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Commission approves conditional fee waiver for GCCC endowment auction after in‑kind sponsorship agreement
Summary
After debate over past fee waivers and a $4,000 sponsorship offer, Finney County commissioners approved waiving roughly $2,800 in fairgrounds fees for the 2026 Garden City Community College Endowment Auction on the condition of an agreed in‑kind sponsorship and excluding commissioners from receiving event tickets.
Finney County commissioners approved a conditional waiver of fairgrounds facility fees for the Garden City Community College Endowment Auction after the college’s endowment association offered an in‑kind sponsorship package.
Stephanie Siebert, Finney County fairgrounds coordinator, recommended denying the waiver to preserve fairgrounds fee revenue for facility maintenance, noting the board approved a revised fee schedule in June 2024 and that continued waivers had a measurable fiscal impact. She told the board the request totaled about $2,800.
Scott Kedrowski, the college’s Dean of Advancement and Alumni Relations, and Beth Kokesal, volunteer secretary and co‑chair of the Endowment Association, told commissioners the auction is the association’s largest fundraiser for scholarships and said the association awarded $160,000 in scholarships in fiscal year 2025 and projects $240,000 in fiscal year 2026. Kedrowski said the college had prepared a building‑sponsorship package worth a little over $4,000 that would provide recognition and advertising in exchange for support.
A motion to waive the entire fee failed on initial voice vote. Commissioners then approved a revised motion to waive the $2,800 fee as a one‑time accommodation contingent upon an agreed sponsorship or in‑kind contribution from the Endowment Association; the motion included a provision that commissioners would not receive tickets as part of the in‑kind package. The board instructed staff to document the sponsorship agreement and proceed with the accommodation.
County staff noted that the fairgrounds had previously allowed certain exceptions for college events but said the adopted fee policy aims to rebuild revenue reserves for deferred maintenance. The county will forgo about $2,800 in revenue if the waiver is executed under the agreed terms.
