Woods County board declines retroactive reimbursement for Sherrill Barn use during lieutenant governor’s turkey hunt

The Woods County Economic Development Committee voted to take no action on reimbursing past use of the Sherrill Barn as the lieutenant governor’s turkey hunt headquarters, after members said retroactive payments would create a difficult precedent.

Board members debated whether to reimburse Cheryl (the facility operator) or Greg Baker for past events after committee members raised the issue following an air-conditioning failure at the recent hunt. Speaker 2 said the turkey-hunt committee suggested reimbursing facility owners; Speaker 6 replied, “If you start working backwards on paying, you know, start going back in time trying to settle something, that’s a bad road to go down,” and urged handling compensation prospectively.

Members discussed the practicalities of retroactive payment and what an approved payment would be used for. Speaker 2 said any funds paid retrospectively would likely go toward repairs — for example, Speaker 2 described an AC replacement estimate “anywhere from $5,000 to $20,000.” The board emphasized that future events should clarify rental terms before a site is announced.

Speaker 4 moved for “no action” on retroactive reimbursements; after a voice vote the motion carried. The committee recorded no further direction to staff beyond the vote.

The board’s next steps are procedural: members indicated they prefer establishing explicit rental or compensation policies prior to future hunts rather than approving past reimbursements. No funds were disbursed at the meeting.