Fair Board Minutes
April 6, 2017
Present: Ronda Johnston, Nate Ruth, Rocky Cosgriff and Cindy Selensky
Guests: Clay Nagel, Chelsie Johnston, Jake Johnston, Commissioner Bob Faw and Marc King
Ronda called the meeting to order at 1:01 pm.
Marc read the minutes from the March 2nd meeting. Commissioner Faw reported that those that are turning in volunteer hours should report those hours to Kandi in the Extension Office and she will turn them into the Clerk and Recorders office once per month. Ronda said that the minutes passed.
Nate reported that the gutters were done. There are new struts on the gutter on the East side and all of the gutters have been sealed. He turned in his and Rocky’s volunteer hours.
Clay reported on the water project and that Lyle had put in a new 3 hp pump that will pump 62 gpm. Ronda reported that Clay had also done some other work with the electricity for the pump. Clay has purchased some parts to help with the pump; like a start relay, pump float and a clock for $214.60, plus he ran a two wire underground wire for this system. Clay also purchased a jumbo box for the system and a blow-out for the system. Clay reported that he needed to get 12-15, 10” round boxes for the sprinklers, and needed 20 Rainbird sprinklers for $200. The round boxes would be $13.00 each. Nate made a motion to purchase all of the irrigation parts. Rocky seconded the motion. Motion passed.
Ronda reported on the flag pole light. Ronda will donate the light pole for the flag pole.
Ronda tabled the reclaimed wood and energy audit, as those were things that Brad was working on.
Ronda discussed the bucking chutes. Ronda read a letter from Danny Halverson and the Chamber of Commerce. Rocky said that he had talked to Cory and the Road Department would do the tear out, but would like to make the dump site better so that they can use the side dump truck to dispose of the torn out materials. Ronda reported that she had talked to Travis Kline about the bucking chutes and that he was not able to do the chutes, but would be willing to do the supporting work. Jake showed the drawings of the chute configurations to the group. Jake said that he had measured the space and three left and 4 right hand deliveries would fit in the existing space. The load alley would have slam gates and the chutes will have sliders. Jake said that he would like to have the project done before any rodeos. The cost for the chutes would be $35,833.00 for 4 right hand and 4 left hand delivery chutes. Rocky moved to purchase eight chutes. Nate seconded the motion. Motion passed unanimously. Jake will order the chutes.
Ronda asked if anyone had started a Master Plan for the Fairgrounds. Nate suggested a walk around to develop the Master Plan. Cindy agreed.
Ronda gave an inventory report and it has been turned in.
Rocky asked about a tractor for the rodeo. Commissioner Faw said that the tractors are ordered. Rocky said that John Deere would be willing to donate a tractor if we needed one. Commissioner Faw said that if John Deere donated a tractor, it could discourage the other dealers from wanting to donate to the county.
Nate brought up the Clay Nagel position description. He asked if the county was going to make him an employee or as a contractor. There was a discussion for the position. Nate explained that if he is a contractor, then we give him a list of tasks to be completed and he would report to the Board monthly on his progress. Ronda will work on putting together a work list for Clay that she will email to the Board for input.
Marc reported on the bill procedure. Bills are to be turned in to Kandi in the Extension Office so that an accurate record of the expenses can be kept with all of the Fair Board materials, and Kandi can then call the Treasurer to come in and sign the claims.
Ronda asked about the unused equipment. Nate said that he will place the mowers on Craigslist. There was some question regarding the legality of selling county equipment. Commissioner Faw will talk to Pat Dringman about the legality of selling the mowers. Nate asked about the pump that was removed. Marc reported that Dave Bjorndal had reported that the old pump was a 10hp motor, that would pump 250 gpm at 57 psi. The Board decided to hold onto the pump.
Ronda had Clay price some lumber for the floor of the grandstands. Clay talked to Ullman Lumber and to B&J Sawmill. Clay said that we needed 24 16’X 2”X10” boards and 12 16’ X 2” X 6” boards. Commissioner Faw suggested that this project could be simpler if the rotted ends were fixed rather than replacing the entire boards. Nate moved to repair the rotted ends. Cindy seconded the motion. Motion passed unanimously. Nate and Clay will work on this.
Ronda asked about the mosquito dunks and spraying. Marc explained what the mosquito dunks were. Nate moved to purchase two cases of the mosquito dunks. Rocky seconded the motion. Motion passed unanimously. Marc will order the dunks.
Ronda reported on the trees at the Fairgrounds. Commissioner Faw said that the tree by the loading chute is one of the oldest Long Leaf Cottonwood trees in the YellowstoneValley. There are also some trees in the camping area that are a danger. Ronda had a bid from Bill Evans to remove the trees in the camping area for $650.00. Ronda said that Bill had asked her about using the county pit for putting some of his other trees in to get rid of them also. Commissioner Faw also said that there are two other trees on the other side of the fence that are dangerous. Nate volunteered to look at all of the trees. Commissioner Faw also said that there was another tree on the rodeo side that he thought was dead. The big tree by the loading chute was deemed to be safe and won’t be removed at this time. Nate said that he was not comfortable letting anybody else use the pit. Commissioner Faw made a suggestion to have the county crew pickup the piles when they are down there working on the bucking chute project.
Clay asked about the old tractors and manure spreaders. Ronda said that she believed one of those old tractors belonged to the roping club. Ronda will check on this.
Clay reported on the leaking water line on the rodeo side. Clay has also talked to Dennis Birchell about the well work on the rodeo side. Ronda said that Clay had gotten her prices on renting the mini-excavator from Yellow Dog rentals, it would be $170 for a half a day and $210 for a full day. It was noted that Clay should rent the excavator and should bill the Board. Nate asked Clay to describe how he decides what he calls volunteer hours and what he bills for. Clay said that he understands. Nate moved to have Clay fix the waterline. Rocky seconded the motion. Motion passed unanimously. Clay also reported that all the water spigots on the rodeo side need to be replaced.
Ronda reported that there is an issue with grease being poured down the drain in the Ag Pavilion. Ronda said that Bill’s Place has a grease trap that they would donate to Fairgrounds. Ronda will get it to the Fairgrounds.
Ronda reported on her research of costs to have specific services at the Fairgrounds like trash, etc. Nate said that he felt it needs to be addressed after the improvements are made.
Ronda said that she had a report of the nails coming up on the roof of the poultry barn. Nate and Rocky will handle this.
Interior exit lights are not working in the Ag. Pavilion. Clay said that he would like to replace these with LED’s. Clay will get a price to replace all three of the lights. Clay will also get a price to just fix the broken ones.
Clay asked if he could get a stock pile of top soil and road mix. Clay suggested getting the top soil from Bue’s. Clay reported that road mix was about $150.00 per load. Nate reiterated that just having Clay do all of these odd jobs make it hard to make Clay just an independent contractor. Ronda suggested that Clay wait on the stock piles until the Board gets caught up on the bills.
Nate reported on the FFA contract to rent for the State FFA Contests. Nate made a motion to accept this contract. Rocky seconded the motion. Motion carried.
Stephens graduation party. Cindy moved to approve. Rocky seconded the motion. Motion carried.
NRA Rodeo June 23rd and 24th. Nate moved to approve. Cindy seconded the motion. Motion carried.
Sweet Grass Farm Bureau September 15th. Nate moved to accept. Rocky seconded. Motion carried.
Nate brought the dates for a Barrel racing on Wednesday nights, from June 7th through August 30th. The sponsors would like to know a price and if they could use the concessions to sell out of, but not use the equipment in the concession stand. The price would be $75.00 for the arena, $30.00 for the concessions and $25.00 for the bathrooms. Nate suggested that the sponsors need to pay a month in advance. Commissioner Faw suggested making sure any tractor operator that is using the tractor to work the arena, must be certified or trained by the county.
Ronda said that Travis Kline has an arena groomer that he would like the Fair Board to look at and possibly loaning it. It is ten feet wide. His hope is that the Board could use it for the year, then hopefully purchase it.
Ronda said that she was looking at how to clean the hood in the Ag Pavilion.
Ronda said that she would use email to discuss things with the Board.
Water tests for the grounds will be done when the water is turned on.
Ronda would like an ownership book for the Board to identify what is actually owned by the County.
Sound system discussion was tabled.
Commissioner Faw reported on the tractors. The tractors will be delivered on April 15th. There will be two tractors. Musselshell Equipment will provide decals for the tractors for advertising.
Ronda reported on the grazing lease with Red Eye Rodeo.
Meeting adjourned at 3:28 pm.