The Wahkiakum County Eagle - Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891

A conversation between commissioners of Wahkiakum County and Port District 2 about management of the Wahkiakum County Fairgrounds and Fairgrounds Park drew concern from county fair personnel and volunteers on Tuesday.

A month ago, County Commissioner Dan Cothren visited the meeting of Port 2 Commissioners Lori Scott, Kayrene Gilbertsen and Brian O’Connor to talk about transferring management of the fair properties from the county to Port 2. Port commissioners said they would welcome the challenge of operating the properties in a revenue generating fashion. Cothren said the cash strapped county would be happy if someone took over responsibility for maintaining the fair grounds facilities.

Both parties said they want the county fair to continue operation under direction of the county fair board and fair manager.

On Tuesday, fair personnel didn’t know about the conversation and were surprised to read about it in The Eagle. They expressed strong concerns that port management of the facilities would cut into their fund raising activities.

After a 60-minute workshop discussion Tuesday morning, county commissioners said they would continue to explore the idea and would hold a public meeting to gather input.

When Port 2’s commission held their monthly meeting late in the afternoon, the port commissioners heard more concerns but said they would develop a proposal for the county commission to consider.

Money is the motivating factor. County officials say their revenues continue to decline and they are strapped to find funds for community programs. They would like community organizations to find ways to support the programs, such as the fair, but so far, they haven’t made a decision to completely end their fair financing.

The county funds fair programs in two ways: 1. It owns the fair grounds and buildings and pays for repair and maintenance. 2. The county contributes to the salary of the fair manager.

The Wahkiakum County Fair Association, or fair board, combines county funding with funds from the State of Washington, with funding from the Wahkiakum County Fair Foundation (whose primary goal is to raise funds for fair needs) and with revenue from its own fund raising activities.

Fair officials have learned that this will be the last year they receive state funding; that will cut about $30,000 from a $78,000 budget, fair officials said.

Given their success at managing parks such as Skamokawa Vista and County Line, Port 2 officials believe they can generate enough revenue from the fair grounds facilities to cover their costs.

This would free the fair from paying maintenance expense, they said.

However, the devil is in the details.

Fair Foundation President Lore Twiet commented that there have been efforts for years to raise funds for the fair, and while successful, they don’t cover all the costs. At best, Twiet said, the foundation picks out one project per year and raises funds for it.

Fair Manager Patty Dursteller said she and her associates realize they’re going to lose state funding, and they’ve been working hard to make the fair self-sufficient. They’ve been doing a wide variety of fund rasing activites.

Dursteller questioned if their activities would generate as much profit for them if they and co-sponsors were having to pay rent or other fees to Port 2 to use facilities.

“My goal is to make the fair self sufficient,” Dursteller said. “If this is going to hurt that, I’ll fight you all the way.”

Lee Tischer of the Dollars for Scholars scholarship program echoed concerns of Twiet and Dursteller. Changes in fee schedules could impact their profit from the Rods and Reels car show and sturgeon derby, he said, and if the port began sending RV’s to the Fairgrounds Park, they would have less room for their car show.

Port and county commissioners emphasized they wanted to support, not hamper fair efforts.

Both boards said the discussions are just beginning and there are details to work out.

Commissioner Dan Cothren said the baord is very happy with the fair’s efforts, “but the bottom line is that we don’t have the money. We had to take money out of the road fund to balance the budget.

“The whole of society is changing. We’ve got to be able to change.”

Commissioner Mike Backman apologized to fair personnel for the commission not informing them of the talks before they talked to the port commission. He suggested any agreements say that the fair board would have priority over use of the fairgrounds and other uses would have to benefit the fair.

Cothren cautioned against “hamstringing the port” with too many conditions.

Commissioner Blair Brady said a lease of the fairgrounds to the port would have to meet the needs of the community.

“There would have to be assurances these uses could continue,” he said. “With full time management, it would be a win-win situation. The challenges aren’t insurmountable.”