January 16, 2023 at The Gulch
The annual meeting of the Garretson Commercial Club (GCC) was held on January 16, 2023 at The Gulch beginning at 7:00 pm. President Garrick Mortiz called the meeting to order. Garrick welcomed everyone including Mayor Greg and Gaye Lynn Beaner.
A thank you was given to LeRoy and Kristina Austin for the food and hospitality.
The current member’s list was provided in the handout packet. This includes 72 current members. Then the January 17, 2022, Secretrary’s Report was reviewed. There was a M/S by Rod/Megan to approve the Secretary’s Report. Motion Passed. The 2022 Treasurer’s Report was reviewed. There was a M/S by John/Mitch to approve the Treasurer’s Report. Motion Passed. There was mention that the 2023 membership dues will remain the same and there hasn’t been any changes since 2009. The 2024 membership dues will more than likely go up either through GCC or the newly formed Garretson Economic Development (GED). The 2023 Budget was presented. There was a M/S by Rob/Laurie to approve the $37,800.00 budget for 2023. This is up $1,000.00 from 2022. Motion Passed. The GCC Gift Certificate Report was included in the packet. The amount set to retire from 2021 is $900.00. This will be transferred to the general checking account.
The first item under old business was a recap from 2022. Garrick said the 2022 was a good year especially after navigating the Covid-19 virus from the year before. Jesse James Days went well even in the hot weather. The HomeTown Christmas events were all well attended. The Silent Auction and Bike Raffle went very well. The raffle tickets sold were 120 out of a possible 150 tickets. The only downfall with these events is still the short volunteer help from the membership at large.
Next up were nominations for the Board vacancy positions.
Megan Rollag will automatically roll into the 2023 Presidency position. Congratulations Megan!
There was a nomination for Luke Dreckman by Megan /Guy to fill the one-year Vice President position. There was a M/S by Megan/Rob to cease nominations. Motion Passed.
There was a nomination for Leslie Black by Laurie/Rob to fill the Secretary position. There was a M/S by Laurie/LeRoy to cease nominations. Motion Passed.
There were four Board positions open since Luke will be the new Vice President. Two existing Board members, Guy Johnson and Laurie Bennett, agreed to run again. There was a M/S for Macie Coburn by Kris/Laurie. Motion Passed. There was a M/S for LeRoy Austin by Laurie/Garrick. Motion Passed. There was a M/S for Paetyn Dreckman by Luke/Megan. Motion Passed. Then there was a M/S to cease nominations by John/Rob. Motion Passed. Since there were five nominees for four open positions ballots were cast and tabulated. The new four new Board members willing to serve three-year terms are Guy Johnson, Laurie Bennett, Macie Coburn and LeRoy Austin.
The last thing under old business was discussion by Carrie of the Garretson website, www.visitgarretsonsd.com. In 2022 this website attracted 1,000 to 3,000 hits per month. The total for the year were 24,319 hits. June led with 5,839, July had 3,273 and August received 2,894. The Devil’s Gulch information page is the most popular followed by Jesse James Pontoon Rides and Jess James Days. The Business Directory makes up the vast majority of the visits.
The first thing under new business was the introduction of our new President, Megan Rollag. Megan spoke about the wonderful Garretson community and how proud she is to serve as the oncoming GCC President.
Luke and Garrick spoke about the revisions and updates to the GCC By-Laws and Articles. These proposed revisions were reviewed and approved by the GCC Board at the January 11, 2023 monthly meeting. They are now being presented to the membership tonight for review and approval. Question by Leslie if the voter revisions take effect immediately? Yes, and these will give more voter options when the merger vote is ready for the GCC membership to decide. Another question if we should vote to merge tonight? No, not tonight. There was a M/S to amend the By-Laws and Articles with the proposed revisions by Ron/Laurie. Motion Passed.
Jessica Fueston was in attendance to answer any questions with the Garretson Economic Development. She said it was officially organized in November, 2022 with the merger of Grow Garretson and the Garretson Industrial Development Corporation. Luke spoke of the Pros and Cons which were in the packet. There was gift certificate discussion along with GED stipulations. Ron said this will give more opportunities to get public volunteers to help at our GCC events. Guy said it is still hard to get volunteers and the possible merger would eliminate GCC. Leslie said subcommittees could still be formed to carry out GED Executive Board directives. Megan said if the merger happens the 2023 GCC membership dues would roll into GED for the rest of 2023. Luke said businesses or individuals could still be members. The remaining industrial park land would bring more tax money to the City. There was mention that more housing would eventually bring more businesses to Garretson. Jessica wrapped up some GCC/GED merger discussion by saying Hartford has a similar model in place.
Luke reviewed the survey results. There were few responses so far. Luke starting with the greatest needs that he sees with GCC members. #1 business perks, business resources, financial demands, hiring, discounted advertising, annual meeting or regular meeting discounts, social media, #2 time for monthly meetings, #3 things to change for GCC, #4 membership fees, #5 membership perks, #6 pay one fee upfront with annual membership dues. Mary Ann said better communication could be done by direct mail especially since GCC membership dues may move to GED.
Guy said members should see what the Chamber of Commerce arm of the GED should look like. He would like to see more detail. He would like more information from GED first, then communicate back to GCC for a possible proxy vote by the whole membership.
Rod suggested a GCC Steering Committee to form and meet with the GED Board. This will open dialogue with Q’s and A’s. This should address potential control issues and general concerns. The goal will be to reach a common ground pertaining to the merger.
Mitch said more information is needed on the merger. Ron said GCC won’t be able to make this decision overnight. Garrick suggested that the new GCC Board discuss the Steering Committee idea at their next regular monthly meeting on February 8th.
The park updates were given. Paetyn said the Splitrock Park ended up with $7,000 profit from campers in 2022. There is a social media commercial in the works. Kris Frerk is working on art work. Bruce Rekstad signed up again to manage the park in 2023.
Luke gave an update on Palisade State Park. He said 2020 was unusual because everyone was camping because of Covid-19. In 2020 there was 150,000 campers with 6,400 units, in 2021 there were 130,000 campers with 6,000 units and in 2022 there were 110,000 campers with 6,700 units. He said 2022 is a more typical year. He talked about the park expansion that will be happening the next couple of years. The present 34 campsites will expand to 110 campsites. The Welcome Center will be worked on in 2023.
There were ideas with Jesse James Days for a mock train robbery. There could be raffle ticket sales for a chance to win money bags from the robbery. The train robbery could incorporate historic land markers.
It was suggested that the Silent Auction become a permanent part of HomeTown Christmas. There could also be meat raffles for HomeTown or Jesse James Days. Carrie mentioned that the lights in the Splitrock Park were lacking this year because of lack of volunteer help. The snow and wind will always be a problem. This year the decorations would’ve been stuck in snow until spring.
It was mentioned for everyone to continue and support our local businesses.
Luke gave an update on the Main St sound system. He has a wireless bid of $84,000, a hard wire bid of $62,000 and another hard wire third company bid of $23,000. He wants to pursue the third bid closer. He is also applying for multiple grants to help fund this project. Seasonal music and special events such as the parade will use the system. There was discussion about adding an advertising feature to the sound system for local businesses.
Mary Ann drafted a new Palisade State Park sign with services offered to the campers in Garretson. Performance Press, Inc helped with the signage. Oran will be contacted for possible location out of the park entrance.
Door prizes were drawn with ten $10 GCC gift certificates handed out.
M/S to adjourn by Ron/Laurie. Motion Passed.