Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
By PAMELA JANSSON
The Gogebic County Board of Commissioners on May 8 approved revised bylaws for the county Fair Board.
The action followed a recommendation by the board’s Personnel and Negotiations Committee, which met just prior to the board meeting.
No related discussion occurred in either meeting, but revisions made by James Lorenson were included within committee agenda materials.
Lorenson chairs the county board and also is a member of the Fair Board.
The first change reads as follows, under Article 1 Name, Purpose, Section 2: “(State) Section 1, 46.152, of Act 11 of 1929, as amended, titled “County-owned Fairgrounds,” authorizes the county board of commissioners to take over the management and control of county agricultural fairs held on fairgrounds where title to said fairgrounds is held by the county.”
Other additions included, but are not limited, to the following:
Under Article 2 Board of Directors, Section 1: “The size of the Fair Board shall be at the County Board of Commissioners’ discretion.”
Under Article 2, Section 2: Instead of the previously written “three-, two- or one-year” terms, the section now reads “two years, subject to the pleasure of the (county) Board of Commissioners.”
Under Article 2, Section 3: Instead of the previously written references to Fair Board vacancies filled by the county board after “soliciting public applications through local media,” the section now reads that vacancies “may be filled at the discretion of the (county board).”
Under Article 2, Section 4: Instead of the previously written reference to Fair Board members being dismissed by the county board after “an excessive amount of absences,” the section now reads: “Fair Board members may be removed from the Fair Board, with or without cause, by majority vote of the (county board).”
Under Article 3 Officers, the following new Section 3 was added: “Officers and members of the Fair Board have no authority to act independently unless authorized by majority vote of the Fair Board.”
Under Article 5 Meetings, the following new Section 5 was added: “The use of email, texting or other electronic communications during a meeting among members of the Fair Board is prohibited as such may constitute deliberations or decisions in violation of the Open Meetings Act. The use of electronic communications among the members of the Fair Board outside of a meeting that constitutes deliberations or decisions among a quorum of the Fair Board is prohibited as such may constitute deliberations or decisions in violation of the OMA.”
Under Article 10 Amendments, the following new Section 2 was added: “Final approval of any alteration, amendment or repeal shall be by the (county board).”
The new section follows Section 1, which allows Fair Board members, with a two-thirds majority of the quorum, to recommend any alteration, amendment or repeal of the bylaws.
