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By Dena Wood
The Times 

Council Considers Fairgrounds Plan

Equestrian Center board is ready to return reins to the city

 


WAITSBURG – Two years ago, Councilman K.C. Kuykendall approached Waitsburg’s city council with a proposal to transfer management of the horse facilities at the Waitsburg Fairgrounds to a nonprofit organization that would oversee the creation and development of what he hoped would become the Blue Mountain Equestrian Center.

That agreement was approved, with the city agreeing to a five-year commitment. At last month’s council meeting, Kuykendall announced he was ready to call an early end to the agreement.

The original plan was to generate revenue that, over the course of five years, would fund nearly $40,000 in improvements to the fairgrounds horse facilities, while removing responsibility for the facility’s maintenance and management from the city.

The proposal provided for renovation of 10 to 12 stalls each year, with additional improvements starting in 2014. The $40,000 in improvements planned for years one through five included the addition of a round pen, a 150’ X 240’ roping arena, a wash station, lighting and electrical upgrades, speaker upgrades, foaling stalls and turnouts, and a tack room as well as the stall renovations.

While not a total failure, Kuykendall said the plan failed to come to fruition.

“We ended each year in the black and had more cash on hand at the end of each year than budgeted, but that’s purely because we never did really get the thing off the ground as far as the number of tenants that we wanted,” Kuykendall said.

“Revenue was lacking, and therefore the investments in projects are lacking, so all we were able to do were the very basics with spraying, raking, cleaning stalls, and running power to one of the barns,” he added. “It didn’t cost anything other than my time, but we never achieved the occupancy we wanted.”

Kuykendall said the group’s advisory board was unable to get events scheduled and that boarding horses alone couldn’t carry the financial burden.

He did name several positive outcomes of the endeavor: positive feedback from the community, the board didn’t have to tap the city for funds, and the group put paperwork in place for liability, rental forms and stable rules.

“We just stopped short of being able to launch any kind of a real marketing campaign. A number of the folks that initially committed to try and help stand this thing up couldn’t follow through with those commitments. At the end of the day, this type of an effort would require a much more strategic partnership with the city,” he said.

When asked his recommendation for facilities management, Kuykendall indicated he was ready to move on.

“At this point, I’d like to say I gave it a yeoman’s try,” he said. “We got $3,200 we can throw in the city coffers for a barbeque or something. I’m done with trying to stand it up as a separate stand-alone entity.

“I think if we as a city and a council wanted to make it (the fairgrounds) a success like the Salmon Bakes and Celebration Days and other things, then we could probably turn what is currently a big eyesore into a pretty cool community asset,” Kuykendall said. “But I think it would require commitment on our part and would definitely have an impact on the staff.”

Following a brief discussion by the council, Mayor Walt Gobel suggested putting the topic on hold. “Can we put this on the burner for awhile, let it heat up, and then we’ll come back to it again as time goes by?” he asked.

The discussion did result in the council approving the hire of a penitentiary work crew, as needed, to help maintain the facilities. The penitentiary will provide a work crew of 10 men for a full day for $200. With the city crew spread thin, the council directed City Administrator Randy Hinchliffe to utilize the crew as often as needed.

“The fairgrounds is the orphan in the city due to a lack of manpower,” said councilmember Kevin House. “This could help prep it for events if we take it off the city’s shoulders. Schedule it (maintenance) regularly, plan for that, and keep the facility up.”

 

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