SMART Board of Directors Meeting – Meeting Minutes – August 18th 2025

Board of Directors Meeting Minutes
August 18, 2025
7:00 PM – SMART Building
Members Present: Jodi Varner (President), Kendyl Polatas (Vice President), Stacey
Teter (Treasurer), Karol Zachmann, Shannon Johnson
Members Absent: None
Staff Present: Katherine Miller (Executive Director)
Staff Absent: None
Public Present: None
Meeting called to order at 7:04 PM by President Varner

Motion to approve the consent agenda.

MOTION (Director Zachmann): To approve the consent agenda.

• SECOND: Vice President Polatas.
• VOTE: Four in favor, one absent. Consent Agenda approved.

Old Business:
Fall Festival Fundraiser: Executive Director Miller stated that the planning for the fundraiser
was well underway. David Kirschten with the Extension may help procure the cow, and as a
backup the Chamber of Commerce will also have a cow present. Voting will open prior to the
event and close day of, $1 will equal 1 vote, and updates will be posted to Facebook up to twice
a day to allow people to track the progress. Miller has also purchased mason jars, mini clothes
pins, and food coloring for the fundraiser. She will pin pictures of the contestants to the mason
jars and with each vote she will add the same amount of water with food coloring to the jar.
Discussion on when to start advertising the event, when the cow kissing should happen, and
how to relay information quickly to participants so the winner knows and can be present.
Treasurer Teter suggested the 10th of September would be a good date to start the fundraiser
to balance having enough time to gather donations/votes while not dragging the fundraiser out.
She also suggested having the winner kiss the cow at a time with the heaviest activity. President
Varner suggested that flyers are hung around town in areas with heavy traffic, and it was the
general consensus to try and keep advertising costs down. Executive Director Miller will reach
out to Alissa Miller with the Chamber of Commerce to determine the best time for the cowkissing and to work it into the day’s events, and will begin advertising in September.

Sale of 125 Main Street Update: Dalton is still working on a Current Market Analysis
for 125 Main Street, but mentioned it may be difficult due to the lack of comparable
buildings selling. He noted he may reach out to some appraisers for some help on a
number. President Varner requested that when Dalton determines a number to set a
special meeting so that we may proceed with the two offer letters that we have
received. Treasurer Teter questioned if it was decided to list the property for other
offers whether we should use a realtor or list independently. President Varner stated
we should work with the current offers first and give a counteroffer if needed. Should
an agreement not be reached with the current potential buyers then we would
proceed from there. Once a property value is received from the realtor, a special
meeting will be set so that we may proceed with the sale of 125 Main Street.

L. Price Park Memorial Benches: Director Zachmann reached back out to Baker Metal
and was quoted the same price for a 6 ft bench as an 8 ft bench due to the material
required being the same. $1,200 for the bench, which is made in Baker, and $600 for
the paint, which is done in Billings. They offered to take $100 off to make it slightly
cheaper. However, it was noted that these numbers did not match the quote from
the prior meeting. Director Zachmann suggested we hold off on any decisions until
we determine what projects we are undertaking with the L. Price Park. No decision
was made, the Memorial Bench will wait until the board determines what projects
we are undertaking with the park.

Fallon County Community Foundation Update:
Treasurer Teter did not have an update at the meeting due to a very busy schedule.

Baker Theatre PAR: At the last meeting it was determined SMART would do its due
diligence to find an interested party and offer the Theatre project as a business
opportunity. President Varner made the observation that the PAR will not be useful to
a private business as they can’t apply for grants. Discussion was had on how we
would present the PAR to the public, and it was determined that the best path
forward would be to partner with interested parties to apply for and manage grants
on their behalf for the construction of the project. Of course, an interested party
could partner with any nonprofit as well. Treasurer Teter suggested announcing the
PAR update in the paper as an article, and to couple the story with an update on the
Fall Festival Fundraiser. Director Zachmann suggested we run an official ad as we have
the room in our advertising budget. Executive Director Miller mentioned that if
worded correctly it could be a PSA on the radio. President Varner then stated she will
approach the Bank of Baker and ask if SMART could utilize some of their radio time
they’ve already purchased. Executive Director Miller will advertise the PAR update
to the public as a potential business venture.

Other Old Business:
Fee Schedule: Executive Director Miller passed out the fee schedule she had written
on, originally written by Vaughn. She stated that in addition to what was discussed at
the last meeting, she did feel confident in meeting with new business owners and
helping them design a logo. President Varner requested that Executive Director

Miller type up a new fee schedule, send it out to the board members, and put it on
the next agenda.

History Walk: Treasurer Teter and President Varner discussed approaching the
Historical Society regarding being a sponsor for the History Walk Benches. Through
discussion, it was determined that we will include the cost of the plaque in the cost of
the sponsorship. Treasurer Teter will approach Sew What to determine the cost of
the plaque and President Varner will put the sponsorship on the next Historical
Society meeting.

L. Price Park Shed: Executive Director Miller passed around the shed colors to the
board, and there was a discussion on which colors should be used. The general
consensus was Rawhide for the roof and stone for the side. Executive Director Miller
will reach out to confirm the color selection and move forward with the project.

Anti Bullying Radio Campaign: Executive Director Miller informed the board that Lisa
from the Baker Radio Station had asked if SMART would be purchasing another anti
bullying announcement packet this year. Lisa stated that SMART had done so in the
past. Miller was not able to find the receipt from 2024, but did find a receipt from
2023 where SMART had purchased this package. There was discussion on whether or
not this campaign aligned with SMART’s mission, but it was determined that it does
get SMART’s name in the community and keeps us at the forefront of people’s minds.
Executive Director Miller will confirm with Lisa that SMART wants to move forward
with the anti bullying campaign, and the funds will come out of the advertising
budget.

New Business:
Escape Room/Haunted House: The Escape Room in the BSB Building is decorated, all that is
needed is to find the puzzles and procure some of the necessary items required for the set up.
Treasurer Teter stated she believed two of the items needed are a round rug and stone pavers.
She had worked with Vaughn on the escape room last October and remembers seeing the
puzzles but not having the answer to them. She believed it may have been in an email or it may
have been a packet he showed her. The puzzle and answers will need to be found in order to
hold the escape room this October. Director Zachmann brought forward the issue of event
insurance, especially with the state of the upstairs; it is a necessity to have liability insurance
to protect both the participants and SMART. Executive Director Miller presented the issue of how
we will make reservations for those who want to participate, and discussion was had on how to
make reservations as well as the timeline of the event. It was the general consensus that if it
was not intuitive and easy to accept reservations through the website we would require
participants to call the office to reserve their spot. Consideration was given to other events,
such as football and pumpkin patches, how long the participants should be given in the room,
45 minutes with a 15 minute room reset, and what weekends the room would run; October
16th-18th, 23rd-25th, 30th & 31st from 8 pm to 10 pm. Executive Director Miller will find the
puzzles, gather the required pieces, create an excel sign up sheet, and get a quote for the
Escape Room.

Sponsoring a Specialty Plate: Executive Director Miller handed out the physical copies of the speciality plate information from the consent agenda and relayed the different requirements
and observations she made while researching the potential fundraiser. She noted that there is
an initial investment of $4,120 as well as the cost of the required software, but that this could
perhaps be obtained by a grant. Miller stated that it seemed that between 4,000 and 10,000
sales was the most common sale range for 2024 and 1st quarter of 2025, but even the lower
selling plates made a return on their investment. Miller stated there was no timeline and an
application can be submitted at any time, with a twice yearly roll-out by the state for new
plates. Miller gave her recommendation on a potential design concept to be broad and appeal
to more than just Fallon County residents.. Discussion was had on whether this would compete
with the Baseball association, the cost of the initial investment, and if renewals would have
donations or only when the plate was purchased. President Varner suggested the Otto Bremer
Grant as a possible source for the funds. Treasurer Teter suggested that the topic be approached
in September before the budget is discussed in October to allow the board time to consider the
fundraiser. Executive Miller will ascertain the cost of the software necessary to design the
plate.

Pocket Park/BSB/Visitor Center:
Pocket Park: Treasurer Teter asked what was the original concept of the L. Price Park and
what were community members expecting. Director Johnson stated it was her understanding
the pocket park was intended to be a green space in the downtown district that people would
visit and eat their lunch at. Johnson pushed for a mural in the space, noted the water feature
was much smaller than imagined, and was disappointed by the ivy that was hung. There was
discussion on what the board members envision the space becoming with references made to a
park in deadwood where you could step on a platform that would spit water, a stage area with
swinging seating, and larger water features. President Varner stated that the first step must be
fixing the water issue above the back door and installing the pavers to replace the damaged
cement pad. It was noted that something must be done with the front entrance as it is already
rusting. Treasurer Teter questioned whether or not the pavers had been purchased, and
suggested pulling the director’s report from the consent agenda so that the board is clear on
what is and is not happening during the month. Vice President Polatas will design some
mockups of the space and bring it to the next meeting.

BSB: President Varner suggested a contractor be contacted to give an estimate on the
entire scope of the project to better understand the cost of the renovation. Varner commented
that SMART should develop a scholarship program in the future to give to students. Treasurer
Teter agreed that SMART should write letters of recommendations to all students who
participate in the renovation project. There was discussion on the use of the rooms, ideal
layouts, and order of renovation. Director Zachmann stated that the rooms need to be pet and
smoke free. Executive Director Miller pointed out that this was a quick turn around for the
school, so even if through the entire school year all that was accomplished was ripping out old
carpet and pulling down the drywall then it was still positive progress. Executive Director Miller
will contact local contractors for a quote, confirm with Plevna School their status on
participation, and ascertain a place for a dumpster to go during the tear-down.

Visitor Center: Treasurer Teter suggested that we create a pamphlet for our area and have other
visitor centers stock them, specifically the visitor center in Wibaux. President Varner stated that
we should stock items for sale in the visitor center that do not compete with other businesses in town. The suggestion of postcards, maps, penny press, and trinkets that have Baker on them
were brought up. The Chamber of Commerce would be allowed to sell their own items within
the gift shop if they wanted. Director Johnson suggested a display of local flora and fawna with
information on them, perhaps to replace the Women in Blue Jeans on the wall. The general
consensus was to be flexible with the layout of the visitor center so long as changes make sense
for visitors. Director Johnson will reach out to local community members regarding local
flowers for the wall display.

Website: Executive Director Miller presented to the board the current website and a homepage
from Squarespace she designed for free. The board agreed that Sqaurespace made more
financial sense than Firespring, and requested that Miller design a fresh website. Director
Zachmann questioned whether the URL would be lost, referencing an issue another
organization in the community had in the past with someone else buying the rights to their
website.

Motion: Vice President Polatas motioned that on the contingency there were no transferring
issues with the URL to switch from Firespring to Squarespace. Director Johnson seconded. All
in favor, no opposed.

Account Holders: Executive Director Miller asked the board to be placed on the accounts to
expedite daily functions of her role. Specifically, the accounts at the Bank of Baker and
Grasslands Federal Credit Union listed below:
Bank of Baker:
Covid Relief –
Veterans Memorial –
General –
Restricted –
MMA –
CD –
Grasslands Federal Credit Union:
Save the BSB Clock –
Arts & Culture Council –
Food Forest –

Motion: Treasurer Teter motioned to add Katherine A Miller, to remove Krista Nemitz, and to
keep Jodi Varner and Stacey Teter on all financial accounts. Director Johnson seconded. All in
favor, none opposed.
Having no further new business, President Varner adjourned the meeting. Meeting adjourned
at 8:59 pm.

The next SMART meeting is scheduled for September 15th, 2025 at 7:00pm at the SMART
Building.
Respectfully submitted:
Jodi Varner, President
Katherine Miller, Executive Director