The Custer County Ag Society held their monthly meeting Thursday evening at the Shooting Sports Building on the west end of the fairgrounds.
Present for the meeting were board members Rodney Lamb, Bonnie Winters, Steve Horn, Clint Lambrecht, Brian Palmer, Desirei Cook and Mark Cardoza. Absent members were Casey Cooksley and Blair Ryan.
During the meeting, members continued discussion from January’s meeting on the Demo Derby. Cook said they had made an agreement with the Broken Bow Chamber to split the costs and profits of the derby down the middle, and was waiting for the board to approve the contract with Reckless Promotions, which is bringing the derby to town.
Cardoza said it would be a disservice not to hold the derby in the grandstand. Palmer said they had agreed to have the derby in the outdoor arena. A motion was made to approve the contracts with the Chamber and Wreckless Promotions, and passed 5-1 with Winters the only no vote.
Another motion was made to finalize the date of derby, June 21st in front of the grandstand in Trotter Arena. The motion passed 5-1, with Winters the lone no vote.
In other board discussion, Scotti Ross, director of Custer Economic Development Corporation, visited with the board about the Bicycle Ride Across Nebraska. BRAN, as it’s known, will be making an overnight stay in Broken Bow on June 3rd, and Ross mentioned the city is gearing up to host 300-600 riders. Ross said the fairgrounds would be a good place to serve food to the riders and socialize with locals. Ross said the event will bring an immense profit to the city.
Palmer said it wouldn’t take a lot of work for the board to host the riders, and BRAN expects to pay for use of the fairgrounds. A motion was made to partner with the BRAN committee, and approved 6-0.
Also at Thursday’s meeting, Kelli VanSlyke, representing the Mission avenue food store, spoke to the board about using the fairgrounds to distribute food pantry items on February 22nd from 9am-12pm. Palmer asked if they could do snow removal if necessary and VanSlyke said they could.
Winters expressed concern about vehicles tearing up the concrete and asked if they could do the food distribution on the edge of the fairgrounds to avoid concrete damage. VanSlyke said they could, and asked the board to approve food distribution dates in May, August and October. Palmer said they would check the event calendar and let VanSlyke know which dates would work.
In other business, the board gave an update on Industrial Tower West moving a tower on the fairgrounds. Cardoza said the new tower location has been marked. The cell tower needs to be moved due to the city trenching through new sewer. There was also discussion on whether the board should ask for a monthly fee from ITW, instead of a flat sum of $4500 which ITW has offered.
In new business, the board approved a request to hire two people to work at the Extension/Livestock office during the fair. The motion carried 5-1, with Cook voting no. The approval allows the board to pay minimum wage up to 90 hours for two workers at the fair.
Cardoza mentioned the upcoming Nebraska Association of Fair Managers meeting on April 6th at 2pm. Fair managers will gather in Building 18.
Cardoza also talked about labor sharing between fair districts. If a fair board needs more help to host an event they can request help from another county or district. Cardoza said he’s the point person for Custer County.
Cardoza also mentioned quotes to repair or replace overhead doors on the fairgrounds. The board tabled discussion on this matter.
Cardoza said Elliott Plumbing has given the board an estimate on replacing shut-off valves in the basement of the 4-H building. No action was taken.
The Ag Society concluded their meeting at 9:12pm, the next meeting is March 13th.
