RECDA Minutes 09/23/2010
Present: Alan Moore, Teri Moore, Lew Diehl, Garry Burnette, Scott Ratliff, Jim Davis, Phil Christopherson, Eddie Amend, Jim Gores, Ron Warpness, Ernie Over, Lori Ridgway, Sandy Dean and Guests: Barney Cosner.
Alan called our meeting to order and introduced our guest, Barney Cosner, Executive Director of the Fremont County Fair & Rodeo.
Barney stated that the fairgrounds include 32 acres. The fair will be 98 years old next year, and there has been a tremendous amount of aging. There are 844 events scheduled for this fiscal year. There are only 2 buildings for the events. The buildings are available 5:30am to 10:00 pm. The “old” Armory building may be renamed, and a suggestion is “Heart of Fremont Center”. The other building is the “Main Hall”, and it may be renamed “Heritage Hall”. Barney said there are about 6 buildings geared for summer. He asked if there is another opportunity for the land. He said some ideas include Rails to Trails. He spoke about the campgrounds and said that there is only one road in/out of the facility. The camping facilities haven’t come up to present times for big rigs/campers. He said they need 150 hookups and they only have 40. He said that the campground was used for the Little League Tournament because there was no other place available for them. He said that they had 61 campers last weekend for 2 rodeos, 1 for high school & 1 for the college. He said that they really need changes/upgrades to their infrastructure. They have not sought ARRA funds yet as there are several steps and someone has to be able to run the grants. Jim commented that the City had to have very accurate, detailed documentation & someone who could complete the grants to meet all the strict requirements. It takes a long time to get results. Scotty commented that planning is good for the fair, and there needs to be planning year round. Barney said that the fair board is looking at year round activities, and their facilities need to be able to accommodate. Also, had comments that the general public needs to be informed about the potential and talk about the 1% tax. Barney commented that the lodging taxes fail just because it is a tax & people say “no”, even though residents do not pay the tax. He said we do need more information & education about the taxes. More conversation was shared about the fair, taxes, improvements, and possibility of moving the fairgrounds to a better location to gain more space and to be available to more activities for the Riverton & Lander communities. Barney said that it is better to have space & events available in Fremont County rather than having people traveling to Casper, Billings & other outside areas to use their facilities. Alan commented to start early & to market all you can for improvements. Barney stated that the fair is only one event out of 844, and the name is Fremont County Fairgrounds. He gave an example of another facility & name, the Camplex. He said that production agriculture is only 2%, and we need a multi-purpose center. Barney asked how many of us had an agriculture background, & several people raised their hands. He asked how many had children/grand children with an agriculture background…did not see the hands. Lori mentioned that at CWC, there are classes for ag businesses, not ag production, to broaden businesses. Barney said the 4-H has expanded to more types of business. He said that at the Sale Barn, people come from all areas. Ernie commented to start slow & keep building.
After good conversations around the tables, meeting was adjourned.