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HomeMy WebLinkAbout12 Minutes December 4AGRICULTURE AND EXTENSION EDUCATION/ FAIR COMMITTEE MEETING Monday, December 4, 2023 9:00 a.m. The December meeting was held in the Extension Office Conference Room at the Youth & Agriculture Center and by Zoom. The meeting was called to order by Chairman Pat Schroeder. Present in person were Chairman Schroeder, Roger Guthrie, Gary Northouse, Joe Mumm, Kathy Kopp, Porter Wagner, Bob Keeney, Amy Olson, Shane Drinkwater, Lynn Perkins, Charisse Orth, Bev Doll, James Schneider, Maggie Milcarek, Jackie McCarville, Catherine Neiswender, Paul DeLong, Arin Crooks, Brian Heinrichs, Brenda Schneider, and Joe Krantz. Present by Zoom were Tonya White, Bill Halfman, Krissy Timmerman, and Lori Vesperman. The meeting notice was posted at the Extension Office, Youth & Agriculture Center, Administration Building, on the Grant County website and emailed to media. Motion by Joe Mumm, seconded by Kathy Kopp, to approve the agenda. Motion carried Motion by Roger Guthrie, seconded by Gary Northouse, to approve the minutes of the meeting held October 16, 2023. Motion carried. Educator updates were given by Bev Doll, Charisse Orth, James Schneider, Jackie McCarville, and Maggie Milcarek. Lynn Perkins gave the AED update. Area 17 Regional Livestock Educator position was accepted by an individual from Georgia. They are waiting for proper paperwork to be finished and the individual should be starting middle of February. The 2024 educator contract was discussed. There will be one verbiage change to 31B to identify state verses county benefits. Changes will be made after the contract is signed and will be sent to Lori Vesperman for records. Motion by Roger, seconded by Kathy Kopp to sign the educator contract for 2024. Bob expressed concern to Lynn that pesticide applicator training sites in Grant County are decreasing and wanted to know why. Lynn stated that she will look into this. Catherine Neiswender and Paul DeLong were present to discuss concerns the committee has in regards to Extension. A new pie chart was handed out detailing funding. Every board member expressed their concerns, with the biggest one being the partnership the County has with the state, and feeling the County has no input when it comes to the educators’ positions and what they do for the County. The board expressed how happy they are with all the educators and that they work hard for the County. Motion by Roger Guthrie, seconded by Porter Wagner, to approve the Extension vouchers. Motion carried. Nothing to report on grounds and maintenance and the Youth & Agricultural Center. Grant County Fair and Fairgrounds Business Arin Crooks and Bill Halfman presented a proposal to have a beef stockmanship program here next year. They are looking at two different dates and would need the Youth & Agricultural Center, Eckstein Hall and either the Livestock Barn or Dairy Barn. Approximately 150-200 people attend from Minnesota, Iowa, and Wisconsin. The committee agreed the rental fee would be waived since it is an educational program. They do need to pay for other expenses such as utilities and clean up. Arin asked for a letter of support from the Grant County Fairgrounds. Amy will send a letter to Arin. Motion by Gary Northouse, seconded by Joe Mumm, to allow the Beef Stockmanship Stewardship Program to be held at the fairgrounds next year. Facility rental is waived but they will be responsible for paying the cost for utilities and clean up. Motion carried. Joe Krantz with Hard Hit Promotions was present to talk about the Night of Destruction and Demo Derby. After discussing promotors, the time frame of having two promotors in one day, and debris clean up, the committee decided to hold one event on Sunday. Show time will start at 2:00 pm and Joe will have intermission to do the finale. Motion by Roger Guthrie, seconded by Gary Northouse, to hold one event on Sunday during the fair with Hard Hit Promotions. Motion carried. Amy received $300 from the Wilma Landon Memorial Fund. Amy will look into some new shelving or displays for open class with the memorial money. Amy asked the board about hosting the free movie night again in June. We will need $5,000 in sponsors for the event in order to cover the cost. An update was given on the goat building project. Some of the goat committee members want to move forward and build while others have different ideas. Joe Mumm, Charisse Orth, and Amy Olson will have a meeting on January 2, 2024, over zoom with goat committee members to discuss those ideas. The only fairbook change for review was in the rabbit department. Motion by Roger Guthrie, seconded by Gary Northouse to accept the changes. Motion carried. Amy gave an update from the livestock auction meeting. The livestock auction recommended leaving the sale of champions as is for the auction and not to break up the pigs during the sale. The auction committee is also looking to fund new speakers in the pavilion. Amy is getting a quote from Tower Sound. They also suggested a table be put outside under the tent for clerking as it was congested this last year with split buyers, and to slow down the auction a little to allow more time for buyers to pay. An update was given on the dairy barn. Discussion was held on how to fix it with two estimates that were given and the limited amount of funds the fair has. After further discussion, a motion was made by Roger Guthrie, seconded by Gary Northouse to use the funds from the livestock trust to replace the poles in 2024. The rest of the cost to replace the remaining poles will have to be budgeted for 2025. Amy reported on contracts that she currently has for grandstand events: Lafayette County Promotors, Bungarts Motorsports, and Bear Hollow Wood Carvers. Motion by Kathy Kopp, seconded by Porter Wagner, to accept the contract for Wednesday, August 14 with Lafayette County Promotors for stock car racing. Motion carried. Motion by Joe Mumm, seconded by Porter Wagner, to accept the contract with Bungarts Motorsports for two night of sled use, August 15 & 17. Motion carried. Motion by Porter Wagner, seconded by Gary Northouse, to accept the contract with Bear Hollow Wood Carvers. Motion carried. Amy presented Tower Sound’s three-year contract to the board. The price has increased. Motion by Gary Northouse, seconded by Joe Mumm to accept the three-year contract with Tower Sound. Motion carried. Motion by Roger Guthrie, seconded by Kathy Kopp, to approve the Fair vouchers. Motion carried. Motion by Roger Guthrie, seconded by Joe Mumm, to approve the livestock claims. Motion carried. Motion by Gary Northouse, seconded by Joe Mumm, to adjourn until January 29, 2024. Motion carried. Kathy Kopp Secretary Amy Olson, CFE Recording Secretary