A Diamond in the Rough? Or Just Rough?

Last week the Columbia County Board of Commis- sioners voted not to proceed with a planned renova- tion of the youth building at the Columbia County Fairgrounds. We think that was a prudent move, for three reasons:

First, as Commissioners Talbott and Robanske both pointed out at the time of the vote, no plan was in place to cover the cost of maintenance of the building once it was upgraded. The cost of the renovation would be too high to not be committed to keeping the building in top shape afterwards.

Second, Dayton and the Touchet Valley need a big- ger meeting space than the youth building provides. The $500,000 planned renovation would not increase its size, other than adding new rest rooms. The building has a capac- ity of about 100 people, which is not enough for a lot of functions in Dayton. The Dayton Chamber of Commerce holds at least two functions per year that draw 200 people or more. Many other groups could take advantage of a facility that would hold that many. Besides, the new Best Western Hotel in Dayton has a brand new meeting room similar in size to the youth building, with state of the art presentation equipment.

Third, the cost of the youth building project was to be covered by a loan that would be paid off over 20 years with funding from state sales tax revenue that is returned to the county for the purpose of infrastructure improvements to enhance economic development. It's questionable how much economic development will be helped by this project. A larger facility, however, would likely be a big boon to the economy.

The Columbia County Fairgrounds need help. There's no doubt. And we applaud the facilities committee and its chairman, Roland Schirman, for their time and effort in ad- dressing the needs there. They are many.

A new community center would provide much-needed improvement, including a large meeting and heated exhibi- tion space, and modern restrooms. Officials we spoke to told us the cost of a center to meet Dayton's needs would likely be slightly over $1 million - a bit more than twice the cost of the proposed youth building project.

In their meeting, the commissioners suggested that at least some of the cost of such a facility would likely need to come from a capital levy approved by voters. A one-year levy could raise the necessary amount. Voters should be given the chance to consider that.

We encourage the fairgrounds facilities committee to be- gin planning for a larger community center that could be a social and cultural center for Dayton and the entire Touchet Valley.

The other big project that needs to be taken on at the fairgrounds soon is fixing or replacing the grandstands. The east grandstands have been closed for several years, due to inadequate emergency egress. We hope the committee will address the grandstand issue simultaneously - considering either major renovation of both the east and west structures, or replacement of one or both with modern, maintenance- free seating.

The Columbia County Fairgrounds get busier each summer. There are now so many events happening there between May and September that horse boarding can no longer be allowed during that period. The facility is vital to the cultural and economic health of our region.

It may be rough, but it's a diamond in the rough. We need to shine it up.