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Big Horn County Fair Board raises governance concerns; Fair Manager resigns
Summary
Fair Board members told commissioners that three recent resignations reflect long-standing concerns about maintenance budgets, supervision and authority over the Fair Manager. After an executive session, the commission accepted Fair Manager Catherine Foss’s resignation.
Fair Board members told the Big Horn County Commission on Oct. 7 that three recent resignations reflect ongoing problems with how fairgrounds maintenance and the Fair Manager are supervised.
At a public discussion, Rebecca Bates, Tracy Hailey and other Fair Board members said the board lacks control over maintenance decisions, cited a perceived lack of transparency in how maintenance funds are used and said managers receive insufficient training and supervision. Bates said the board frequently receives complaints from the public and that members feel their work is being undercut when they have no authority to address recurring grounds issues.
Commissioners acknowledged the concerns and said the fair operations and maintenance responsibilities rest with the county. Chair Deb Craft told the Fair Board the Commission was not prepared for a full policy change at the meeting and scheduled a work session to develop options.
The Commission moved into an executive session for personnel matters during the meeting. After the session, Commissioner Bruce Jolley moved to accept the resignation of Catherine Foss as Fair Manager; the motion was seconded and carried.
The Fair Board presented work orders and line-item examples they believe demonstrate unmet maintenance needs; commissioners noted budget timing and limits, and said some fair-week expenses (including premium payments and a free stage) are not fully recoverable from ticket sales. Commissioner Dave Neves emphasized that previous determinations treated the Fair Manager as a county employee and therefore subject to county supervision.
The Commission said it will hold a follow-up work session with the Fair Board and relevant county staff, including Road & Bridge and the county engineer, to discuss maintenance staffing, budget transparency and possible supervisory arrangements.
The resignation is the most immediate personnel outcome recorded in the minutes; no other policy changes were adopted at the Oct. 7 meeting.
