Fairgrounds, Senior Center
winners in county budget
Snohomish County's "painful" 2009
council budget won't hurt the Sky Valley.
In fact, it will help the senior center and
could help the fairgrounds.
Countywide, the government faced huge
cutbacks due to rising costs and reduced
incomes. As a result, about 160 county
positions were eliminated, many for planning.
In recent years, the planning department
was getting at least one major applicant per
day, said county councilman Dave Somers,
who represents the east county. This year,
there is approximately one per month.
That meant a large decrease in county
income for permits. Combined with rising
health care and fuel costs, coupled with
extremely limited property tax growth and a
drop in sales tax, resulted in $21 million dollars
less to spend than projected. But the county council's version of the budget, which calls for an additional one percent across-the-board budget cut, is balanced.
In that budget is some good news for the East County. First of all, none of the major personnel cuts, most of which impacted the planning department at the county, deeply affected Sky Valley programs.
Most programs, such as Cocoon House, which provides shelter and services to homeless and at-risk kids, will receive funding at the same levels as last year. And some programs will actually get a boost. Due to a growth in the population of senior citizens, Snohomish County senior centers, including the East County Senior Center in Monroe, got a modest funding increase. And the fairgrounds, a source of considerable concern among the east county business community for its deterioration and possible subsequent decline as a revenue generator, may actually get more revenue for repairs and upgrades.
The budget calls for the fairgrounds to become an enterprise fund, meaning that all the money it earns, it keeps. Currently the fairgrounds, which is a profitable part of Snohomish County parks, is a quasi-enterprise fund.
That is a complex word that doesn't really mean anything, according to Somers. "My staff claims that between $600,000 and several million each year flows out of the fairgrounds to pay for staff elsewhere," said Somers. That has been disputed by the county, but sources close to the fairgrounds say that at least some money leaves the fairgrounds each year and never comes back.
The business community of the east county recently formed a task force to explore ways to achieve the renovation of the fairgrounds. If the fairgrounds, which has fallen nearly 20 years behind in upkeep and building repair and replacement, is refurbished, the value to the east county could be great. But if it is allowed to decline, it could go defunct altogether as other fairs, including the King County Fair, have around the state. That could mean a loss of millions in associated revenue for the Monroe and Sky Valley area.
Years ago, the county council resolved to make the fairgrounds a year-round operation, said Somers. Trade shows, sports events and animal events such as dog shows and horse competitions could provide year-round income for the fairgrounds and also for nearby businesses.
But in order to win those large events to the fairgrounds, they will need some upgrades. The old-fashioned buildings are too poorly insulated and heated, too dilapidated and in many cases, too crammed with support posts and have acoustics that are too poor to attract many lucrative trade shows. "If we don't keep the facilities in decent shape and meeting modern standards, we will lose revenue," said Somers.
It's not clear how much money the parks department has kept from the fair's annual income and used in other parts of the department. It might not be enough to fix the fairground's leaking rooftops, much less replace old buildings. But every little bit helps, said Somers.
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