The Fair!
What does the fun summer event mean for the area economy?
Lisl Garnett
For The Sentinel
Every year people flock to the Klickitat County Fair and Rodeo. It provides an opportunity for kids to show their crafts, show the animals they have raised, and gain skills. It allows adults to enjoy music, entertainment, and the thrill of the rodeo. But the fair does more than that for the area.
Each year vendors, rodeo participants, and tourists come to Goldendale. They stay in local hotels, eat at local restaurants, and fill up at local gas stations. Word of the Klickitat County Fair and Rodeo creates publicity for Goldendale up and down the Gorge. There’s an increase in people visiting art museums and shows, historical sites, and the restaurants.
According to Lori Anderson, in charge of commercial booths for the fair, the fact that the Wasco County Fair coincides with the Klickitat County Fair this year has drawn away some of the expected business. Nonetheless, increased sales for local businesses are still expected for the fair weekend. Wes Lund of the Goldendale IGA Market states, “Sales are about the same as memorial weekend but not quite as high as Christmas or New Year’s.”
Nam Sun Whitner, owner of the Ponderosa Motel, says she does not see an increase business during the fair time. She gets relatively little business from events at the fairgrounds and even less so since they put in the RV hookups last year. Most of her business is currently coming from windmill workers in town, with a few tourists for the Goldendale Observatory or the Maryhill Winery.
According to Ron Ihrig, a former fair board member, ticket sales have averaged about 3,000 each year. This brings up that the primary financial advantage to the fair may not be so easily seen through numbers and figures but rather through the attention it draws to the local businesses and to the community. Advertisements for the Klickitat County Fair go out all over the state. Focus is on the entire fair, beginning with the opening barbecue (with all county-grown food) to the rodeo and, more broadly, on Klickitat County itself.
The booths are a good example of this. According to Anderson, of the 35 booths at this year’s fair, 23 are informational booths. These include everything from the Goldendale Economic Development board to Klickitat Valley Hospital. This gives a high-visibility chance for these businesses to build goodwill by reaching people they would never be able to reach through normal means of advertisement. It also provides an opportunity for groups such as the Goldendale High School’s junior class to raise funds through their elephant ear booth.
The Still Life exhibits are another example of the way small businesses can call attention to their services. The Golden Art Gallery has a booth that highlights the advantages of art in the local area and local artist products. The Grain Growers always have a display that shows the importance of agriculture within Klickitat county. Individual artists who sell their art on the side have a chance to show it in the Still Life competition. Awards gained in these areas help these individuals expand their businesses and refine their art.
The fair also encourages entrepreneurialism among young people. Rebecca Howell of Goldendale raises and sells goats, and she says she earned close to $400 for a goat last year and this year plans to sell another goat and rabbits. This is just one example of a young woman who has learned through the fair the realities of business—she’s had to deal with such things as costs, margins, and related financial matters. She agreed that the fair has encouraged this type of business learning with people her age.
Dogs spark national attention on area
Rebecca Gourley
Reporter
About a dozen extra Goldendale residents joined in the conversation going on at City Hall Monday night for the city council meeting. Included in the agenda were the ongoing issues with the Parking Ordinance passed June 21 and the much-discussed matter of the animal control facility.
Dogs of the Gorge have been doing all they can do for the 48 dogs that they recently acquired. Featured nationally on CNN and other local news stations, the organization has received many much-needed donations from people all over the nation. “That building needs to be four times that size,” said council member Steve Johnston, followed by applause and cheering from community members present. Lisa Mabrey, of Dogs of the Gorge, added her comment to the issue, saying they have had to deal with all kinds of illnesses with the 48 dogs rescued, from kennel cough to parasites. However, she added that the shelter has received many large donations from all over. They received a $2,500 donation for the spay and neuter of all the dogs taken in. They also had a 2,000-pound donation of dog food come in on Aug. 17 from Food Source in Seattle. Other donations include 50 collars and leashes and countless hours that volunteers put in to walk and bathe the dogs. Most of the dogs are being fostered, as there is not enough room at the shelter for all of them. The foster homes have almost all agreed to adopt the dogs in their care.
While there had been concern that the still-legal owner of the dogs might be able to get them back, Mabrey said that the owner has said the dogs were not wanted if they were spayed and neutered. All of the dogs in question were scheduled for spaying and neutering yesterday.
The original budget for the City of Goldendale included $45,000 set aside for improvements to the animal control facility. After noting that 2010 property tax revenue was going to have a significant decrease (about $100,000), the council indicated it had to adjust the budget. The improvement budget for the animal control facility went down to $5,000. Police Chief Rick Johnson pointed out that this is the only animal control facility in Klickitat County, not just in Goldendale. The city wants to team up with volunteers from the shelter and devise a plan to get the county on board to help with the improvements needed for the facility, suggested by Mayor Arletta Parton. “We’ll go to the commissioner’s meeting as a group, a force,” said the mayor. She added that she’ll go to the Commissioner’s office Wednesday to get the issue on the agenda for a future meeting. Johnston added, “Not one entity could pull this off, but together we could.” Mabrey commented, “We can do it, I know we can.”
Another issue covered in the meeting was the acceptance of a greenhouse gas reduction policy. Included in the policy were incorporating cost-effective, energy-efficient design in publicly funded buildings; monitoring the efficiency of the pumps in water and sewer systems; and expanding recycling programs, among others. Many cities are adopting greenhouse gas reduction policies, said City Administrator Larry Bellamy.
Some talk about the parking ordinance passed in June came up as well. Notices were sent out to a handful of residents who were in violation of the parking ordinance. Many residents are still parking their vehicles on the planting strip, between the curb and the property line, which is a violation of the new ordinance. The city made it clear that they are trying to “encourage voluntary compliance.” The council gave residents deadlines to move their vehicles, and if they didn’t meet it, then law enforcement were notified.
Development meeting sees promise for Goldendale
Rebecca Gourley
Reporter
There was encouraging news, as well as challenges, for the area at Tuesday’s Economic Development meeting. Compliments went out to the Goldendale Police Department, while Section 8 (Department of Housing and Urban Development) housing came up for discussion, along with results from a mail-out survey conducted a few years ago.
“People feel safe in Goldendale,” said City Administrator Larry Bellamy. There have been many comments about the police department and how they are doing a good job at keeping crime down, Bellamy shared.
“What do residents think?” was the name of the survey sent out to Goldendale residents (within city limits) in 2007. About 20 percent of recipients returned the survey, about 300 to 400 people. As far as economic development goes, overall residents thought that the city of Goldendale needed to focus more on the downtown area and keeping a small town feeling.
“There’s no incentive for people to find jobs and become self-sufficient,” said one of the meeting attendees, referring to Section 8 housing. HUD housing in Goldendale is very affordable but at the same time often does not provide the best living conditions. The standards for Section 8, coming from federal criteria, are very minimal. Mentioned at the meeting was the fact that Portland was trying to establish its own standards for Section 8 housing, but at a cost. For a city to hire its own inspector means big money for the plan. Nonetheless, some at the Economic Development meeting attendees wanted to look at the possibility of setting up HUD standards for the city of Goldendale.
As of now, Standards for section 8 housing are extremely minimal, it was shared at the meeting. A few things included in the inspection checklist are that the windows and doors open, close and lock; that there is “adequate heat;” and there is no lead-based paint anywhere. Nowhere in the inspection form does it say anything about insects or infestations of any kind. Nor are there criteria for what constitutes adequate heat. Heating can be described drastically different depending on the inspector’s and the renter’s judgments. Other things are missing from the HUD inspection form standards that many Goldendale residents would consider themselves to be standard, some at the meeting considered. About 13 percent of Goldendale housing is Section 8. It was also commented that in five to 10 years, these places of living will no longer adhere to the minimal standards set by the HUD itself.
So why are people attracted to Goldendale? Rents are low, some at the meeting said. People can get a bigger house for the same amount of money if they move here from a bigger city. Ultimately, the cost of living is lower in Goldendale; this is especially attractive in this rough economy.
Overall, the tone of the meeting showed that great promise is held for the future of Goldendale. Attendees made comments about what they saw happening 20 years down the road, including landscaping of the Highway 97 entrances and beautifying of the city’s streets. |
