April 3, 2023 at 10:47 a.m.
Council waives fee for county fair
Refuses to forgive penalty levied against hotel contractor
A year ago, as a gesture of goodwill toward the newly independent nonprofit fair organization, the council agreed to waive fees for the annual event to be held at the city's historic Pioneer Park. When faced with the same request this year, not everyone was eager to grant another waiver.
Alderman Gerald Anderson started the discussion by noting that he supports the fair, and was ready to approve the contract for the event to be held at Pioneer Park this summer, but is concerned about the fair organization once again asking for a waiver of fees.
"I just don't think we should get in the habit of (waiving the fee) every year or people expecting us to do it every time," he said. "We gave them a break last year. Are we promising to do that every year?
Alderman Steven Jopek thought Anderson's point was valid.
He reiterated that the thinking last year was that the fair had just become independent from Oneida County and the consensus was to give them a year to get their feet under them. He noted the fees exist for a reason - to compensate the city for services rendered - and continually waiving fees could set a bad precedent.
It was at this point that alderman Tom Barnett, who serves as executive director of the fair, stated that he was not going to vote. However, he did not explain that he is a paid employee of the fair.
He stressed that forcing the fair to pay the $4,000 fee would impact the organization's ability to put on a good fair. He also noted that the fair brings in a lot of people from outside the area who "spend money in downtown businesses."
"I don't know how long the fair can go on (if forced to pay the fee)," he added.
Jopek was interested in coming up with a long-term solution.
"Every year we're being asked to eat $4,000. I just want to raise the concern that this is something we're going to approach every year," he said. "I want to explore the overall ramifications of the decision and explore if there is a better way to do this..."
Anderson then interjected that he's concerned that the fair organization might come to expect that a waiver will be granted every year.
Barnett called that statement "incredibly insulting" and explained that the fair organization works extremely hard to budget for every possible scenario.
"What the fair is doing is coming to the body and asking for the fee to be waived so we don't have to cut into our regular budget," he explained.
He then went on to suggest that former administrator Zach Vruwink changed the playing field when he introduced an updated fee schedule last year that required nonprofits to pay fees.
It should be noted that this change was not made by Vruwink through some sort of executive action. In fact, the full council made a policy decision to approve the updated fee schedule and to no longer automatically exempt nonprofits. For his part, Barnett has been consistent in his opposition to the change.
Eventually, Anderson made a motion to approve the contract and include the full fee of $4,315. When the question was called, Barnett attempted to abstain from the vote.
City attorney Steve Sorenson then reminded him that he cannot participate in discussion and then abstain from the vote.
"I know," Barnett responded before voting no. The motion ultimately failed.
A second motion to charge the fair approximately $2,000 also failed. Finally, a third motion to waive the fee was approved.
At no point in the discussion did Barnett make clear his role with the fair and the fact that he receives compensation for his work.
When the River News reached out to him for an explanation, he was quick to concede that he should have been more clear, even though many in the community are very well aware of his longtime association with the fair.
"I do draw a payment from the fair and I apologize for not disclosing that," he wrote in response to the River News. "It was never my intention or even a thought to give the appearance of deceiving anyone. My position with the fair is very well known, so I did not think that someone would not know. I was not feeling well (Monday) night, which was why I appeared via video, so I apologize for my oversight. I have actually been very vocal about advocacy for the city to release all local non-profits/501c3's from fees that were introduced in the newest fee schedule, not just the fair. For me, this goes way beyond the fair and affects many of our non-profit groups trying to raise money for much needed causes. All in all, the Fair is a great community gathering as is Art on the Lawn, Bikes and Burgers and the rest of the events our local non-profits put on for the good of the community and enriches our community by supporting local small businesses. "
Later in the meeting, the council voted unanimously to deny a request from Maple Creek Construction, the general contractor on the Holiday Inn Express project, to forgive a penalty in the amount of $26,916.90.
It was explained that the penalty was levied by the city building inspector because Maple Creek failed to pull the required building permit before beginning work past footings and foundation. According to information included in the meeting packet, the project manager explained that the error was the result of a miscommunication and asked the city to consider reducing or waiving the penalty.
The council denied the request on the grounds that there are a number of projects underway or about to get underway in the city and it would be a bad precedent to give anyone the impression that penalties will be waived if, for any reason, proper permits are not pulled prior to construction.
The full council meeting is available to watch at www.hodagtv.com.
Heather Schaefer may be reached at [email protected].
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