Fair Board perseveres amid concerns

The Flathead County Fair Board is moving forward with fairgrounds business amid lingering questions from the public about why longtime Fair Manager Jay Scott was fired last month.

Livestock superintendents, 4-H leaders and other citizens had plenty of questions for the board at its Tuesday-night meeting — but didn’t get any answers because it’s board policy not to respond to issues raised during the public-comment portion of the meeting.

With little discussion on Feb. 11, the board voted not to renew Scott’s contract. However, the decision came on the heels of concerns about his management ability and an internal audit that revealed discrepancies in cash handling.

Board member Ted Dykstra Jr. took a leave of absence from his board position to take on the interim fair manager duties while the county searches for a new manager.

The application process closes March 31 and a new manager should be hired sometime in April, county Human Resource Director Raeann Campbell said. The job is posted on the county Web site and at the local Job Service.

The job description has changed from fair manager to fairgrounds operations manager to reflect broader duties that now involve managing expanded facilities — including the Expo Building and Trade Center — that are used year-round. The board approved the new job description last month following a work session to revise the contract position.

Among the new duties are researching options and preparing proposals to adopt technology to automate manual processes and enhance efficiency at the fairgrounds. The new operations manager also will take a bigger role in marketing the facilities, in addition to managing the many elements of the Northwest Montana Fair.

Jim Bray of Kalispell wondered if the new job description was an attempt to manipulate Scott out of a job.

“We’re stunned by what appears to be an agenda that we don’t understand where the end is,” Bray told the board. “No one out here knows what’s going to happen to this place we all liked ... it’s kind of a back-door deal and it really stinks.”

Many in the audience are worried the Fair Board is taking the fair in a direction that’s not in the best interest of children and families that are the backbone of the annual event. They’re also concerned about the quality of the upcoming fair.

Joyce Banzet said she had heard some rodeo sponsors had pulled their contracts.

“Will the rodeo suffer and will there be less quality in fair events?” Banzet asked. “The public doesn’t want the quality of activities at the fair to go down.”

There’s also lingering confusion about the Fair Board’s authority to hire and fire fairgrounds staff.

The Fair Board is one of the county’s many autonomous boards whose actions don’t require county-commissioner approval.

The only influence the commissioners have over the Fair Board is appointing new board members. The next appointment will be to replace longtime board member Paul Atkinson, who quit when Scott was let go.

Since the board is short-handed, Dykstra took steps on Tuesday to delegate the work load, putting board member Susan Munsinger in charge of food-vendor details. Recently appointed board member Joy Struble will focus on advertising, marketing and sponsorships and chairman Butch Woolard will handle details regarding the rodeo and entertainment acts.

While the board didn’t address audience concerns directly, Dykstra said he’s working long days to make sure all the bases are covered for upcoming fair events.

“My intent is to get it back to an old-style fair,” he said.

 Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by e-mail at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com