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The Dewey City Council is left with questions as potential for a new site for the Washington County Fairgrounds is being discussed.

Mayor Tom Hays read from a letter during the Council's meeting on Monday night, asking why the fairgrounds in Dewey are being abandoned. Hays says Washington County has neglected the buildings and the grounds for decades. He says the County has always told Dewey that the monies were not available and the facility could not support itself when asked about improving the facilities.

Now, as mentioned in the letter, there is a proposal for a new $40 million plus Green Country Expo Center. Mayor Hays asks how is it possible for them to have transitioned from not being able to rework and make improvements to the existing Washington County Fairgrounds to asking the citizens of Washington County to build a huge expo.

The history of the existing fairgrounds has fallen under the microscope as it goes back to the very beginning of Washington County. Mayor Hays says Jake and Nannie Bartles donated the land for the fairgrounds as a gift for everyone in the County. Hays says concrete from the Tyler family was used in the construction of the current building. He says we are all walking in the same footsteps as our forefathers and legends when we first step onto the property.

Mayor Hays believes the plan to create an expensive Green Country Expo in another location rejects that heritage. Hays says it places a huge burden on Washington County's citizens. He says the time is now to consider the original beginnings and use the existing property already owned by the County.

"There is potential for expansion, the utilities and infrastructure are available and in place," Hays says. "Let's develop and expand our current facilities and 'build our future on our heritage.'"

Before this proposal for a new expo comes to a vote of the citizens of Washington County, Mayor Hays says there are some serious questions to ask:

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• If there are no monies available to maintain the current fairgrounds, how will the expo be maintained?
• What is the business plan?
• Is there any guarantee that the expo will be able to support itself?
• What will smaller venues do?
• Where can they hold their events?
• How much will it cost to use the facility?

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Other questions asked throughout the conversation include:

• What will happen to the old facility if Washington County changes locations?
• Who actually owns the fairgrounds?

During the Dewey City Council's discussion before the public, Council members noted how the City of Dewey has never been invited by the Washington County Public Facilities Authority (WCPFA) to attend their meetings. A trustee of the WCPFA, a resident of Dewey, was in attendance and told the Council that they are welcome to come to their open meetings at any time.

The trustee said they do not have to be invited to attend a public meeting that is always publicized. He said he was asked personally to be a sworn-in trustee to represent Dewey, but did not answer when asked if he supported the new expo center efforts or not.

Councilwoman Kay Bales argued that other communities in Washington County seem to have been invited to these occasions while Dewey hasn't. Mayor Hays said you probably wouldn't want to invite someone to a meeting if they were going to have a negative look at the topic at hand. He said it seems as if the project is moving way too quick, which is why they held a discussion on the matter on Monday night.

Bales stated that the fairgrounds have not been managed properly, otherwise the building would be rented out every weekend and a couple of nights during the week. She said she is for Dewey in this matter.

A feasibility study by Kent Stroman of Stroman & Associates was presented to the WCPFA on March 2 to outline the project. More on that story here.

As outlined in the feasibility study, the goal of the WCPFA is to put a Bond Election before the public to vote on by Summer 2022.

No action was taken by the Dewey City Council. Another discussion regarding the Washington County Fairgrounds may be held by the Council in April.