New fairgrounds director talks changes

EPHRATA — The new director of the Grant County Fairgrounds would like to put the county’s fairgrounds on a firmer financial footing with an eye toward eventually ending county support for the fairgrounds.

At a meeting Tuesday with the county commissioners, new fairgrounds director Mickey Webb said he would like to chip away at the $450,000 Grant County provides to support the fairground and make them self-supporting.

“There’s a $450,000 deficit,” Webb said. “I’d like to make that much smaller or have it disappear altogether.”

“We would like to not fund the fairgrounds through current expenses,” agreed Commission Chair Cindy Carter.

Webb, who came to Grant County after overseeing the Kittitas County Fairgrounds for two years, said he was in the process of reviewing the fairgrounds fee schedule both to make sense of them as well as see if they need to be changed.

“I did not find a single document on fees, so I’m pulling everything together into a single document,” Webb said. “Our fees are confusing, and it looks like we’re nickel and diming people.”

Webb also said he was looking at the 5 percent discount given to not-for-profit vendors like the Lion’s Club and the Kiwanis. Most other fairgrounds don’t give those discounts, and it appears that discount was created years ago as a way of rewarding organization that bought and maintained their own booths or buildings on the fairgrounds.

“But that was 30 years ago, and there was no timeline,” he said. “If they take care of their booths, then there’s a reason to give the discount.”

Webb said he was also looking at attracting additional events to the fair — such as the Throttle and Smoke monster truck rally, the National High School Rodeo Finals, and the National Junior High School Rodeo Finals — that would help the fairgrounds break even as well draw new business into Moses Lake.

“Most facilities like this have year-round events,” Webb said. “We should be attracting some very large events, but we need the right dirt and the right equipment.”

Finally, Webb said he is going to suggest shifting the Grant County Fair from Tuesday-Saturday to Wednesday-Sunday in order to cater to the county’s large and growing Latino population.

“Sunday is family day for Hispanics,” Webb said. “We are missing out. I have talked with other fairs and Sunday is a big day for Hispanics. They are 38 percent of Grant County.”

Such a shift shouldn’t affect the timing of the rodeo, Webb added.

Charles H. Featherstone can be reached via email at countygvt@columbiabasinherald.com