Indian Relay and county tax presented at Fair Board meeting

A brief presentation of the the new equine relay event for the Great Northern Fair and a rough draft of the mill levy resolution proposing a county tax to help fund the fairgrounds operation were given during Tuesday's meeting of the Great Northern Fair Board.

Board Chair Tyler Smith presented a rough draft of a resolution for the mills they would like to levy to support the fairgrounds.

The resolution states that the fairgrounds, which include 46 acres and 18 buildings, has increased in cost to maintain and the board would like the mills to help make money for fair operations, a fair manager and projects such as a new grandstand, Smith said.

The resolution, he went on to say, asks for approval of a majority of voters in the 2018 Federal Election that, in addition to existing mills, the county levy up to 4 for the fairgrounds operations. This would put a fee of up to $5.40 on a home with a value of $100,000 and $10.80 on a home with a value of $200,000.

"This may be amended," Smith added.

County Commissioner Mark Peterson, after Smith read the resolution, said he recommended that the board remove specific projects and let the community, in public meetings, tell the board what they would like to see the money go toward.

The resolution may also look a little different after the county clerk and recorder goes over it, Peterson said he wanted to remind the board.

Tim "Junior" Rosette Jr. came to the meeting to tell the fair board about the Indian Relay event that will be held Sunday of the fair from 2 to 5 p.m.

There are already teams interested in coming for the event, Rosette said, adding that the event poster has over 100 shares on Facebook.

In the centuries-old event, teams participate in races around a track. A rider for each team makes three laps around a track, changing to a new horse for each lap, the website of the Horse Nations Indian Relay Council says. The participants ride their horses bareback.

The relay will be held in the arena, board member Chelby Gooch said.

Rosette said he is working on preparing the material for the relay, adding that there is a man who will lend about 49 panels for the event, in exchange for a few tickets for him and his family.

The relay will need rails, Rosette said, adding that PVC pipes will be the safest option for the riders and the horses, and he will need about 2,500 feet.

Posts will also be needed for the rails, he said, adding that there will be about 20 feet between posts.

A friend will be sending a picture, Rosette added, to help him and the board visualize how the setup for the relay should look.

People have contacted him who are interested in buying tickets online, Rosette said, but since the fair doesn't have an option to do this right now, he said he will set up a Paypal option on his Facebook page to sell tickets and then he will pick them up from the office when they have them printed.

Anyone interested in signing up for the event or wanting more information can contact Rosette at 399-6320 or via his Facebook page.

Gooch told the board that the Great Northern Fair Foundation changed the date of the their fairgrounds cleanup to July 14 so it would be closer to the start of the fair.

Board member Ray Kallenberger said that the Financial Planning Committee did not meet, but he did meet with members individually over the month so they could work on their numbers, adding that, because of the money they received, including money from the hail damage insurance and the concessions for events at the fairgrounds, they were able to make a $400 dollar profit for May. He said he feels positive about that.

The day sponsorship sign has been purchased, Smith said, and he decided to move the sign 90 degrees so it can all be seen from the highway and attract more attention for the sponsors. Because of this, Smith added, he decided to make the sponsorship price all the same at $3,000 dollars a day.

Four sponsorship days have been purchased, by Independence Bank, Hi-Line Rental, Torgerson's LLC and CHS, Smith said, but he still has one more spot, adding that any other business interested in purchasing that final spot can contact him or any member of the fair board.

Gooch added that parking fee pre-sale tickets are also available for purchase at Diesel Doctor, Lakeside Excavation, Havre Area Chamber of Commerce and Lodestar Land and Home, and should be available soon at Gary & Leo's Fresh Foods and Fleet Wholesale Supply Co.

Peterson attended the meeting to update the board about the water meter issue that was brought up at the May meeting, when the board was told that both the city and the fair were paying for the same water meter, creating a double payment

"We will eliminate the meter number for the road department," Peterson said. "... We will then pick a meter on the fair side for the road department."

He added that they will talk about rectifying the past expenses after the fair.

Smith said he was concerned about the fairgrounds paying for a meter that the road department used quite frequently.

Peterson said he agrees with these feelings and the county will continue to talk about it and try to resolve it.

The board discussed again possibly putting a sidewalk in on the south side of the midway, runing in front of the new Hill County 4-H Chuckwagon, which will be used for its first fair this year. The board agreed it needs to look at the sight again before giving approval.

After the meeting, Smith said that he and fellow board members Scott Doney and Ron Konesky had gone to the Chippewa Cree tribal council to ask them "to consider patronage of the fair."

They haven't given a response yet, Smith said, but he thinks it went well.