Board, public discuss future of Great Northern Fair

The fiscal situation and uncertain future of the Great Northern Fairgrounds was the topic of a special meeting of the Great Northern Fair board Wednesday night at Bear Paw Veterinary Services.

Nearly 40 people were at the meeting, where board members and the Hill County commissioners fielded questions throughout the two-and-a-half hour meeting about the current fiscal situation of the fairgrounds and possible solutions to sustain it going forward,

The meeting came after the Hill County commissioners fired fairgrounds manager Dave Brewer, citing a lack of available funds to pay him.

Board members announced in January that the budget was in trouble because of less-than-expected revenue coming in to the fairgrounds in the face of increasing expenses.

The first portion of the meeting was about the current financial status of the fairgrounds.

This fiscal year, the Great Northern Fairgrounds had $117,500 in expenses but took in only $107,200 in revenue.

McCann said that in years past the county could tap into the fairground's cash reserve to help get the fairgrounds through the year. However Montana law requires that a certain amount of money be held in reserve, and the required amount is not there.

As of November, only $43,040 remained in the fairgrounds' cash reserve, McCann said. The level of cash reserves has been falling steadily since the 2013-2014 fiscal year when reserves were at $173,000.

As of 2015, the fair board had a reserve built up that it was using to repair roofs on the ground's buildings and for other uses.

McCann said there is a misconception that the upkeep of the fairgrounds is financed mostly through county tax dollars.

"I thought that for years it was funded with my tax dollars. until I got on the board and started looking," McCann said.

In all, McCann said, the fairgrounds received slightly less than $4,000 in tax revenues this year. The bulk of fairgrounds revenue comes from camping and storage fees, building rentals for events and memberships for equestrian programs, and a share of the money generated from the fair, he said.

The two biggest expenses, he said, are utilities, and wages for the fair manager as well as seasonal employees hired for the summer to help prepare for the fair.

McCann said he believes the fairgrounds needs a manager.

He showed the audience a list of functions a manager performs including executive duties, maintaining the treasury, reception, delivering services to the public and public relations.

An organization that doesn't have a manager, he said, typically can't provide all those services. He added that during the years the fairgrounds did not have a manager, the fairgrounds actually lost revenue.

If the grounds does not have a manager, those duties would have to be performed by the board, McCann said, something that could be difficult because different board members would be in charge of different duties.

Tammy Walters asked if money was raised to pay to either bring Brewer back or hire another manager, would the board be willing to do that?

McCann asked Hill County Commission Chair Mark Peterson if the board receives money for management, if they can put a manager back on.

Peterson said that it is not that simple,

"There are a lot of questions that need to be answered," Peterson said. "Money is not the only part."

Peterson said there are rules the county needs to follow in order to restore the position.

Even if the public was able to raise the money, Hill County Treasurer Sandy Brown said, it would not be a long-term solution.

Causes for the decline in revenues to the fair were also discussed.

Bob Kaul asked why the fair was taking a lower percent of the money raised from the carnival then they had in years past.

Board member Ray Kallenberger said the fairgrounds was taking in a lower percentage of fair profits because the fair board entered into an agreement in 2016 with Dreamland Amusement to provide the fair.

He said that as part of the agreement, the share of the profits received by the fairgrounds from the carnival fell from 30 percent to 10 percent in 2016. The amount rose to 20 percent last year and under the agreement being considered for the coming fair, the amount the fair gets will likely rise again to 30 percent.

Another potential source of lost income, McCann said, is a fee schedule, for people who use the fairgrounds.

The fair board, McCann said, is often approached by organizations that are constrained financially and want to put on an event. The fair board then often tries to make a deal with the organization and take a lesser share of income generated from the event, leading to the fairgrounds bringing in less money.

"So what we end up doing is cutting our throat a little bit at a time," Board Vice Chair Tyler Smith.

Trisha Hellems of the Havre Jaycees said what is needed are solutions moving forward and the community is going to have to help out.

"We know that we are failing," she said. "We know that this is happening, what can the community do to bring it back up? That is why we are here, that is what we want to find out."

Frank English said he knows people who have ideas, and he is looking at bands to play shows in the Bigger Better Barn and wanted to know what it would take to host an event there.

Smith said that to put on an event a person or organization will need to pay a $250 deposit on the barn and pay $200 a day,

Board member Chelby Gooch, who also sits on the board of the Great Northern Fair Foundation, which helps raise money to improve the fairgrounds, said the foundation's board has openings after five board members quit.

Christy Owens, who sits on the foundation, said that in recent years the foundation has not been able to do as much fundraising as they did in past years, partly because of a lack of interest from the public.

Owens said with new members and new ideas they can do more fundraising going forward.

She said bylaws are also in the process of being updated.

Foundation members also passed around flyers that said the foundation has opened an account at Stockman Bank where donations can be made to the foundation.

Donations, the flyer says, will be used only for expenses related to maintaining the fairgrounds.

If people want to make a donation for a specific building or project, people should contact members of the foundation board at 399-1420 before the donation is made.

Kody Peterson said the fair board should put together a list of things that need to be done and people who have different skill sets.

"There are a lot of things I am good at, wiring isn't one of them, but I can sure make a hole that the wire can go through," Kody Peterson said.

Kody Peterson said that the board should again start asking local businesses to sponsor the fair.

Gooch said that she and fellow board member Scott Doney have discussed sponsorships, but that other organizations also ask many of the same businesses to sponsor events such as the Havre Jaycees Demolition Derby or the rodeo.

Kody Peterson said he knows that is a short-term fix but that is what the fairgrounds needs.

Smith said that what is needed is a larger mill levy from the county. He held up a bar graph showing the amount each of the surrounding counties give to their fairgrounds.

Toole County, which shares its fairgrounds in collaboration with Glacier and Liberty counties gives its grounds $150,000 a year in funding from mill levies, Chouteau County gives $101,000 to its fairgrounds, Valley County $63,000, Philips County $30,000 and Blaine County about $60,000.

The Great Northern Fairgrounds, by contrast received $3,900 in county taxpayer dollars.

"In my opinion, and my opinion only, for the long-term viability of this board, we need more baseline revenue, and that starts with raising the mills to a sustainable point," Smith said.

Kallenberger said that the Great Northern Fair might have to look at charging a fee for admission or parking.

He said Lewistown charges a $5 admission fee.

The days of free fairs, he said, are over,

Smith said a fee for vehicles to park on the grounds during the fair might be easier to manage logistically, since there are more entrances for people to enter by foot than vehicle.