the meeting to order at 5:35pm
INTRODUCTIONS: Everyone present introduced themselves.
PUBLIC COMMENT: Sonja Berg stated that over Labor Day weekend during the horse show, the wind blew which made the bleacher section signs move and make noise. One of the signs only had one hook connecting it to the fence. Sonja thought that this was creating undue stress on the fence and grand stand structure. Sue said she would have the Operations staff look into it.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Dennis Farnham moved to approve the August 18, 2009 Fair Board minutes as presented. Chuck Busta seconded. Unanimous for. None against. Motion carried.
COUNTY COMMISSION UPDATE: Joe Skinner said they are finalizing the county budget in the next couple of weeks. Not too much has changed. Sue commented she can’t believe how much time is spent on the budget.
FAIRGROUNDS FOUNDATION UPDATE: Lorna Simard reported the Calcutta for the Bozeman Roundup Rodeo was very worthwhile. Next year, the Foundation would like to provide the alcohol at the rodeo. Lorna also thanked Sue and the staff for her volunteer recognition during the rodeo.
4H UPDATE: No report.
GUEST PRESENTATIONS:
A. Premier Auctions: Zane Burns with Premier Auctions and his business partners Matt and Yvonne Troyer were present to discuss the fees being charged for setup days when they have their auction at the Fairgrounds. They felt the fees for setup were very high and is costing them so much that they may not be able to continue using our facilities. They referred to the four day setup charges for their restaurant auction held the end of August. They were charged $448 (building #2) and $338 (building #3) each day for three of their four day setup and felt this was excessive since they were just setting up for their auction. One setup day is not enough for this type of auction.
Zane stated he had two of his auctions broken into and the Fairgrounds did not provide security. Sue said that security was the responsibility of the building Lessee and not included in the building rent. Zane questioned improvement fees and what those were used for. Sue said the 3% improvement fees were set by the Board in 2006. Building and equipment improvement fees go into a special fund to purchase new equipment or fix the buildings but only those buildings and equipment that generate those revenues.
Zane said he came from Burns & Sons Auction who basically paid $30,000 per year building rent at the Fairgrounds. He pays $5 per table which he said he’s already paid for over and over again. Zane said he plans on having two auctions per month and would like the Board to consider allowing multiple building/day discounts and allow more setup days. Most of his auctions only require one day set up, however he would like a reduced rate for those that require numerous days to setup. It was Zane’s opinion the Board should look at making a few exceptions for those regular Fairgrounds users. There would have to be stipulations and very minimal lights and heat usage during setup. Zane thought it was better the buildings be used for community events instead of leaving them sit empty as long as the
Fairgrounds was not losing money. Matt suggested maybe a flat rate for a two to three day event. They are happy to pay the setup fee for the days prior to the auction. Zane and Matt said they love the Fairgrounds and want to continue using it for their auctions and hopes something can be worked out on rental fees. Dennis suggested this should go to the Pricing Committee. Sue will schedule a meeting with this committee and include Premier Auctions.
B. Open Lands Designation: Sue stated she had met with Deputy County Attorney Chris Gray regarding this matter and invited him to attend this Board meeting. Chris stated if the Fair Board feels it would like to protect the Fairgrounds “as a Fairgrounds” there are several ways to do it. He didn’t feel that working through the Open Space Act was the best way. He suggested that perhaps the easiest way would be through a deed restriction with the Commissioners’ approval. Joe Skinner, Sue and Chris will meet and work on this issue.
COMMITTEE REPORT
Concert Group: Jeff Wade stated that last Wednesday this group met to get a consensus with dance and concert promoters regarding how they choose law enforcement for their event, the number of officers needed and their associated costs for these officers. City officers cost more than County and the promoters do look at the costs involved with security. In the end, it was decided that promoters can hire who they want.
Sue said this group has been meeting about every three months with representatives from City and County Law Enforcement, City Fire Department, Youth Initiative, Bozeman High School, county Health Dept. and local promoters. The meeting last week was to discuss concerns from the Fairgrounds staff, promoters and law enforcement regarding the lack of communication between parties involved when law enforcement personnel were required at a Fairgrounds event. There are times when the staff and the promoters do not know if security has been arranged for the event. Phone calls from the promoters to law enforcement were not always being returned. There was also a lengthy discussion about whether the event organizer/promoter is required to hire the law enforcement officers from one or the other agency. There is a huge price
discrepancy with the Sheriff charging $95 per hour for an officer and the City charging $35 - $45 per hour for the same services. The promoters felt since they are paying the bill, they should be able to choose whoever they want for law enforcement at their events. At the end of this meeting it was agreed that the Fairgrounds would send the event/law enforcement requirement info to just one person, that being Marty Kent of the City Police Dept. He felt he could provide the officers for most events. He will contact Carolyn Robinson only if he can’t find City officers to fill the law enforcements needs for events at the Fairgrounds.
Sheriff Jim Cashell was in attendance at tonight’s meeting because he feels that since the Fairgrounds is a county facility his officers should be called upon first to provide the security. He stated that he has visited with Chris Gray about designating his officers to do security for the Fairgrounds. He said he feels the problem events are the “teeny-bopper” events and the “for profit” events selling alcohol. It appears, to the Sheriff, there is a bidding war going on between the City and County officers. Jim said the officers are there to provide safety, and are not to be told what to do by the promoters. The Sheriff stated that the County Finance Officer, Ed Blackman sets the rates and this year has set them at $95/hour/officer and he is not able to lower this rate. He’s not going to subsidize “for profit” events.
Sheriff Cashell suggested the Fair Board make policy that states law enforcement needed at the Fairgrounds be coordinated by the Sheriff. The bill for the officers would be added to the promoters’ bill from the Fairgrounds. He said an advantage to the Fair Board doing this, would be that the Fairgrounds could tack on an additional fee (say $10) for administrative fees. Chris Gray stated he didn’t want the Fairgrounds to get in the business of hiring security. Currently the promoter, not the Fairgrounds contracts with law enforcement.
Joe Skinner and Chris Budeski questioned the Sheriff on why he cared who does the security. He stated some of it was loyalty to his guys, and in support of his officers they should get the overtime. The Sheriff also said ultimately he has a responsibility to Gallatin County as well as the Fairgrounds.
Sheriff Cashell said he already has numerous officers already signed up through December for events at the Fairgrounds. He stated that if the promoters cancel their request for his officers or cancels the event, they will still be billed.
Jeff Wade suggested having the Pricing and Policy Committee meet to develop a recommendation for the Fair Board on the issue of Fairgrounds law enforcement requirements for events.
A special Fair Board meeting was scheduled for Tuesday, October 6 at 5:30 p.m. with the Fair Board, Sheriff Jim Cashell, the Chief of Police and Ed Blackman to come up with solutions to satisfy everyone.
DECISION ITEMS
A. Changes to Premier Auction’s bill: The Pricing Committee will meet with Premier Auction to work on this and bring back a recommendation to the Fair Board. Sue's thoughts were to have two setup days with minimal heat. Joe said to think about if those setup days are rentable by someone else.
B. Open Lands Designation: The Fair Board will make recommendations to the County Commissioners. Joe Skinner commented that there would be opposition to this plan. Chris Gray suggested not jumping into this. Joe suggested that he and Sue work on this together.
C. Recommendations from Contract Committee for renewal of BAHA lease: This committee met last week. Chuck Busta reported there were numerous issues with this contract. BAHA and the Fairgrounds will put together a list of their wants and needs for their proposal for the lease renewal terms and email to each other so they can discuss this at the October 1, 2009 meeting.
The Fairgrounds proposed the following for the 10 year renewal lease with BAHA:
- A 10% increase in the annual rental fee with a 3% annual increase thereafter.
- A $125 per month building fee assessment that would go into a fund for the repairs of the Haynes for normal wear and tear (not damages).
- There will not be any credit given to BAHA for improvements made to the Haynes.
- Enter into an agreement to move the parking for Haynes users to the area north of the Fairgrounds office. This area would be paved and lighted and could park approximately 200 cars. This would eliminate the issues of ruts and who’s locking up the gates at night. This parking area would fit into the master plan for the Fairgrounds.
Sue will contact the baseball people to see if they are interested in participating in this as well as BAHA. If they are, this would be a joint effort between BAHA, baseball and the Fairgrounds. Sue will research to see if the Fairgrounds can borrow the money at a low interest rate for a 10 year note.
Chuck Busta moved to accept all the recommendations of the Contract Committee. Chris Budeski seconded. Discussion. Unanimous for. None against. Motion carried.
D. Recommendations from Policy Committee on additional alcohol policies, west annex use policies and rental discounts: Sue said this committee met last week and had two new members, Rob Pertzborn and Todd Clemens who really brought good questions to this meeting. There were several policy items identified that needed some clarification. There were items that need to be discussed and rethought. The committee did not have time to begin discussions on the West Annex usage policies or the rental fee discounts. It was Sue’s recommendation to the Fair Board to not approve any more policies until all the policies covering each section are written.
E. Recommendations on 2010 Fair Pricing: Sue brought the recommendations from the Fair Planning Committee to the Board. The committee recommends leaving the pricing the same for the 2010 Fair due to the economy. Chris Budeski said “so moved”. Chuck Busta seconded. Discussion. Vote taken. Four opposed and one for. Motion failed. More discussion. Chuck Busta moved to accept the recommendation for the 2010 Fair pricing with exception of the parking. Dennis seconded. Unanimous for. None against. Motion carried.
F. Decision on pricing for the 2010 WinterFest: Sue stated this committee hadn’t met to discuss pricing, but a decision needed to be made because contracts needed to go out by October 1, 2009. Sue recommended leaving the pricing the same as the 2009 WinterFest and would like to charge $2 for parking. Linda Warner moved to keep all WinterFest pricing the same with the $2 parking fee. Chuck Busta seconded. Unanimous for. None against. Motion carried.
COMMITTEE REPORTS
A. BAHA Update: Julie Keck reported that BAHA would be in the Haynes one week earlier because the BeerFest cancelled. The new addition of locker rooms is ahead of schedule. Julie stated she submitted an article and new logos for the Fairgrounds October newsletter. Julie said she may be able to get the high school bleachers for WinterFest, since they would be using the Fairgrounds. Julie also stated that the roof of the Haynes Pavilion needed some major repair as there is leakage on the insulation. Julie received quotes of $8,500 - $9,000 to replace snow guard screws and is still waiting for the second bid. They should have ice around October 1.
B. Baseball Update: No report.
C. Greenway Range Update: No report.
D. SAR/EOC Update: No report.
E. Concert Group Report: Already covered.
F. 2009 Fair & Bozeman Roundup: Sue reported Ginger has been giving her updated financial reports on the Fair and it looks like the Fairgrounds profit from the Fair is between $80,000 and $90,000.
G. Contract Committee: Already covered earlier.
H. Capital Improvements Committee: Sue said she received nine SOQ’s from architects. The Commissioners would like to speed up the process and have the contract negotiated by September 25, 2009.
I. Policy/By Laws Committee: Already covered earlier.
J. Parking Committee: Sue stated that Dennis would be the Chairman of this committee. It would be a good idea to combine parking and pay for parking committees. Sue would like to close old Oak Street gate and use gate off Oak that enters the West Annex. The south portion of the West Annex would be used for horse trailers and put regular vehicle parking at the north end of the West Annex. The goal is to keep all of the parking either in the main parking lot or at the West Annex. The Parking Committee will make recommendations to the Fair Board after meeting. .
K. Pricing Committee: Linda Warner said the committee would meet with Premier Auction to discuss rental rates.
L. Grounds Safety Committee: A meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, November 10 at 6:30 a.m. at the Holiday Inn. Sue will notify all the rural fire departments.
M. Volunteers Committee: Sue said this committee needs to meet and desperately need more members.
N. Marketing Committee: Jaime Cargill was sick so couldn’t make the Fair Board meeting, however Sue stated she is redoing the Fairground’s sponsorship package and has made some very good changes.
O. 2010 WinterFest Committee: The next committee is scheduled for September 24. Sue said she is trying to switch the schedule around in the indoor arena to allow for the Packer’s Scramble. There is also someone who is willing to do Mutton Bustin if there is available arena time.
CORRESPONDENCE: Sue passed around the correspondence she had received since the last Fair Board meeting.
MANAGER’S REPORT: Sue said she didn’t send an update out this month.
FINANCIAL REPORT: The August financial expense report was available for review. Chuck Busta made a motion to approve the August financial expense report. Chris Budeski seconded. Discussion followed. Unanimous for. None against. Motion carried.
DISCUSSION ITEMS
A. Concession Stand Update: Sue reported the Outdoor Arena concession stand is ready to go. The fire suppression system is in the hood and we have the occupancy permit. A flat top stove was donated by J&V Restaurant Supply and is in place. The High School Rodeo will be using the concession stand this weekend.
B. 2009/2010 Budget: There was nothing new to report.
C. County Audit Review: There was nothing new to report.
D. Charge for Parking Update: Dennis Farnham reported they met yesterday. The committee can’t continue at this time with any recommendation. Research will be done to see what other fairs and fairgrounds policies are for parking. Dennis stated they will probably have paid parking for WinterFest but are not ready for larger events held at the Fairgrounds. The next Parking Committee meeting is scheduled for October 27 at 1:00 p.m. in Jennifer Blossom’s office.
E. Personnel: Sue said she is down to just one Operations guy temporarily. Sue asked for help from the Fair Board with the coming weekend events. Sue said she didn’t think that Fair Board members could be paid. Dennis Farnham volunteered to help out. The interviews didn’t go well with those they interviewed. Brian Gootkin, Administrator at the Detention Center and Susan Shane, HR Assistant helped with the interviews. It will be at least 1 months before anyone is hired for the Operations position.
F. Storm Water Management Plan Update: Chris Budeski stated the survey should be done by the end of this week.
G. Fairgrounds General Lease Agreement: Nothing new to report.
ANNOUNCEMENTS: Sue said she is still trying to get everyone together for Jim and Misty’s dinner. She is having a very hard time setting up a date where all of the Fair Board members can attend. Bob suggested just to pick a date and just go with it and whoever can attend will be there.
NEXT MONTH’S MEETING: Next meeting is scheduled for October 20. Sue asked that any agenda items to be sent to her.
ADJOURNMENT: Bob Brekke adjourned the meeting at 8:26 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted:
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