Agenda - 03-06-2014 - 6a - Laserfiche WebLink

Browse Search

17 1 Dave Stancil said this number is 100-105 hours collectively, and this does not include 2 individual time on side projects. 3 Commissioner McKee said, based on the hourly rate of the employees, there has 4 already been $2200 spent on staff planning time so far. He said with every other Board issue 5 there is an upfront working budget, and with this project that is reversed. He said he does not 6 think this fair can be done for $60,000 and possibly not even for $184,000. 7 He said he has spoken to several groups recently and he finishes by asking for opinions 8 on the County Fair. He said residents commonly ask why this would not be sponsored by a 9 civic organization; what the cost would be; and what impact this would have on Hogg Day or the 10 livestock show. He said he is not hearing the same responses Commissioner Dorosin 11 mentioned from the survey. He has some severe reservations about the County doing this and 12 how this will affect other organizations. 13 Commissioner Pelissier said she has some of the same concerns. She still wants to 14 know the costs of the infrastructure. She asked if the projected cost range includes the time of 15 current staff or only additional staff. She is unclear about what this cost includes and whether 16 this would take staff away from current projects. She questioned the dependence on a strong 17 volunteer base and whether not having volunteers would add to the costs. 18 Jeff Thompson said the opportunity costs of staff are not in. He said the volunteer 19 contributions are called out as a revenue line item. He said figures just came in from the Efland 20 Rodeo, which has a solid volunteer staff. He said this event ticketed $33,000 and their costs 21 were $25,000, which did not include staff time or volunteer time. He said all of these costs were 22 matched by corporate sponsorships. He said this means that the profit was $33,000, though 23 the staff and volunteers are not factored in. 24 Jeff Thompson said there was an attempt to budget for an event planner, but this does 25 not count the other workers. 26 Jeff Thompson said the rodeo has been in business for 25 years. 27 Commissioner Pelissier shared some comments she has received from the public. She 28 said those people who come to a meeting about the fair are typically the people who want a fair. 29 She said she has gotten phone calls from people who say they will not attend an event like this. 30 She said people have said they like the idea of a fair, but then they ask about the cost to the 31 County and the taxpayers, and this changes their opinion. She said others simply say the 32 County should be spending money on other things. 33 Commissioner Rich asked who finds corporate sponsors for the rodeo. 34 Jeff Thompson said he did not know. 35 Commissioner Rich asked if this would be the job of one staff person or the event 36 planner. 37 Dave Stancil said there are event planners that are able to handle both fund raising and 38 event planning. 39 Commissioner Rich said she spoke with staff at the Visitor's Bureau (VB). She said the 40 VB board has not discussed this yet, but the $10,000 certainly fits into what they do. She said 41 the goal was to put this money toward someone coordinating the event. She noted that there 42 are about 31 fairs or festivals every year, and the Visitors Bureau is not offering money to every 43 fair or event in the County. She said she hopes to get some feedback after the meeting this 44 month. 45 Commissioner Rich asked if there has been any discussion about combining this fair 46 with another established event. 47 Commissioner Dorosin said this had been discussed. He said one of the goals is for 48 this fair to be a countywide event. He said most of the County events are much more discrete 49 in their appeal and outreach, and they are not countywide. He said this can be discussed, and 50 the group is happy to try and do this.