Fountain Green and Lamb Day Committee weigh nonprofit split amid insurance and finance concerns

The Fountain Green City Council and the Lamb Day Committee met June 3 to discuss whether the volunteer-run Lamb Day festival should remain a city-affiliated committee or form a separate nonprofit. Mayor Willard Wood presided over the work meeting at City Hall.

City staff said the central issue is insurance and liability: the city’s insurance, they said, covers city property only and does not extend to some Lamb Day features — for example, lamb pits and event areas that are not on city-owned property. Because of that gap, staff said the city would require indemnification if Lamb Day remains a quasi-city entity and reiterated that any group using city facilities must carry insurance.

The practical consequence is that separation would require the committee to obtain its own insurance and establish nonprofit governance. Committee members said that forming a nonprofit would mean creating a board, finding volunteers to serve and taking on the administrative work that the city currently absorbs. Both sides acknowledged the trade-off: autonomy versus the burden of running an independent organization.

Financial oversight was a second major concern. Council members and staff noted mismatched financial reports from the prior year and said an auditor recommended that Lamb Day funds be held in their own account rather than on the city’s books. City staff told the meeting they are uncomfortable managing funds that are not technically city money and recommended reducing the number of non-city accounts the city maintains.

The city also asked the committee to supply standard governance documents — a management or operating agreement, an organizational chart and a succession plan — to clarify who speaks for Lamb Day and who would step in if an organizer becomes unavailable. Committee members acknowledged they do not currently have those documents and expressed worry about the workload required to create them.

Participants framed the discussion as practical rather than adversarial. The minutes record that both sides emphasized a desire to avoid conflict and that Lamb Day remains a valued community tradition. The record also notes that this is not the first time the festival’s governance has been revisited.

On next steps, the council and committee agreed there will be no changes that affect Lamb Day 2026; the event will run as usual. They assigned follow-up tasks: city staff will verify umbrella insurance details, consult the city attorney and evaluate risks and benefits of separation. The Lamb Day Committee will research nonprofit formation and insurance options, draft an operating agreement and clarify its organizational structure. A follow-up meeting was proposed for Aug. 18, and a preliminary financial report is to be presented to City Council on Aug. 20.

The meeting, which began at 8 p.m., adjourned at 9:10 p.m. City Recorder Michelle Walker is listed in the record as the recorder of proceedings.