Dear Editor,

Recent variations may change the opinion of Ms. Miller (9/28/17 letter) concerning grandstands, as it did mine.

At the 9/12/17 Waitsburg Fairgrounds Committee meeting Mr. Nicely stated the grandstands could be made usable for about $40,000. I asked if that was just labor. Mr. Nicely responded that was the total: parts, labor, permits. As a result, it seemed worth a few more months to explore.

I was later told Mr. Nicely said the same thing at the September 20 Waitsburg City Council meeting, except he added “for the first phase.” At the fairgrounds committee meeting he commented some demolition contractors get you in at one price, then add additional costs. Adding those few words to his original statement seems quite similar.

Those four words can make a huge difference in the final cost prior to usability by the public. That little addition also makes a big difference in whether or not the saving/restoration project for the grandstands is worth more time and money considering over and year and about $10,000 so far with not much to show. It’s especially true since Mr. Nicely’s “total” does NOT include the cost of an engineer signing off on the work (a liability requirement) which, based previous engineering work done for the City, would not be cheap.

As the saying goes, “Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.” Once is more than enough for me.

Jim Davison

Waitsburg