Rabbits and horses left the Benton County Fairgrounds. The Cowboy Gathering and Republicans may too

Rabbits have left the Benton County Fairgrounds. Horses, too.

Poultry and Republicans and the Columbia River Cowboy Gathering could be the next users to seek new venues.

The fairgrounds in east Kennewick are “a mess” following the unexpected departure of the county’s fairgrounds manager, John Donley, and an uprising by longtime tenants over the dramatic increase in rental rates.

And the higher rental fees will fall hard on 4-H youth groups, which lost their long-time discounts and were already having trouble reaching an agreement with the county. There already have been no sanctioned 4-H events at the fairgrounds for two years.

Rising rents are just part of the problem.

Last week, a Kennewick nonprofit that helps families with special needs children was forced to cancel its three-day Easter festival, including a professional carnival, at the Kennewick fairgrounds.

The canceled fundraiser means the Family Resource Center of the Tri-Cities is being evicted from its office this week because it doesn’t have money to pay its rent.

The agency learned just two weeks earlier that it did not have a signed contract and the county would not honor the group’s verbal agreement with Donley.

The fairgrounds manager left a stack of incomplete contracts when he left, according to Commission Chairman Jerome Delvin.

“There’s a mess to clean up out there,” he said during a recent commission meeting.

Several event planners told the Herald they believed they had contracts to use facilities after negotiating with Donley, only to have county officials tell them they don’t.

They also were told that the lease rates had increased dramatically, adding thousands of dollars to the cost to use the fairground buildings, barns and gardens. On average, weekday rental rates rose by 200 percent or more.

The Benton County Republican Party and All Things Poultry, a 4-H event happening this weekend, both faced uncertainty about their venues long after they thought they had confirmed arrangements to use the fairgrounds.

And the Benton-Franklin Fair, the largest tenant, is eager to renew its five-year lease, which expires at the end of this year.

It is unclear how the new rates, the first increase since 2014, will affect the bicounty fair, held every year in August.

“We have not begun negotiations yet but hope to be able to do that very soon,” said Lori Lancaster, the fair association executive director. “The fair will be here before we know it and we need to have an understanding of what the future looks like.”

The association pays about $200,000 annually in rent, utilities and facility charges to use the fairgrounds between Aug. 8 and Sept. 7.

Alarmed by reports of contract disputes and surging prices, Benton County Commissioner Shon Small said he wants the commission to review the rental situation when it meets Tuesday.

“We’re very proud of the fairgrounds. We definitely want to treat people fairly,” said he told the Herald.

The commission adopted the new rates on Dec. 5 meeting, when it approved 26 items on the routine consent agenda in a single 3-0 vote. Meeting minutes and the official audio recording confirm there was no discussion.

Neither Delvin nor Commissioner Jim Beaver could be reached about the issue.

Since learning about it, the commission has given County Administrator David Sparks the authority to grant special discounts of up to 50 percent if he believes it’s appropriate for youth and nonprofit organizations.

Rate defense

Shyanne Faulconer, a county spokeswoman, declined to comment on Donley’s sudden departure, calling it a personnel matter.

The fairgrounds office is closed. County administrators are sorting through documents, including the incomplete contracts, while a search is conducted for a new fairgrounds manager.

“It’s been a juggling act,” Falconer said.

Falconer defended the higher rents, saying they partly reflect a recent $1.6 million renovation to Buildings 2 and 3.

They also reflect the rising cost of doing business since the old rates were adopted in March 2014.

The new rates far exceed the 4.3 percent inflation rate for that period, sometimes doubling — even tripling — the previous cost, and that’s without factoring in the discounts some groups received.

For 4-H — an organization that has about 1,800 kids locally — the net result is a stunning bump.

The rodeo grandstands now cost the group $2,130, instead of $500. Building 2 goes for $3,000, when they used to pay $800.

Small said former managers proposed the rates under the commission’s policy to let managers advise them on such matters. Still, he was unhappy to hear of increases of 300 percent or more in some categories.

It costs $11,000 a day to lease the entire 126-acre fairgrounds, an increase of 10 percent.

Weekend rates for most commercial buildings and livestock buildings rose 6 percent. The big increases were reserved for weekday rentals.

Small said he supports reinstating affordable rates for the youth groups.

Contract consternation

The Family Resource Center was counting on its Easter-weekend event to generate $50,000 to cover office and business expenses. It presold-tickets and hired a carnival and various vendors.

Executive Director Yadira Galvan said she believed she had a verbal contract when the fairgrounds put the festival on its calendar and officials assured her “everything was a go.”

She said she was told to pay the $6,100 lease the week before the event. She was asked to pay a deposit, but refused without a written contract.

In mid-March, county officials invited her to a meeting.

They brought an empty file folder, Galvan said. She brought her quote.

She was told the $6,100 wasn’t feasible and there wasn’t time to complete a formal contract. She tried to find a new site in the Tri-Cities to hold her event but was forced to cancel, jeopardizing her ability to book those vendors in the future and facing eviction.

“Something’s not right here,” said Galvan, who added that she is talking to lawyers. “We are going to seek all the damages for all the money we missed out and for damage to our reputation.”

The Benton County Republican Party reports a similar experience, but with a better outcome — its May 17 Lincoln Day Dinner, featuring Pete Hegseth of Fox News, will go on.

Last fall, treasurer Jarold Strickler began negotiating to lease the updated buildings for its only fundraiser of the year, a 500-seat affair.

In February, Strickler believed the party had a contract to lease the facility for $1,500 and sent a check for $250 to secure the deal. The county cashed the check.

In March, however, officials notified the party it did not have a contract. New rates would apply, nearly tripling its lease cost.

“We said, ‘No, that’s not acceptable,’” Strickler said.

He appealed to the commissioners, reminding them of the cashed deposit check. The commission voted to honor the original understanding.

Strickler said the party will explore other venues for 2019.

Aging fairgrounds

Aging fairgrounds in need of updates and new revenue streams are hardly unique.

Support for fairs in general is flagging and communities struggle with costly, old facilities, said Sarah Cummings, executive director of the Sacramento, Calif.-based Western Fairs Association.

She wasn’t familiar with the situation in Kennewick, but said renovations require compensating revenue.

“It’s not uncommon for pricing to change,” she said. “It is not uncommon to stay current with market rates for rentals.”

The county’s investment in Buildings 2 and 3 added air conditioning, a catering kitchen, family bathroom, AV equipment, LED lighting and new paint. The goal: Boost the fairgrounds’ profile with meeting organizers and recruit conventions, indoor concerts, business gatherings and more.

Strickler, with the Republican party, said the remodel worked.

“We wouldn’t have considered it without the building having been upgraded,” he said.

County officials have not expressed a desire to make the fairgrounds more self-sufficient. It would not be a surprise if they did.

Rental income raises just 15 percent of the fairgrounds’ $3.5 million biennial budget for 2017-18.

Franklin County has moved to eliminate its subsidies of TRAC, which it splits with the city of Pasco. The Trade, Recreation and Agricultural Center began turning a modest profit in 2017 but previously cost taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars each in prior years.

And it is actively moving to attract money-making events. In May, the county will pave the dirt-floored arena after concluding livestock and monster truck events aren’t lucrative enough. In a nod to the “agriculture” in its name, TRAC is upgrading its outdoor arena.

New rates a deal killer

For organizers of the Columbia River Cowboy Gathering & Music Festival and All Things Poultry, the new rental rates could spell the end of two low-cost events.

The 15th annual Cowboy Gathering, April 13-15, offers a weekend of cowboy-themed worship, entertainment and a cowboy version of “American Idol.”

Evening concerts typically draw 700 to 800 people, said Judy Massengale, organizer and founder.

The gathering pays about $3,700 to lease space under a five-year agreement that ends this year. Massengale was quoted $15,000 when she asked to renew the contract.

“We can’t do it. We simply cannot do it,” she said. The gathering is conceived as a family-friendly event with a low admission price.

“It is ridiculously low, but that means everyone can go and that is our mission,” Massengale said. “Maybe this is a sign for us to stop at 15 years.”

All Things Poultry, presented by Leftovers 4-H, is another core user contemplating its future. Its 12th annual event is Saturday. But it nearly fell apart a month ago, said Leslie Linderoth.

Linderoth was shocked to discover her standing reservation for the first weekend in April wasn’t in the books. Seeking another venue wasn’t an option. The event needs the coops available at the fairgrounds. She notes a key local rabbit show was held at TRAC last month.

The chicken show will go on, thanks to a temporary agreement. But the arrangements are not ideal. Poultry isn’t welcome in the remodeled buildings, the event’s old home.

“The fairgrounds are doing what a lot of fairgrounds are doing, converting buildings to compete for weddings and so forth, to the exclusion of animals,” she said.

All Things Poultry is conceived as a family-friendly event with no admission price. It’s a chance for people to visit with top-flight breeders and to soak in poultry related essays, photographs and so forth. If rent rises, it can’t go on.

“I wanted this to be a place for people to bring their birds and their kids and have fun,” she said. “They’re forgetting who the fairgrounds are for.”

Horses already bolted

Most 4-H horse events quit the fairgrounds after the 2014 rate increase, said Leota Hallyburton, chair of the Benton-Franklin 4-H Horse Committee.

Traditionally, 4-H used the 4-H Arena at no cost since the organization built it in the ‘60s.

When the county first started charging rent, horse groups moved to the Franklin County Saddle Club and the Richland Riders Club, which offer the use of four and two arenas, respectively, at comparable rates to the fairgrounds, which has just one.

“They’re charging more and offering less,” Hallyburton said.

“They’re pushing out the young people who are going to be paying the taxes to keep it going in the future.”

This story was originally published April 5, 2018 at 3:20 PM with the headline "Rabbits and horses left the Benton County Fairgrounds. The Cowboy Gathering and Republicans may too."