The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

WAITSBURG – The Waitsburg Fairgrounds was the hot topic of the night at a well-attended Monday Waitsburg City Council meeting.

Friends of Waitsburg Fairgrounds Committee (FWFC) chairperson Lane Hill opened the topic by presenting the board with a request from the FWFC. In a written statement the committee asked the council to approve the following requests:

Approve the FWFC as an Advisory Committee under article 1.02.108 of the Waitsburg City Ordinance

Agree to give all due consideration to all proposals submitted by FWFC

Make no further changes to the facilities or administration of the fairgrounds without review by the FWFC. This will allow the committee to move forward developing a comprehensive master plan for the fairgrounds and respect the valuable efforts of the volunteer members.

“Mostly at this point now, we are interested in making sure that our voice is heard when we do give suggestions and advice,” Hill said. “But also that we can keep anything from happening in the near future on the fairgrounds as we complete a master plan that we have already started working on that we would like to present to the council that we hope would be very inclusive to the community, and allow us to move on with our purpose as we try and make this an economically viable amenity, as well as historically and culturally, that we can really use to bring in new people.”

Hill said all four meetings of the committee to-date have been extremely well attended and have resulted in “lively discussions.” She said meetings are open to the public but the committee board has been reduced to eight voting members who will serve three-year terms.

Proposed members and subcommittee duties are: Lane Hill (Chair, Master Plan, Financial, City Interface), Kate Hockersmith (Co-Chair, Grandstands, Entertainment), Linda O’Mealey (Secretary), Joy Smith (RV/Camping), Terry Hofer (RV/Camping), Denise Winnett (Historical, Neighborhood Representative), Suze Wood (Equestrian, Animal Management), Allison Bond (New Events).

Mayor Gobel agreed to put any fairgrounds renovations or modifications on hold until they could be run past the FWFC. He said the council couldn’t vote on the committee’s proposal, however, until the city’s attorney writes up the ordinance to be voted on. Gobel asked if the ordinance could be available for vote at the May city council meeting and was told it would be ready for consideration at that time.

The next agenda item, discussion regarding the inner racetrack rail, was tabled until the council has an opportunity to see the FWFC Master Plan.

The council then took up the issue of repair and renovation of the grandstands at the fairgrounds. Councilor KC Kuykendall reported that he had contacted two structural engineers who specialize just in pole barn style facilities and that one in Spokane was willing to work with the city. Kuykendall said the Spokane engineer looked at the original engineer’s report as well as recommendations regarding fixing safety issues and said he thought he could come up with less expensive alternatives.

“I was glad to hear that, given the information we provided him, that he was very optimistic that the structural remediation would not be cost prohibitive,” Kuykendall said.

When asked if the grandstands would be ADA accessible, Kuykendall said the current priority is simply safety.

“We’re only looking at structural remediation at this time. Not improvements, not functionality, not ramps, or beautification. None of that. That’s all secondary,” he said.

Kuykendall motioned that the city authorize Hinchliffe to set aside up to $2,500 to enter into a professional engineering services contract to evaluate options. The council approved the motion and Mayor Gobel suggested that the WFWC work closely with the engineer throughout the process.

Finally, the council approved moving leftover stall rental funds of just over $4,000, from the former fairground committee’s account, back into the city coffers. Kuykendall suggested earmarking the funds as seed money for the WFWC committee. A motion to that effect was unanimously approved by the council.