HomeMy WebLinkAboutTourism & Fair Committee - Minutes - 3/26/20192019-03-26 Tourism/Fair Minutes
Minutes of the
BAYFIELD TOURISM & FAIR COMMITTEES
March 26, 2019 at 4:30 PM
EOC Room, Bayfield County Annex Building, 6th Street, Washburn, WI
Members Present: Larry Fickbohm, James Crandall, Fred Strand, Jeremy Oswald
Others Present: Mary D. Motiff, Tourism Director; Ursula M. Garrison, Fair Coordinator
I. Call to Order: The meeting was called to order at 4:32PM by Fickbohm.
II. Motion: (Crandall/Strand) to approve the minutes from the January 29, 2019, Tourism/Fair
Committee Meetings. Motion Carried.
III. Public Comment – Crandall complimented the new Bayfield County Visitor Guide. It is well put
together, useful and beautiful.
IV. Update on 2019 Fair Planning – Motiff reviewed Fair Planning with committee members.
Entertainment is pretty much on schedule. Fickbohm recommended another band for Saturday
Afternoon. Garrison and/or Motiff will pursue. Oswald is booking band for Concerts by the Lake, he
may have some ideas for bands for Saturday. We still need to secure some judges and
superintendents. Oswald may volunteer to be photography superintendent. Food vendors are pretty
much lined up.
V. Discussion & Possible Action on Updated Policy for Appropriateness of Fair Entries – Motiff
presented a draft of the potential policy language to the committee. There was consensus in the
committee to add that there would be no admission refunds in the case of disqualified entries and
that one of the 3 individuals should be staff. Motion: (Crandall/Strand) to approve new
Appropriateness of Fair Entries Policy with those changes. Motion Carried.
VI. Discussion on posting of Signage Regarding Weapons on County Property – At this year’s Wisconsin
Association of Fair’s Annual Convention, one of the speakers gave a presentation regarding
Concealed/Open Carry Weapons for Fairs & Special Events. The presentation focused on the issue of
Automatic Immunity as cited in statute 175.60(21)(b). The presenter indicated that WI law is unique
in that immunity is only provided where no signage is posted. The question then became, “Is the
county waiving immunity by having signage posted at the Fair?” The committee was in consensus
that the matter should be forwarded to County Administrator, Mark Abeles-Allison for review.
VII. Discussion on WI Association of Fairs Spring District 2 Meeting – Motiff, Fickbohm and Garrison
attended the Spring Meeting. Motiff shared a summary of the items discussed. The main topic was
Extension’s Role in Fair preparation, which is not a subject that affected our fair as we do not rely on
Extension personnel to plan for the Fair like many of the other fairs do.
VIII. Building & Grounds Update
A. Phase II Electrical Project - Motiff reported on the Phase II Electric project. The bid will be going out
within the next couple of weeks. Motiff will follow up with the engineer to see what we can do within
our budget.
2019-03-26 Tourism/Fair Minutes
B. Tree Planting Project - The tree planting project received one bid to plant 12 trees for $10,000 with
one-year warranty instead of a three-year warranty. As a cost saving measure, the possibility of
asking the highway department for their backhoes to dig planting holes was also discussed. Oswald
requested the list of trees we are proposing. Motiff will go back to Forestry Dept. to get a better list
of trees, (different species) to see if we can get more trees.
C. Winter Storage Pick-up – Winter Storage is scheduled for the weekends of April 27th and May 4th. We
had to move the pick-up dates forward by one week due to the weather.
IX. Tourism Update – Motiff reported on various aspects of Tourism including items like Sales Taxes,
which are up 11% overall in 2019 and Podcast, Facebook and Website Analytics. Motiff attended a
very informative Governor’s Conference on Tourism; at the conference, Frog Bay Tribal National Park
won a Sustainability Award. Motiff also reported on the various committees meetings she has
attended, the Travel Writer Tour, Snowmobile trail conditions, publications and website updates.
X. Future Agenda Items and Next Meeting Date - Next meeting set for May 28, 2019 at 3:00 pm in the
EOC.
XI. Adjournment - The meeting adjourned at 5:50 PM.
Respectfully submitted by:
Ursula M. Garrison
Fair Secretary