Grant Will Update Fair Rain Gutters

DAYTON -- The Columbia County Commissioners approved grant money for facility repairs at the Columbia County Fair- grounds last Wednesday, Aug. 1. The repairs will help rain management on the grounds.

The county applied for the grant money mid-June and was awarded from the Washington State Department of Agriculture. The commissioners signed the contract and sent the letter to the state mid-July.

The contract for the grant money is expected to be finalized by the state in the next few weeks. The $14,285 the county received will reimburse about 50 percent of the labor and materials for new gutters and the installation of dry wells in the grandstands on the grounds, Public Works Director Drew Woods said. The county could have afforded the entire project, but couldn't turn down the opportunity to apply, Woods said.

Dry wells are water storage areas that will hold water that runs through the downspouts, Woods said.

A bid will go out for the gutter work and the public works office is still determining if the dry wells will go out for bid, or if the office schedule is free enough for the work to be done in house. Woods said the work will be done some- time after the county fair.

And just a reminder, the Co- lumbia County Fair is coming up on Sept 7 to 9 at the fairgrounds.