Wednesday,  April 23, 2014 • Vol. 16--No. 279 • 5 of 38

(Continued from page 4)

• The site selection committee would be made up of eight members: three SDHSAA board members and five members of tournament management from the communities that host the majority of SDHSAA events.  
• Using the events contracted from the current school year through 2016-17, the tournament management members would come from Sioux Falls, Rapid City, Aberdeen, Huron and Brandon.
• Board member Rick Weber of Flandreau expressed concern about the choosing board members from the top five communities that host events. "They're all Double A people," Weber said, referring to a sports classification for larger communities.
• He suggested they might just split up the tournaments evenly and call their work done.
• SDHSAA Executive Director Wayne Carney didn't like that scenario: "The hope is the committee would be able to take all the information they would request of staff and make recommendations that are best for the 180 member schools and not just for the committee members."
• Board member Todd Trask of Wall wasn't sure that SDHSAA could continue with business as usual for state tournaments.
• "In light of what the Legislature has done to us," Trask said, "it's my belief that all of these need to go to bid."
• During its last session the Legislature passed a law declaring that the SDHSAA must comply with open meetings and open records statutes.
• "If we're a public entity, we need to go to public bid," Trask said.
• Board member Jason Uttermark of Aberdeen pointed out that the committee would make recommendations but that the board would still make the final decisions.
• "I can only see a committee being helpful, not harmful," Uttermark said.
• The second reading of the measure passed pending legal counsel's interpretation of how the Legislature's action affects tournament site selection procedures.
• The board also passed a recommendation to conduct a survey through Lawrence and Schiller. The idea for the survey was proposed by Sioux Falls banker Dana Dykhouse when he met with the board in November of last year. Dykhouse suggested that the board survey opinions about state events and state event sites.
• According to board member Weber, the survey will be "a good tool for the site selection committee."

© 2013 Groton Daily Independent • To send correspondence, click here.