SMART Board of Directors Meeting Minutes – November 11th 2025
Board of Directors Meeting Minutes
November 11th, 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 7:02 PM by President Varner
Consent Agenda:
Treasurer Teter had questions on the financial statements. The budget amount in the Budget vs Actual statement decreased across several categories, and she inquired why that had happened. Executive Director Miller stated she did not have an answer, but noted that particular report had been populating incorrectly for around a month. Treasurer Teter asked for clarification on loan amounts and apparent assets listed on the statements. Executive Director Miller explained that assets, specifically building assets, had not been assigned a base value, nor had capital improvements been added to the base value from the prior administration, leading to an understatement of assets. In an attempt to correct that mistake, inactive accounts in QuickBooks had to be reopened so that she could recategorize transactions and assign them properly to the assets. This has been a very time-consuming process, requiring line-by-line analysis on old bank statements, finding old checks, reading old minutes to gather inferences on unknown transactions, activating inactive accounts in QuickBooks, and the creation of a placeholder bank account for transactions that don’t match correlating bank statements of the bank account they were originally recorded in. Miller stressed that the financial statements have been incorrect since approximately 2021, but that each month more progress is made to correct them, and believes that this is almost complete.
Old Business:
Draft Budget: Treasurer Teter had questions and insights regarding the draft budget.
Question: Why the services in 2025 were budgeted for a higher amount than in 2026?
Answer: Services in 2025 included income from EMEDA and from the MNA Ambassador program, both of which SMART is no longer receiving funds from.
Q: Membership dues from 2025 may have included MEDA. What is that program, and are we a part of it?
A: Montana Economic Developers Association, more research is needed to confirm we are no longer a member.
Q: Why is the Mortgage Expense lower in 2026 than in 2025?
A: The principal amount is broken out from the interest amount, which was not separated in prior years. The monthly principal amount fluctuates slightly, so the average amount was rounded up, multiplied by twelve. Then it was subtracted from the yearly amount paid on the loan to calculate the interest expense.
Q: How were Property Taxes determined?
A: The amount taken from the bill just received and rounded up to make room for possible increases.
Executive Director Miller asked the board to clarify some questions so that she may continue to work on the 2026 budget. Some changes, such as prior year surplus, will be made in 2026 that will deviate from prior budgets. A discussion was held on surplus amounts, savings, and potential investments, which included CDs, Treasury Bills, High Yield Savings, and Investment Portfolios. Vice President Polatas stated the importance of having a six-month emergency savings as a restricted amount, which the board unanimously agreed with. Any additional money that could be used for investments could be determined after a set budget. Polatas also inquired at what amount would SMART be subject to taxes on investment/interest income. Each board member gave their input on investments as follows: Director Johnson stated that a 6-month emergency savings should be put into a high-yield savings account; Vice President Polatas believed a 6-month emergency savings should be kept separate, safe, and easily accessible, and if there is a remaining amount, then up 3 months’ expenses could be invested; Treasurer Teter stated extra padding should be built into the budget in some capacity; President Varner saw the value in diversifying investments and a 6-month savings, but very strongly felt that as much of SMART’s capital should be kept local. First, to support local businesses and further SMART’s mission of economic development. Second, as a built-in fail-safe, should turnover cause an out-of-town account to be forgotten; Director Zachmann shared her experience at other nonprofits that invested funds using investment portfolios managed locally in Eastern Montana. Director Johnson asked to compare rates between local investment firms. Treasurer Teter agreed and further requested that the amount of available funds to be invested be brought to the board at the next meeting for further discussion. Executive Director Miller will bring the available amount of funds that can be dedicated to investing to the next meeting and will research the fees for local investment firms.
Executive Director Miller asked the board a series of questions regarding the budget:
Q: Do we want to write checks for the remaining amount left in the Baker E-Sports grant, Backpack Blessings grant, and Baker Arts & Culture Council?
Director Zachmann motioned to write checks for the remaining amounts left in the Baker E-sports grant, Backpack Blessings grant, and the Arts & Culture Council bank account.
• MOTION (Director Zachmann): To write checks to the recipients of grants and funding.
• SECOND: Director Johnson seconds.
• VOTE: Five in favor. Checks will be written to close out the grants/accounts.
Q: When the Restricted Bank Account was opened, an estimate of restricted funds was transferred in. Subtracting all obligated funds, there is a remaining amount with no purpose. What purpose would we like to give these funds?
A: Keep the funds restricted and use them for grant matches.
Q: There is a remaining amount in the Food Forrest Account. The project has been abandoned, and funds came from an EPEDC grant. How does the board want to proceed?
A: Discuss with EPEDC if they want the money turned back over to them, or if we can dedicate the amount to the L. Price Park garden.
Q: Will the board consider a cost-of-living increase for the Executive Director’s salary in 2026?
A: Yes, if the budget allows for it.
Q: Do we want to include wages for a part-time employee starting in July in our budget? Or do we want to make an amendment to the budget, should we be approved funding, at the time funding is approved?
A: Make a draft budget to include that amount, and a draft budget excluding that amount to make a determination. Make sure to annotate special projects in the draft budget.
Fallon County Community Foundation Update: Treasurer Teter has a meeting scheduled with the Montana Community Foundation and is planning on proceeding with the Fallon County Community Foundation.
Other Old Business:
Vice President Polatas briefed the board on her findings in the Montana Nonprofit Association’s lobbying. It is a council/advisory board that takes applications, and is not an open voting event. There are approximately 10-15 people on the board who all reside in the State of Montana, but it does not obviously list what regions are represented, only industries.
New Business:
Visit Southeast Montana Ad: Executive Director Miller explained to the board that Baker has an ad with Visit Southeast Montana, and the Chamber is in charge of the cost. However, the Chamber usually fundraises for the ad due to the cost, and inquired if SMART would help by donating some money toward the ad.
Director Zachmann motioned to donate $250 to the Visit Southeast Montana Ad.
• MOTION (Director Zachmann): To write a $250 check to the Chamber in support of the ad and expense it to the civic support budget.
• SECOND: Treasurer Teter seconds.
• VOTE: Five in favor. A $250 check will be written to the Chamber.
Remaining Grant Funds: Skipped, covered in Budget Discussion
Community Theatre Assets: Executive Director Miller disclosed to the board since the last meeting, a comment was made that SMART retained $17,000 of Community Theatre’s money. The comment appears to be untrue; however, it does bring up the issue that a formal asset list was never created. While going through old records, Miller found many expenses and revenues that were not properly assigned, and as such, the profit and loss for Community Theatre presented at the last meeting was inaccurate. Miller is creating a formal list of items purchased for community theatre, finalizing a correct profit and loss, and once finished, would like to sit down for a meeting with leaders from the organization to sign off on an official document stating which organization owns what. Treasurer Teter recommended speaking with Alyson Lineback about items that were donated and may not reflect on the financial statements to create a fuller inventory list.
Escape Room After-Action Review: The board weighed in on the positive and negative aspects of the Escape Room. The fundraiser brought in a net income and was a success, and discussion was held on how to improve for next year. Treasurer Teter pointed out that a whole new room, including props and decorations, will need to be procured. Vice President Polatas suggested talking to other escape rooms and seeing if we can purchase old props and puzzles at a discount. Treasurer Teter suggested buying the puzzle early and working with the thrift store throughout the year to purchase items. President Varner noted that the fundraiser worked very well with our level of staffing and that a combination of online reservations and lower prices should increase turnout next year. Director Johnson shared an idea of holding the room in a bus, or other fun location, and developing the theme around the location.
Strategic Goals: Executive Director Miller talked briefly about the strategic priorities and strategic goals documents. Miller stated the planning would take several hours and should not be done at a board meeting. She suggested picking a weekend day to meet, that everyone bring a food dish, and to have a meal together while working on the document. Due to how busy December is, it was suggested that the process potentially wait until January. President Varner requested that the matter of scheduling be discussed at the December meeting.
Other New Business:
Treasurer Teter requested that meetings be moved back to the third Monday of the month at 5:30.
Executive Director Miller relayed to the board that the Chamber would like to host an open house during Christmas Stroll to try and get more foot traffic to the Visitor Center. We had a good turnout for the trick-or-treating, but many people were unaware of the building. The consensus was to continue to open house until the Parade of Lights, and that those who could would bake two dozen cookies.
Director’s Report:
Executive Director Miller reviewed her director’s report, spending time on matters that had not been discussed during the meeting. Miller discussed grant applications and announced that the CIP Application had been fully funded.
Having no further new business, Treasurer Teter motioned to adjourn the meeting, Director Johnson seconded. Meeting adjourned at 8:55 pm.
The next SMART meeting is scheduled for December 15th, 2025 at 5:30pm at the SMART Building.
