Ravalli County waives road-use fee for Victor car show; commissioners press for written contracts after fairgrounds cancellation dispute

At its April 28 meeting the Ravalli County Board of County Commissioners approved a road-use agreement and fee waiver for an upcoming Victor car show and instructed county staff and the event organizer to document future event cancellations in writing and to follow the fairgrounds' cancellation fee policy.

Gina, who identified herself as the event organizer for the Victor Days/car-show events, described the proposed car show and its local purpose: she said the multi-day Victor celebration has grown from about 3,500 attendees in an early year to roughly 6,500 over two days last year, and organizers want to add a classic truck show on Tudor Street this year. “We had about 3,500 people that attended,” Gina said of the event’s first year; she later said the two-day event drew “roughly 6,500 people.” Organizers requested a road closure of Tudor between Fifth Street and Main for the show and a waiver of the road-use fee and deposit that county staff said is typically $195 plus a deposit (the organizer said she was told the fee was “a hundred and $95 and I think $500 deposit”).

Commissioner discussion noted the event is open to the public, that vehicle entrants pay an entry fee with proceeds to the Victor Baseball Park to help replace playground equipment, and that the county typically waives fees only for nonprofit events. The board voted to approve the road-use agreement and waive the fee on the condition that proceeds go to the Victor Baseball Field for playground equipment. The motion passed unanimously (three ayes).

During the same agenda item the board also addressed a separate dispute the organizer raised about a May 10 reservation at the county event center. The organizer said she had cancelled the May 10 booking in person on Dec. 24 and again on Jan. 8, and that she placed a handwritten “canceled” post-it note on her copy of the booking and had email records she provided to the county. Fairgrounds staff said the office’s handwritten schedule showed the date later erased or changed; the organizer said she had the original contract pages at home and had included them in an email to commissioners.

Commissioners said the county’s operating practice is that a contract remains in effect until a cancellation is recorded in writing or the cancellation fee is paid. The board urged the organizer and all fairgrounds users to place amendments or cancellations in writing—email, text or a signed amendment—and to pay the $100 cancellation fee at the time of cancellation to avoid scheduling confusion. One commissioner told the organizer: if a date is canceled, “write the check the day that you canceled it.” The board reached a consensus that the county would require the cancellation fee as specified under fairgrounds policy; commissioners also suggested fairgrounds staff archive written cancellations and email confirmations.

The board closed the item by confirming the road-use permit will be sent to the road department and that the fire department will staff the car-show event for safety. The road-use agreement and fee waiver were approved; the event-center cancellation was handled administratively by direction and consensus rather than a formal recorded vote.

Quotes from the meeting are recorded verbatim from the proceeding and attributed to speakers on the record.