Chairman Parks called the meeting to order at 7:02 PM. Chairman Richard Parks, Greg Dalling, Vice-Chair, Bob Fuhrmann, Secretary/Treasurer, Director Beth Taylor, Director Bianca Klein were present. Admin Manager Bush was present via Zoom. There were no members of the public present.
Administrative Manager Bush presented the January meeting minutes. Director Taylor moved to approve the January minutes. Director Klein seconded the motion. No discussion was needed; all voted in favor; none opposed. Motion passed. Administrative Manager Bush presented the current expenses and financial reports for the month. Secretary/Treasurer Fuhrmann moved to approve the current expenses and financial reports. Vice-Chair Dalling seconded the motion. No discussion was needed; all voted in favor; none opposed. Motion passed.
In Old Business, Chairman Parks updated the Board on the statewide resort tax meeting held last week (February 8th via Zoom). Most of the resort tax districts were represented. Bylaws and Articles of Incorporation were approved; officers were chosen, and some committees were set-up. All committees will need members to sign-up and volunteer. The next meeting will be sometime in May with a follow-up meeting planned for West Yellowstone in October 2024.
Next, the guidelines for placing items on a ballot were discussed. The resort district ordinance will have to be placed in coordination with a school election in May; therefore, the deadline has already passed for this upcoming May. Therefore, the Board will be planning to be ready for the May 2025 school election. The Board will start a sharable document stating “talking points” for the community and will simply begin talking about changes to the Ordinance out and about in the community. Possibilities include extending the resort tax season to April through November or to collect it year-round; to extend the boundaries of the district; to increase the years the tax is authorized or extend it into perpetuity.
Finally, Admin Manager Bush updated the Board on collections. There are two remaining delinquent accounts from the 2023 season. One has begun making payments; the second is proposing small monthly payments which will take several months to complete. After much discussion, the Board decided to allow both of these businesses to continue with payments up to May 31st. All unpaid balances at that point will be sent to legal counsel for collection, with all ensuing fees going to the businesses.
Director Taylor moved to allow these two accounts to make payments up to May 31, 2024. All accounts must be paid in full by this time. Any outstanding balances, now and in the future, will go directly to legal counsel for collection. This is a one-time proposal; all businesses should remit the taxes collected in a timely manner, per the Ordinance. Secretary/Treasurer Fuhrmann seconded the motion. No discussion was needed; all voted in favor; none opposed. Motion passed.
In New Business, Secretary/Treasurer Fuhrmann presented a draft 2024 District Budget. A discussion was had; the completed budget will be presented at the March meeting.
There was no Public Comment.
The next regular meeting will be held on Tuesday, March 12th at 7:00 PM at the Gardiner Chamber. Director Taylor moved to adjourn the meeting at 8:03 PM. Vice-Chair Dalling seconded the motion. No discussion was needed; all voted in favor; none opposed. Motion passed.
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