Community Gets Behind Fairgrounds

WAITSBURG – Waitsburg Mayor Walt Gobel was quick to let the public take over discussions about the Waitsburg Fairgounds at a March 3 public forum on the topic. After saying how "awesome" it was to see the more than 30 community members in attendance, Gobel said the first step in promoting use of the city's fairgrounds – even before beginning discussions – would be to form a Fairgrounds Advisory Committee.

Waitsburg Commercial Club President Joy Smith said she would be willing to serve as temporary chair to form the standing committee and write bylaws. The new standing committee will bring recommendations to the city council for consideration and approval.

Seattle resident Lane Hill, who is renovating the former Farmer's Café building on Main Street, offered to take over as chair in a few months, once the committee is organized and her building renovations are winding down.

Sports Complex

Topping the list of questions from attendees, was whether or not the city would be willing to hold back on current plans for a sports complex at the fairgrounds if the committee came up with a different plan.

"What's cast in concrete right now is the Little League fields," Gobel said. "Everything else we proposed is on standby until that is done, which gives you plenty of time if you come with something you prefer."

Audience member Terry Jacoy asked if the ball fields will generate any income for the city. "This will be the premiere Little League field in the whole valley," said Gobel. "What we're looking forward to down the road is holding tournaments here. Bringing kids and parents into town who will spend money."

Smith said that many public facilities don't make money just through the facility itself. "You have to see the whole picture. If you look at the ball fields and see 1,000 kids and families coming in, that impact on the community is significant," she said.

"Sports tourism is a big thing. The first reason people travel is shopping, the second is history, and the third is sports. If we can put two out of three of those together, we're doing good," Smith added.

Grandstands

Many audience members expressed concern at the possibility of losing the historical value of the grandstands that were recently deemed unsafe by an engineer. Several said they would volunteer help with repairs if they could be saved.

"I'm not the only one on city council that wants to save the grandstands if we can," Gobel said. "The other members I've talked to feel the exact same way. What it boils down to is can we afford to fix them and keep them? We don't know that yet."

Councilor K.C. Kuykendall said plans to remove or renovate can't be made until a second set of engineers looks at the grandstands and options and cost estimates are made available.

Racing Rail and Track

The most hotly debated topic of the night was the city's plans to remove the costly metal rail that runs along the inside of the dirt track that was used for the once-popular Days of Real Sport pari-mutuel horse racing events. Several attendees spoke adamantly against removal saying it limits future possibilities, even if it is unlikely state funding for horse racing will return.

Others said the return of horse racing is a very real possibility and noted that the Days of Real Sport committee still has matching funds set aside in the case that funding does become available. Still others want the rail to remain as a "bit of history."

"Nothing is cast in concrete," Gobel said. "If you get your committee together and your committee comes to the city council and says 'we don't want the rail removed,' it's a done deed."

"As long as that's part of a master plan for the fairgrounds. It's not going to fly if all this committee does is say 'we want to save the rail' and they've come up with nothing else," Kuykendall added. "Because that's what gets us worse off than we were before. We have to create the vision for the fairgrounds ourselves and that vision has to be more than just 'let's not take out the rail."

"I agree. There has to be a financial or physical impact for why the rail either stays or doesn't," Councilor Marty Dunn added.

As newly appointed committee chair, Smith took over facilitation of the meeting and asked about the status of the track for use by horses.

"I love to get out and ride, and having a quarter-mile track is a lovely thought, but the city is already underfunded, as many cities are," said equestrian Suze Wood. "To actually work that track, to keep it level and safe, takes a lot of work.

"I happen to live above City Hall," she continued, "and I don't see the city crew sitting around looking for work to do. We know the city doesn't currently have the staffing to keep the track safe and usable so who is going to do that work?"

Future Possibilities

Audience members threw out dozens of ideas for utilizing the fairgrounds, including Indian horse races, pow pows, bluegrass festivals, farmer's markets, flea markets, corporate sponsorships, sheepdog trials, and more.

Councilor Debra Callahan said she had tried to set up several events over the last couple of years, but they always fell through.

"It takes a lot of manpower and a lot of hours just to court these people to come here, let alone the number of hours it takes administratively to put something like that on," she said. "In the past we haven't had people coming forward to volunteer to do that. It's impressive to see so many people here tonight."

Approximately 20 people volunteered for the Fairgrounds Advisory Committee, which is wasting no time in getting to work. The first meeting will take place at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 9 at the Lions Building at the fairgrounds. Anyone interested in joining the committee is welcome to attend.

Fairgrounds Advisory Committee Members

as submitted by Joy Smith

Sponsorships: Karen Stanton-Gregutt

Horses: Suze Wood

Concerts: Kate Hockersmith

RV Parking: Joy Smith

Sports (ATV Ride): Wendy Richards

Outreach: Melanie Wilkinson, Joy Smith

Track Grooming: Rod Baker

City Council Liaisons: K.C. Kuykendall, Deb Callahan, Walt Gobel, Randy Hinchliffe

DRS Liaisons: Terry Jacoy, Gary Thomas

Commercial Club Liaison: Joy Smith

General Committee Members: Lane Hill, Terry Hofer, Kevin Blair, Liz Alleman, Denise Winnett, Alison Bond, Kay Baker