MICHIGAN STATE FAIR & EXPOSITION CENTER

AUTHORITY BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING

March 14, 2007

Pursuant to notice duly given, a meeting of the Michigan State Fair Authority was brought to order by Mr. Edward Deeb, Vice Chairman, on this date, beginning at 1:40 PM, in the Administration Building, Conference Room, at the Michigan State Fairgrounds, 1120 W. State Fair Avenue, in Detroit. 

PRESENT:        Mark T. Gaffney, President Michigan AFL/CIO

                        Edward Deeb, President & CEO of MI Food & Beverage Association                                                                        

                        Thomas G. Coon, Ph.D., Professor and Director of MSU Extension

                        Kenneth J. DeCock, Partner of DeCock and Sons LLC/Boyka's Farm Market

                        Elaine Driker, Former Director, Detroit Orientation Institute @ WSU

                        Elva Revilla, Representing Lisa Webb Sharpe, Director of DMB

                        Jeff Haarer, Representing Mitch Irwin, Director of MDA

                        Steven R. Jenkins, newly appointed MSF General Manager

ABSENT:       Robert G. Porter, Mayor of the City of Ferndale

                        Pat G. Albright, Owner of Albright Farms             

Also Present:  Daryl Love, MSF Facility Manager

                          Iris Lopez, Office of the Attorney General

                          Byna Camden from the surrounding neighborhood, ICARE

                          E.J. Brown, Executive Director, M.A.F.E.

                          John Wiktor, D.E.S.C. (Detroit Executive Service Corps)

                          Roger Chapman and Susan Dibble consultants with D.E.S.C.

ACCEPTANCE OF AGENDA and APPROVAL OF MINUTES

ON MOTION BY Mr. Deeb, supported by Mr. DeCock, and carried, the Agenda for today's Board meeting was accepted with the following addition:  Mr. DeCock asked to have today's Agenda include a report on the recent lawsuit related to the Ginuwine performance at the 2007 State Fair.  It was decided that an "Executive Session" would be added to the Agenda and would take place just before the adjournment of the meeting.   Iris Lopez from the Attorney General's Office indicated that she would have to leave by 3:30 today but that she would make herself available by cellular phone.  She gave Johnnie the number where she could be reached if necessary during the Executive Session.  Iris Lopez stated that while she was not the attorney present during the court case, she offered to answer any questions and be of assistance to the Board today.

The minutes of the meeting held on January 17, 2007 were reviewed.   ON MOTION BY Mr. Deeb, supported by Mrs. Driker and carried, the minutes were approved as written and passed unanimously.

Mr. Jenkins, newly appointed Fair Manager, welcomed everyone to today's meeting and stated that Chairman Gaffney had phoned the Fair offices indicating that he was running late for today's meeting but asked that the meeting would begin on time according to the schedule.

CHAIRMAN'S COMMENTS

Chairman Gaffney joined the meeting at approximately 2:00 and apologized to all for his tardiness.   Chairman Gaffney welcomed every one to the meeting today. He then questioned where we are as a Board with the one-year plan.   Mr. Jenkins reported that Rosemary Peralta, MSF staff member had explained to him the details of the legislation.  Mr. Jenkins stated that it was his understanding that the one-year plan and financial report was the responsibility of the Fair Director and staff members, but that the Authority Board had been very instrumental in the actual development the plan up to this point. 

Mr. Jenkins stated he had reviewed the one-year plan presented by the Board and made a few minor revisions. The revised one-year plan was included in a packet of information distributed to all of the Board members present today.    Mr. Jenkins stated that one of the things that he changed was the opening statement and included wording to say  "The Fair Authority as proposed by the Manager hereby adopts".   It was decided today that the words "adopt" and "financial" would be removed, as the plan does not need to be adopted or voted upon for acceptance.  Mr. Jenkins stated that today's meeting information packet also included an up-to-date financial report and he stated once the separate financial report has been carefully looked at, he would be prepared to send both the one-year plan and the financial report to the Governor's office.  Chairman Gaffney was happy to report that with all of this information just presented the Board members involvement with the one-year plan has been completed and they would move ahead now with the five-year plan.

Chairman Gaffney stated that before turning the meeting over the Fair Manager, he wanted to take a moment to tentatively discuss the meeting agenda for the Neighborhood Advisory Council meeting which has been scheduled to take place on Thursday, April 19, 2007 at the Michigan State Fair Community Arts Building.   Mr. Gaffney questioned whether or not the consultants from the D.E.S.C. felt that the neighborhood meeting should be postponed until after they had had a chance to meet again with the Authority Sub-Committee which would be set up today to work with them on the five-year strategic plan.   Mr. Wiktor, D.E.S.C. Consultant stated that a meeting with the State Fair Board should take place soon, but that it would not prevent in any way the Board meeting with the neighborhood group in April.  Mr. Wiktor and the other consultants all agreed that it was a good idea for the Fair Board to meet with the various groups to gain more suggestions and information on future possibilities for the Fairground usage, but they stated that they would not need the public input right away.

Mrs. Driker offered a brief explanation of how the legislation called for the Authority to meet once a year with a local advisory group and a second meeting could convene with a larger group.   She reported that last year the Board met for the first time with a smaller scale group of local residents.  There were approximately 20 to 25 guests in attendance.  Mrs. Driker stated that this time we are including a much broader group from local business owners, government, school districts, community leaders in the neighborhood and other key stakeholders.  Chairman Gaffney invited the Board to get any additional names and addresses to Johnnie by next week for the mailing of the meeting notices.  Mrs. Driker stated that she would be reviewing the original list of names and would forward any corrections, updated information and additional names by next week.  She urged Johnnie to also review the list of invitees, as there may be some names of people who have now been replaced since the November election.  It was suggested also that notices be mailed to the business offices of the State Senators and Representatives in this district rather than use their home addresses.

Chairman Gaffney suggested putting together a tentative agenda for the Neighborhood Group meeting and stated that it could include the following items for discussion: 

Introduction of the new Michigan State Fair General Manager

Introduction of the Michigan State Fair Authority Board of Directors

Introduction of the Local Neighborhood Advisory Board

Information on the 2007 Michigan State Fair

Present the one-year plan

Public comments and questions

The Board expressed they were comfortable with the tentative agenda and would plan on being at the meeting on Thursday, April 19th.

MANAGER'S REPORT

Introduction:   Mr. Jenkins began the meeting by giving a brief background on himself.  Then he asked that the Board members and all present would also take a moment to go around the room and introduce themselves and also state what area they represented or any background information that they may want to share about themselves today. Mr. Jenkins also included a copy of his resume in today's meeting information packet. 

Staff Update:     Mr. Jenkins reported that he had met with the State Fair staff on yesterday and one of the things that he stressed to them is that he would like everyone, State Fair staff members, Fair goers, and all of Michigan and everyone who has ties to Michigan to begin viewing the Michigan State Fair as "Our" State Fair.  He stated his vision for the Michigan State Fair and said it should be thought of as "Our" State Fair - a place where memories are made.  Mr. Jenkins stated that he had prepared and mailed out introductory letters to many of the State Fair stakeholders i.e. vendors, exhibitors, current contractor, tenants, sponsors, county fair boards, and also fair-goers letting them know that he was newly appointed as Fair Manager and also welcoming them to meet with him and learn more about our collective vision for the 2007 State Fair and how they may be able to become more involved in the Fairs future.  Mr. Jenkins stated that some of these focus group meetings would be scheduled with people who may already have an interest in the Fair or who may consider becoming a partner with the Fair.  He stated that he would like to establish four or five meetings dates also with commodity groups and county fair groups and even some of our previous partners to discuss future Fair possibilities and partnerships.  Mr. Haarer suggested that we also include horse show groups in these discussions. 

Mr. Jenkins stated that one of his goals would also be to address the concerns and interest of our vendors and exhibitors. He hopes to get the message out there that we, at the Fair, do care and are interested in knowing what others would like to see their Fairgrounds become.   The Board agreed with Mr. Jenkins that we should be asking questions like this: What would you like to see your Fairgrounds become, how can we address your concerns, what do you like or what would you think we could or should change and how this change will impact or affect the rest of the Fair.  Mr. Jenkins welcomed the Board members to take part in any of these meetings also if they desired.  Mr. Jenkins, in response to a question that was raised by a Board member, stated that Mr. Tim Jenkins (no relation) served as Interim Manager for the last six months and at the present time assumed he would continue working with the Fair in the capacity as the Assistant General Manager for the 2007 State Fair. 

Mr. Jenkins stated that in order for the Fair to be successful we are going to have to look at raising the gate traffic and additional non-Fair year-round activities.   He stated that the Fairgrounds would need more than the projected cuts to stay within expenditure projections.  He stated that the Fair actually makes money during the two week run of the Fair, but it's not enough to support the facility year round with utilities, maintenance and upkeep expenses.  He added that during the past few years our paid attendance has not been as robust as we would all want and we are going to need to try something different to increase our revenue throughout the year.

OLD BUSINESS 

D.E.S.C. Report:   John Wiktor, Roger Chapman and Suzanne Dibble, consultants with D.E.S.C. gave a detailed explanation of the D.E.S.C. process and steps taken to develop strategic plans for companies and businesses.

A sub-committee of Board members was established and recently met with consultants from the Detroit Executive Service Corps (DESC) to discuss the details involving the development of a five-year strategic plan for the Michigan State Fairgrounds.   After the sub-committee met with the D.E.S.C., it was recommended that the State Fair Authority Board retain the services offered by the D.E.S.C.    A discussion took place at today's meeting regarding whether or not the Fair Authority or Manager had officially signed the contractual agreement with the D.E.S.C.

A contractual agreement between the Michigan State Fair and the D.E.S.C. had not been signed at this time, but it was suggested by the subcommittee and Board Chairman that the Fair enter into an agreement with the D.E.S.C. and begin the process for developing the five-year plan for the Fair. The Board agreed to hear the presentation and information offered by the D.E.S.C. members today and would then vote on contract before the adjournment of today's meeting.   A discussion took place regarding who signs off on State Fair contracts and what are the rules and responsibilities of the Fair Board as it relates to contracts and voting on legal settlements.   

A discussion was held regarding the Fair Board making time commitments as it relates to attending various meetings with the D.E.S.C.   Also it was discussed the number of planning sessions and additional people who may be invited to participate in meetings.  Mr. Wiktor stated that approximately 5 to 10 State Fair Authority and staff members should be in place and fairly consistent for each of the meetings.  It was decided that the Fair could also include in these sessions business partners i.e. Paul Karr of the Friends of the Fair, Tami Salisbury of the Eight Mile Boulevard Association, Heather Carmona of the Woodward Avenue Action Association, Ernie Birchmeir of Michigan Farm Bureau and others.   Mr. Wiktor further stated that 6 to 8 sessions may be held with each lasting for approximately 3 hours.  He then expressed the importance of having a regular group of members in place at each meeting.  Mr. Wiktor stated that an official agenda will be presented for each session and it was suggested that a responsible person be identified to take good notes during the sessions, keeping track of the subjects and key points of discussion and a record of all approved items from the session.  Mr. Wiktor suggested that a flip chart be made available for each session to help keep track of the various steps and on-going charts that will grow.  Mr. Wiktor shared with the Authority a blue book binder that featured the entire process "step by step" on how the D.E.S.C. goes about developing strategic plans for businesses.  A discussion was held regarding how the Fair would be able to annually review, monitor and revise the completed strategic plan and add updated information, as the five-year plan will set the stage and pattern for the "rolling" five-year plan.  Mr. Wiktor stated that at the end of this process, The Fair will have an action plan with many details included.

A discussion was held regarding when and how often the sessions with D.E.S.C. and the State Fair Authority would take place.   It was suggested that the sessions could be scheduled around the same time of the regular Authority Board meetings each month.   A question was raised regarding how soon the plan needed to be complete.  It was agreed that the tentative date for the finalization of the five-year plan should set for October 2007.

Mr. Wiktor asked the Board members to develop a Mission/Vision statement and keep in mind that we're looking at plans for the Fairgrounds 52 weeks and not just the two-week Fair. 

ON MOTION BY Mr. Deeb, supported by Mr. Coon, and carried, a motion was passed to move forward with the D.E.S.C. group to explore and develop a five-year strategic plan for the Fairgrounds.  The motion passed unanimously.

*AS AMENDED AT THE BOARD MEETING OF APRIL 19, 2007:

Mr. Gaffney stated that the word (alternative) should be removed in from his name, as he will be serving on the sub-committee with the MSF Authority members and is not an alternate for anyone.

A sub-committee of Board members was formed at this time to attend the monthly meetings with the D.E.S.C. group. The following is a list of Board members and alternative members who will be asked to attend the various sessions with the D.E.S.C.: Mr. Coon (alternative: Mr. Gaffney), Mr. DeCock (alt. Pat Albright), Mayor Porter (alt. Elaine Driker). Mrs. Driker stated she has numerous family commitments until the month of June and would not be available before then. Mr. Deeb agreed to attend whenever his schedule would permit. It was agreed that Steve Jenkins would be the one constant person at each of the meetings.

The Board thanked the representatives from D.E.S.C. for their very informative presentation today and stated they would look forward to working together with them on the future plans for the State Fair.    The first meeting of the D.E.S.C. group and the State Fair Authority was scheduled for Thursday, April 5, 2007, beginning at 1:00 p.m. at the State Fairgrounds, in the Administration Bldg, Conference Room.

The Board briefly discussed how we presently have three Authority Board members whose terms have expired and are up for re-appointments.    Mr. E.J. Brown, Executive Director of M.A.F.E. (Michigan Association of Fairs and Expositions) was discussed as a potential Board member who could fill the vacancy of Tom Valliere representing County Fairs.   Mr. Larry Alexander, President of DMCVB (Detroit Metro Convention and Visitors Bureau) was also discussed as a possible candidate for the State Fair Authority Board representing tourism and the general public as a replacement for Karen Batchelor who resigned from the Board several months ago.  It was stated that the new Director Jim Stokes, of the Governor's Appointments office, is presently working on getting new Board members appointed to the Authority soon.

NEW BUSINESS

Mr. Jenkins shared with the Board a copy of a "Thank you" letter that had been received from Motor City Race Productions, a group that recently held an Auto Car Show and Swap Meet at the Fairgrounds for the first time.   The letter recognized and thanked State Fair Staff members Daryl Love, Scott Ruthenberg and Lisa Kriedman for their help and assistance in putting the event together.  Mr. Jenkins stated that we are very encouraged and motivated as it relates to our continued effort to seek more year-round activities for the Fairgrounds.

PUBLIC COMMENT

Byna Camden of ICARE stated that the ICARE group meets once a month and she invited any and all of the State Fair Board members to come and join one of their meetings held in the local area of the Fairgrounds.   She added that ICARE would be holding their annual meeting this evening at the LaCosta located at Nine Mile Road and John R.  Ms. Camden stated that the members of ICARE are very interested in the activities that take place at the Fairgrounds and around the city of Detroit and it 's suburbs.  She reported that she has nearly 3,000 signatures obtained from local residents and others who have all expressed that they think the Fairgrounds would be a great location for a public park.  Ms. Camden congratulated Mr. Jenkins on his appointment as Fair Manager and she thanked the Board once again for welcoming her to have a voice in the monthly meetings.

E.J. Brown, Executive Director of M.A.F.E., commented that a lot of the issues and concerns that we are challenged with at the Michigan State Fair are no different than the concerns at the other 87 Fairs.   He added that regardless of size and geographical location, we are all faced with the same common challenges i.e. weather related concerns to declining attendance to other competing entertainment venues offering so many choices to how we can utilize the Fairgrounds for 52 weeks to help pay the bills, Mr. Brown stated we all have common challenges.

DATE for NEXT MEETING

The next meeting of the Michigan State Fair Authority Board was scheduled for Thursday, April 19, 2007 beginning at 4:00 p.m. in the Community Arts Building, at the Michigan State Fairgrounds, in Detroit.   Please note:  The local Neighborhood Advisory group meeting will take place immediately following the regular meeting of the Board at 5:30 p.m. also in the Community Arts Building (next door to the Administration Building).

Future meetings of the Michigan State Fair Authority Board of Directors are as follows:

Wednesday, May 9, 2007     @  1:30 p.m.  (The D.E.S.C. will meet from 11am to 1:00 with MSF Authority)

Wednesday, June 13, 2007  @  1:30 p.m.  (The D.E.S.C. will meet from 11am to 1:00 with MSF Authority)

EXECUTIVE SESSION

ON MOTION BY Mrs. Driker, seconded by Mr. DeCock, and carried, the meeting was called into Executive Session at 3:40 p.m.

ADJOURNMENT

Due to the lateness of the hour and without a formal call for adjournment, the meeting concluded around 4:15 p.m.