Commissioners adopt resolution clarifying authority over Kootenai County Fairgrounds

The Kootenai County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously on April 28 to adopt Resolution 2026-56, a measure clarifying the authority of the Board of County Commissioners, the Fair Board and the Fair Manager over the county fairgrounds.

Commissioner (S4) led discussion summarizing a year-long effort to align the resolution with legal requirements and county practice and said the draft was intended to keep the county "out of trouble" while not significantly increasing work for fair staff. Commissioners and staff raised several clarifying points during the discussion, and the board agreed to minor language edits before voting.

Key points debated included a requirement in the draft that fair employees sign a Kootenai County volunteer agreement. Chair (S1) questioned why an employee would sign a volunteer agreement; Commissioner (S4) and Pat (S10) explained that the volunteer agreement was intended to ensure coverage under the county’s insurance pool (ICRMP) because the fair does not carry separate insurance for those functions. Pat and others clarified that ICRMP coverage would follow the county’s standard rules and would not cover criminal acts.

Commissioners also asked how fairground monies and financial claims would be handled. The discussion clarified that routine financial reporting could be sent to the auditing department and emailed to commissioners for review, and that final/"executed" contracts should be defined in the resolution to mean contracts that have been performed or fully fulfilled; participants asked staff to add explicit language to avoid future ambiguity.

Alexia (S9), speaking for the Fair Board, said the board was generally comfortable with the draft and welcomed the clarified language and a request that finalized contracts be confirmed on the monthly consent calendar for transparency.

After the edits discussed during the meeting, Commissioner (S4) moved to approve Resolution 2026-56 with the changes; the board voted aye and the resolution passed.

The board directed staff to revise the resolution text to incorporate the clarified language on what constitutes an executed contract and to adopt the reporting cadence for consent-calendar items as discussed. That revision is to be completed by staff and brought back as part of implementation of the resolution.