Fair board discusses projects despite lack of quorum

At their monthly meeting Tuesday the remaining members of the Great Northern Fair Board and Great Northern Fairgrounds staff discussed a number of projects and issue, many of which needed to be deferred to the Hill County Commission as there was no quorum.

Board Members Bob Kaul and Michelle Burchard, along with Fairgrounds Manager Frank English and Fairgrounds Secretary Anita Stevenson, discussed a number of projects going on at the grounds including a new door for the Bigger Better Barn and dealing with a damaged water line.

Kaul said it took a fair amount of searching but he was able to find a door they could use from Anderson Steel in Great Falls for the barn, a door he can pick up himself as long as the commission approves the purchase.

Burchard said normally the board would approve it themselves, but because they don’t have enough members for a quorum they need to kick the decision up to the commissioners.

This was also the case for a pair of bids made to fix a damaged waterline that Kaul said ideally needs to be fixed before winter sets in.

The board also discussed needed updates to their commission policy and approval of their budget, neither or which they can make progress on until they have a quorum.

Kaul and Burchard said they haven’t heard from the commission regarding the possibility of new members yet.

Former Fairgrounds Manager David Brewer, who attended the meeting as a member of the public, said the commission called him about the possibility and he came to the meeting to see if there were any new members.

Commissioner Jake Strissel said this morning that Brewer approached the commission to apply for the position.

The board members and staff also discussed upcoming fairgrounds events including a Halloween Celebration featuring an escape room, a trunk or treat event, live music and possibly a bouncy house.

Details on the whole affair have yet to be hammered out but Burchard said the board’s events committee and fairgrounds staff have been working hard to get it all set up.

“It should be a fun event,” she said.

The board also talked about the fairground’s recent Viking Harvest which appears to have been a successful event, and Kaul said the arena is also in good shape for the rodeos that will be starting this coming weekend.

The board also listened to a proposal by Becki Miller of Kremlin 4-H to install more power sources on the fairgrounds.

Miller said people from 4-H park campers around the Bigger Better Barn during the fair, and after this year’s triple-digit heat she’s been really thinking about seeing if 4-H can get power to those campers, and potentially others in that area of the grounds.

She said she’s been coordinating with NorthWestern Energy about the possibility and said 4-H would pay to install it if the fair is willing to maintain it.

She said she thinks this would create the potential for new revenue to the fair and she’s already had several people reach out willing to donate to the installation.

Kaul and Burchard said it seems like a good idea, but they would need to work out details.

Brewer said he knows a lot of people that come up for rodeos would appreciate access to power, and said it seems like a great idea.

He encouraged the commissioners to look at the possibility as the fair board is still without a quorum.

The board also briefly discussed some possible issues with upcoming events not showing up properly on their website.

Stevenson said they do have someone working on the website at the moment and that is possibly affecting it, but they would need to look into the issue.