The Division of Expositions, which operates the Utah State Fair and Fairpark, should become an independent, nonprofit corporation, and the State Fair should remain at its current location, a state task force has recommended.
Those are among 14 recommendations made in a report delivered to Gov. Mike Leavitt and to Joe Jenkins, executive director of the Utah Department of Community and Economic Development.Leavitt and other officials were to discuss the report at a press conference Tuesday afternoon.
William R. Shaw, chairman, and 13 other task force members were appointed last spring and asked by Jenkins to examine State Fair operations and the best use of Fairpark facilities.
The report says the task force, whose members have expertise in business, finance, government, real estate, development and other fields, met numerous times and scrutinized each possible recommendation. The committee, some of whose members also visited fairs in Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Minnesota, said it believes each recommendation will "benefit the Utah State Fairpark and the state of Utah."
Citing the Utah Technology Finance Corp. as an example, the task force said that body is a nonprofit corporation but is still eligible for legislative appropriations.
In other areas of management, the task force says the corporation should have an independent board that is appointed by the governor and that is "fiscally and administratively responsible and accountable for the organization, the physical upkeep and the fiscal aspects of the Fairpark."
The present nine-member State Fair Board, appointed by the governor, is a policymaking body only.
Task force members said the Colorado State Fair is an "excellent example" of a fair with a strong board with fiscal and administrative responsibility. The board should have no less than nine members and no more than 15. The board should be comprised of those in agriculture and business, particularly chiefs of major companies in the state, the report says.
Also, the document recommends that the director or general manager of the Fairpark "be accountable to the board." The new director or general manager should assist the board in creating a business plan, to include a master plan, for the Fairpark. And the group recommended that a national search be conducted to find a new director or general manager. (A search is already under way.)
Task force members recommended that the corporation "work towards self-sufficiency for operating funds. Capital improvements and infrastructure funds should be made available through legislative appropriations."
In addition, the group recommended that the corporation adopt generally accepted accounting principles. "The current accounting structure at the Fairpark does not break out the accounts adequately for capital maintenance and fair and interim expenditures," the report states.
The task force recommended that a "dedicated revenue source" such as the Fairpark-generated sales tax, or others, be established "to assist the corporation to become self-sufficient for operating funds." The group said that would also enable the Fairpark to increase activities there when the fair is not under way and to provide an incentive to reduce the need for legislative appropriations for capital improvements and infrastructure.
Task force members recommended that the state "recognize its responsibility to the Fairpark and appropriate the necessary funds to bring Fairpark buildings up to ADA (American with Disabilities Act) and life safety codes."
The corporation should "pursue corporate sponsorships for the Fairpark" and should make a "strong marketing emphasis through senior management and the board." And the corporation should develop a "strong relationship between city and county governments, the Salt Lake Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Utah Travel Council and other entities," the report recommends.