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Harney County Fairgrounds Manager Lindsey Robertson updated the court regarding the fairgrounds.

The following are the unapproved minutes from the Harney County Court meeting held March 1. These minutes were edited for clarity and length.

Harney County Fairgrounds Manager Lindsey Robertson updated the court regarding the fairgrounds.

Staffing needs
She started by sharing what she learned at the Western Fairs Association conference. Most conference members were from California fairs, which are much larger than ours. However, many of the ideas that were presented could be adapted for the Harney County Fair, if additional staff are hired. Unfortunately, Robertson is already working at a “burnout” level.

Robertson said she was impressed by Reno Rodeo’s organized volunteer system. Reno’s rodeo is larger and has more staff, but with some added help, Robertson believes this system could be implemented locally.

Marketing
Harney County will hold its 100th fair next year and debut a new building at the fairgrounds. Robertson said those two events would be a good opportunity to rebrand with a fresh logo and marketing approach. Robertson hopes to hire a professional to help with marketing.

Emergency planning
Robertson also attended the Oregon Fairs Association sessions on Emergency Management (EM) during a disaster. It’s important for EM and fairgrounds personnel to work closely during such an event. EM is generally more involved with people management, while the fairgrounds is more involved with animal sheltering.

Robertson plans to meet with Harney County Emergency Manager Suzanne Settle to review requirements.

Robertson also noted that a plan should be developed for emergency response to an active shooter event, as there currently isn’t a plan in place.

Carnival
Robertson has been exploring options for carnival providers. Twenty-six providers were once available to service Oregon, California, Washington, Idaho, Nevada, and parts of Canada. Unfortunately, the number of providers has dwindled to six.

Robertson talked to a carnival owner and learned that it would cost at least $100,000 a week to bring a carnival to Harney County. That’s not sustainable for our fair, as Harney County doesn’t have the population to support this expense.

Robertson is contacting other carnival providers to discuss their availability and pricing.

Upgrades
The new sound system should be in place by the May High School Rodeo.

New parts for the septic system at the RV park have arrived and will be installed as soon as the weather permits. This work will be covered under warranty, as the septic system was subject to equipment failure.

Robertson is also looking into upgrading the arena lights and will meet with a lighting company soon.

Events
Robertson compared the events booked in March 2022 and March 2023. The scheduled has doubled this year, and April looks pretty much the same. This is yet another reason why Robertson needs some help.

Event Center
The Fair Board received three responses to its Request for Proposals on the Event Center. Overland Company, which is located in Redmond, was selected.

The board can save money by having a layout and features down on paper before deciding to enter into a contract with Overland. The company said to aim high and then start trimming it down to fit the budget.

The board looked at similar facilities to gain general ideas that will be submitted to Overland. There will likely be several revisions before the final drawing is ready for public review and input.

At this time, an RFP will be sent out for a General Contractor.

Harney County Judge Bill Hart said he’d like to be certain that design changes can be made after the final drawing is submitted to the public.

Robertson said that’s the board’s intent. At this point, the board doesn’t have anything close enough to budget limitations to send a design out to the public.

Harney County Commissioner Patty Dorroh asked about the consultation budget and building timeline.

Robertson $12,000 is budgeted for consultation. She expects this stage to take roughly six months. The building should be ready for use by the 2024 fair. This building is intended to be used as a multi-function event center (not just for fair use).

Hart said he included drawings of other facilities in the agenda packet. These are only examples, not a rendering of anything proposed by the Fair Board. He reiterated that the agenda/minutes package is available for the public to review on the County Court’s website.

Memorial Building
Robertson said floor-repair work is needed in the Memorial Building.

They met with a contractor who estimated the cost between $15,000 and $63,000, depending on the level of repair that is chosen.

No decisions have been made, but it will be nice to have this information for the upcoming budget meetings.

Grants
Robertson is working with Melinda Todd in the Emergency Management Department on a submission for a grant package from the Oregon Department of Human Services Office of Resilience and Emergency Management. This Safer Indoor Environment Grant is intended to go toward replacing the old heating system with a new HVAC system with air conditioning.
They compiled three bids to be submitted, along with the application letter. The maximum award for this grant is $250,000, and they’ve been awarded $211,124.

Robertson said she’s managing six grants for the fairgrounds, totaling $4,876,176. Most professional grant managers take on eight grants at most. This is taking up a lot of Robertson’s time. She reiterated the need for help with the clerical duties of managing the fairgrounds.

•••
In other business:

• The court decided not to donate to the Harney County Opportunity Team (HCOT). HCOT requested a donation to help recover some of the lost revenue they experienced due to COVID-19. Hart said he looked in the budget, but because of the budget situation from a couple years ago, it wouldn’t be financially responsible to make a donation at this time;

• The court reviewed Resolution 2023-08, which makes an intrafund transfer of appropriations within categories for Public Health/RHC Fund 245. The purpose is to transfer $15,000 from the Personnel Services line item to the Materials & Supplies line item in order to meet program requirements.

Harney County Commissioner Kristen Shelman moved to approve the resolution. Dorroh seconded the motion, and it passed;

• Shelman informed the court that she was contacted by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) concerning a lone wolf sighting in the Riley/OO Ranch area. The wolf is reported to have caused some depredation.

Chance Peila also shared the information that ODFW gave him.

A notice was placed on the county’s alert system warning folks to be on the lookout and asking them to report any sightings and depredation.

There was also some wolf activity in the Crane area during the beginning of the year.

Shelman is in the process of setting up a time and meeting spot in the Crane area to discuss this situation and set up a Compensation Committee. This is required by the state in order to receive predation compensation;

• Dorroh and Hart will attend the upcoming Community Revitalization Team (CRT) meeting. State Rep. Pam Marsh, who is a leader in Oregon on broadband, will attend via Zoom. Dorroh will gather additional information from her regarding Harney County’s own effort to bring broadband Internet into the rural areas;

• Shelman is drafting a letter regarding Senate Bill 57, which is sponsored by Sen. Lynn Findley and Rep. Mark Owens. The bill would amend Oregon law to remove the brucellosis vaccine requirement.