The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

DAYTON – Columbia County Fair Board members have appealed to Columbia County Commissioners several times this year, including at last week’s board meeting, to approve a plan intended to make enough improvements to the East Grandstands at the county fairgrounds that the space can be used at events where the newly repaired West Grandstands are standing room only.

Commissioners and County Engineer Andrew Woods are concerned that the current plan, while proposing some critical repairs to the unused grandstands, do not address major infrastructure improvements identified in an engineer’s report published several years ago indicating rotting foundation and other potentially dangerous problems with the structure.

The fair board has been supported in its request by local events planners such as Bette Lou Crothers, with All-Wheels Weekend, and Columbia Rural Electric Association, which has donated $10,000 toward such a project and has a vested interest in the success of events such as Mule Mania.

Improvements such as those recommended by the report commissioned by the county could cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, and commissioners are conflicted about whether this particular project is more vital to the county than others. The fair board was advised to consult an engineer or other qualified person on their proposal and return to the board of commissioners with more information.