BROKEN BOW – The Custer County Ag Society held its January meeting on Thursday evening at the Custer County Fairgrounds. Absent were board members Casey Cooksley and Steve Horn.
The board approved the minutes of the December 11 regular and the January 8 planning meetings as well as the payment of the monthly bills.
The Ag Society heard the reports from the Extension Office and 4-H Council, both delivered by Troy Walz. Walz emphasized the market beef weigh-in scheduled for February 4, weather permitting, and provided a winter update on the overhaul at the 4-H Building.
“Working on the floors, the backroom, and the kitchen and the bathroom; there’s a crack running down one of the walls because of the train jarring it all the time, so we’re working on getting that drywall fixed.”
Walz also informed the board of the 4-H Council’s upcoming meeting on January 23, and emphasized the Extension Office’s filling of two secretarial positions.
Fairgrounds Administrator Michelle Nelson delivered her administrative report; the Ag Society’s upcoming Winter Ball has been the primary focus of the past month, followed by the fairgrounds’ weekly barrel races, postponed due to weather the past couple of weekends.
In old business, Nelson provided an update to the Ag Society’s application for a recycling grant earlier this year; the fairgrounds will not receive money because part of the proposed recycling plan involves stockpiling tin and scrap to be used “as needed,” which does not immediately dedicate it to reuse.
County Supervisor Dwain Bryner, present at the meeting, proposed an alternative to stockpiling the old buildings’ tin: turning it into benches or other practical mementos for those who remember the buildings as they were.
“Some of the older people who showed cattle here years ago might buy them just for a yard bench or yard decoration.”
The board has so far received two bids for removing a bulk of the remaining building scrap, and no plan of action has been determined as yet.
The focal point of the Ag Society’s new business was the evaluation of several contracts; the board is considering adding a clause to its stall rental agreement which would hold accountable stall renters who neglect to clean their stalls before leaving. How this will be implemented, or if it will be at all is still undecided; it most likely would take the form of a fine too large to ignore.
In helping to increase that accountability, the board also proposed the idea of moving the stall booking system entirely online; while it is true that individuals can currently book their stalls online, this is done through a third party. If the fairgrounds were to implement their own system as proposed, it could potentially eliminate the fee and gather more accurate information as to who is renting the stalls, and how to bill them properly.
No specific decision was made; the stall-cleaning policy was tabled until more information could be gathered as to how other fairgrounds have implemented similar systems, and to what degree of success.
The Mid-States Rodeo had voiced their interest in returning for another year; representatives are expected to be present at the next Ag Society meeting. The meeting then adjourned at 7:47 p.m.
