Potato conference board members tour potential sites

Grant County Fairgrounds presents conceptual renovations

MOSES LAKE — Members of the Washington State Potato Conference and Trade Show board turned their eyes to the possible sites of the 2006 conference this week.

Board members toured two Tri-Cities sites — the TRAC center in Pasco and the new convention center in Kennewick — Tuesday morning, and toured the Grant County Fairgrounds Thursday morning.

Fair and facilities manager Al Holman presented the board members and other leaders of the community with the conceptual plan for improvement developed over the last 18 months by the Fairgrounds Facility Advisory Committee.

The plan includes additional restrooms and a concession booth on the Ardell Pavilion, a two-phase replacement of the horse barns, expanded campground space, expanded parking, more restrooms, automated irrigation throughout the grounds, separation of potable water from irrigation and stock water, and updating concession booths to meet current health standards.

The plan also includes the construction of a Basin Event Center (with phase one equaling 25,200 square feet, phase two 37,800 square feet and phase three 21,000 square feet) that would replace the existing livestock barns and serve as a multi-purpose facility, as well as a Lake Event Center that would connect several buildings on the grounds.

Holman told Dale Lathim, president of the potato conference board, that the fairgrounds would be asking for bids on the Ardell bathroom renovation using the County Small Works roster, inviting quotations in a week, and he hoped to be breaking ground after the second weekend in October, with the project completed by the second weekend in January.

Holman said that an engineer was in the process of performing an underground infrastructure study to determine where to lay main lines for connection into the city system.

He estimated that the Ardell Pavilion restrooms would be worked on from fall 2004 to winter 2005.

Work in spring 2005 would consist of small projects, and after the 2005 Grant County Fair, the grounds would be dropping main lines into early spring 2006.

Also during that time, Holman said, the Lake Event Center would be built.

After the 2006 fair, the major portion of the Basin Event Center would begin construction, to be ready for the 2007 fair.

"I was very impressed — I had heard that they were making a lot of plans for future expansion and development, and it was really exciting to get to see it; it looks very nice," Lathim said.

Lathim said that the Potato Conference Committee will sit down and evaluate the three proposals and try to make the decision that they feel is in the best interest of the conference.

"Every site has its advantages and disadvantages," Lathim said. "All three have some very positive things in their proposals."

Lathim said a decision about where the 2006 conference will be housed will be made sometime before the middle of November.

"The part that intrigued me was I wasn't aware that they were planning the event center," he said of the fairgrounds advisory committee's proposal. "Having one roof with that many square feet underneath it with the layout that they have designed really intrigued me. It was very interesting to see that, and that was probably the best point of the presentation, in my opinion."

Lathim stressed before the meeting that the board did not pursue new locations, but was instead approached by the Tri-Cities locales.

"We never asked for the Tri-Cities groups to give us a proposal," he said. "They asked if they could, and we said we would be glad to see their proposal and consider them for the 2006 conference."

Holman said that he felt that the presentation went well.

"We've got a contract for 2005, and they'll need to make a decision on 2006," he said. "Obviously, we hope that it's here in Moses Lake and here in the Basin."

Holman said that the fairgrounds will next finish up architectural drawings and the bidding process for the small works roster in order to break ground on the restroom on or ahead of deadline.

Regarding extending city water and sewer lines to include the fairgrounds, Holman said that negotiations are currently ongoing with the city and the county.

"I know the city has submitted some informational questioning, and at least their concerns, to the county, and the county is working as fast and as thorough as they need to to go through that particular process," he said.9925OhmlN(R)F-potatoconferenceupdate mrw9-15Clydz HD992SORT2Ae2AUDT