The Navajo County Fair Board announced June 2 that the quarantine imposed on the horses boarded at the fairgrounds has been lifted. The quarantine was originally implemented due to an outbreak of the Equine Herpes Virus (EHV-1) after it was diagnosed in an Arizona horse in May.
The outbreak was traced to horses attending the National Cutting Horse Association (NCHA) Western National Championship event held in April and early May in Ogden, Utah. While numerous cases of the virus were reported throughout the western states, in Arizona, the contagious and potentially deadly equine virus was confirmed in three horses and proved fatal for one. None of the cases were related to the fairgrounds.
Fair Board President Mike Mellor stated that while the quarantine was lifted on horses already boarded at the fairgrounds, owners coming from outside of the area wanting to board their horses will need to provide a current health certificate for each animal before it can be brought in.
In other business, Treasurer Angela Keene reported that an issue involving the Internal Revenue Service that had arisen due to incorrect filing of a tax extension is being resolved.
Mellor explained that the issue involved the tax preparer, not the records submitted by the fair office. “There is nothing wrong with our records at all. What’s happened is that (they) filed the wrong dates for the extension, resulting in interest and fines accruing,” explained Mellor.
According to Vice President Mike Sample, the confusion came when the accountant did not file the extension for the fair board for the calendar year, which is the end of a budget year for a non-profit entity, but instead filed the extension as if the board operated on a fiscal year ending in June.
As a result, the IRS has assessed fines and penalties of approximately $5,200 for the 2008-09 year and has threatened to levy fair board’s account. Although the fair board is not accountable for the error, Mellor stated that he has called the IRS in order to resolve the matter.
“(The tax preparation firm) said they would pay the fines associated with this, but we received a letter that they (the IRS) would levy our accounts if they weren’t paid immediately. I contacted them and they stated that as long as we submit a letter explaining the situation and the fact that we are a non-profit organization, they would not levy the account and may be able to waive some, if not all, of the penalties,” stated Mellor.
One of the requirements made by the IRS was that measures needed to be taken ensure that the error would not occur again, as this was not the first year that the same type of error occurred.
“This has happened several years in a row with (the tax preparation firm), so the measure we took was to change who handles our taxes,” said Mellor, who added that he just became aware of the issue last year.
Event Director Mina Henning clarified that to the best of her knowledge this is the second year in a row that the same error has taken place. “When Anna Amos was our treasurer last year she came across some letters from the IRS that had not been responded to, so in order to avoid further penalties, the fines were just paid for that year,” explained Henning.
She also clarified that the funds used to pay those fines did not come from the public funding provided by the governor’s fund or from the City of Holbrook’s lodgers tax. “Those funds would have come from stall rental fees or facility rentals, which are the private earnings for the fair board, no public funds would have been used for that,” she added.
In other business, Mellor introduced the idea of moving away from the colored bracelets currently used to show that admission was paid to enter the special events during the fair. “I like to see us get away from the wristbands for the major events and go to hand stamps,” stated Mellor, adding that it was a way to keep people from slipping them off once they’re inside and passing them through the fence so other people can get in without paying. The wristbands would still be used to gain entrance into the fair. The board will be considering the idea for discussion at a future meeting.
Mellor also mentioned that he has concerns that residents in the south county are not attending the fair as much as those from Winslow, Holbrook, Joseph City and Snowflake because they simply aren’t aware of what the fair has to offer. “Folks will pay to drive two and a half hours to Phoenix for dinner and a movie, but they won’t drive 45 minutes to attend the fair. They just don’t realize what we have to offer. I’m certain that if we can get them here just one time then they will come back year after year,” he stated.
As part of promoting the fair to the south county, Mellor suggested pre-selling combined entry/event tickets at businesses that would not only advertise the fair, but would also sell more tickets.
Board member Jimmy Crosby suggested asking some of the youth organizations in the south county if they would want to pre-sell tickets door to door for a profit. “Have them sell the combined entry/event ticket for $12 (the regular price) then they keep $2 for their organization. We help the youth groups, and get more advertising and sales,” stated Crosby.
The concern by some board members was that pre-selling event tickets might put the arena over capacity for certain events. It was decided that details regarding advance ticket sales would be reviewed then brought up for consideration at the next meeting.
Another area of the fair addressed was the manning of the gates for four days of the fair. In the past, the Holbrook Kiwanis Club collected entry fees at the gates for a percentage of sales, but this year the organization informed the board that it did not have the manpower to man the gates.
The board will be making the opportunity available to another group or groups that show an interest for an undetermined percentage of the proceeds. The gates would need to be covered from 8 a.m. until 10 p.m., Wednesday through Saturday of the fair.
In other business, the board approved a facilities use request by Carla Gabaldon for July 29 for Martinez Hall.
