HAVRE, Mont. (NMB) – The Great Northern Fair Board held their regular monthly meeting on Tuesday night, but were once again unable to take any official action due to the lack of a quorum.
The Board has been down to two voting members ever since the beginning of August. There are five openings on the Board, and at least two more members are needed in order for a quorum to be established at meetings.
On Tuesday, Commissioner Diane McLean said they are still working on setting up follow-up interviews with candidates for the Board.
Until a quorum is able to be reached at meetings, the Board can not vote on any agenda items. Any major decisions, including approval of the budget and all purchases of over $500, must go through the County Commission.
Board member Bob Kaul brought up the possibility of finding a legal avenue to reduce the size of the Board so that a quorum could more easily be reached, but said he is still doing research to see if this is an option.
Buildings
Before the meeting adjourned, the Board was asked by former Chairman Dave Brewer about the status of Fairgrounds buildings since fire codes were discussed last month.
The Board says there has been no significant update on that front, and they are able to continue holding events in buildings, albeit with some restrictions.
For the Bigger Better Barn, this means that events can have no more than 200 people until the building is upgraded to meet fire code for a large event, which could cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. However, Fair Manager Frank English says there might be a way to re-purpose the building so it meets standards, and will be looking into that further.
Also discussed at the meeting:
- An escape room will be set up at the Fairgrounds in December
- Members of the Board recently attended a convention where they looked at numerous acts they could schedule to come to the Fairgrounds. One option of particular interest to English was a Nitro Circus, but this could cost $20,000 to book and would require significant fundraising.
- Designs are being drawn up by Wade Bitz to replace the bathrooms that are just west of the Community Center. This is still in the early stages, but the Board believes this is a top priority due to the poor quality of the bathrooms.
