Roosevelt County discusses adding full-time fairgrounds staff and $75,000 repair allocation

Roosevelt County officials spent the meeting reviewing line items for the fairgrounds, including personnel changes, maintenance needs and several capital repairs.

Anthony, a staff member involved in fairgrounds operations, told the commission there is “a potential that Gary is going to be retiring this fall,” and said that if that happens the county may convert an existing position to full time and add another dedicated fairgrounds maintenance worker. Commissioners asked whether a listed full-time salary figure included benefits; Anthony said the figure covered salary only and that the county had received several applications for the opening.

Commissioners and staff also examined repair and upgrade line items grouped under roughly $75,000. The itemized list discussed included $10,000 for pavilion art-room upgrades, $5,000 for a Jake Lopez door, $20,000 for roof repairs and an estimated $60,000 for concrete work to raise and make outdoor bathrooms ADA-accessible. Committee members emphasized that several figures were preliminary and that clearer bids were needed before committing funds.

On utilities and vendor hookups, one committee member said a contractor estimated about $4,000 for its portion of underground hookups but noted that additional electrician and plumber bids were still pending. Speakers said fairgrounds pays its utilities and that, where appropriate, reimbursement or cost-sharing would be examined. Members also discussed panels and gates (a $50,000 line was questioned) and the need to replace worn bleachers and improve the outdoor arena’s speaker system.

Equipment purchases came up in the same conversation: one commissioner reported an apples-to-apples comparison showing a John Deere package at about $113,000 versus a Kubota option near $92,000, and noted growth-fund rules that limit how funds may be used. A committee member said the tractor and attachments were included in the current budget totals and suggested the group could make a procurement decision as soon as the next meeting.

The discussion closed with staff and commissioners agreeing to gather more precise bids and to hold a work session to revisit the fairgrounds master plan and prioritize which structures to renovate versus replace. No formal vote or motion on the line items was recorded in the transcript.

Next steps: staff will seek bids and present updated cost estimates and proposals for the commission to consider at a future meeting.