Spring events at fairgrounds to include ag fair, ‘camp-out’
Calistoga’s City Council, which will now convene once a month to discuss matters only relating to the fairgrounds property, met on Tuesday for the first of these regularly scheduled meetings.
The Council discussed a range of topics, including whether to hold an agricultural fair this year, a requirement if the 70.6-acre property is to retain its state-designated “fairground” status. Maintaining that title will allow the city to apply for various revenue allocations and grants from the state, Fairgrounds Director Sheli Wright said.
The qualifying agricultural fair must be held before the end of the fiscal year in June, Wright told the Council. “We are going to have to be out the gate running in order to get something like this off the ground before June 30,” she said. “But it doesn’t mean that it’s not doable.”
To pull off the fair in the short time frame, the event would have to be “very small” and meet specific requirements set by the California Department of Food and Agriculture, she said.
The plan, she explained, is to host a “people’s choice” wine tasting event that will showcase local wineries and allow attendees to vote for their favorites. Wright said she had talked with consultants and local wineries about the event, although a Council discussion raised questions about whether the city could incorporate local businesses and talent into the event.
Councilmember Lisa Gift suggested contracting with Celebrate! Napa Valley, and Councilmember Kevin Eisenberg suggested a home winemaker competition. Those ideas were rebuffed as Wright said they raised potential insurance and licensing complications.
“We want to include the local community as much as possible,” Mayor Donald Williams said. “But I think it’s important not to jeopardize the designation of the property as fairgrounds in the eyes of the state and to risk being unqualified for the funding that may become available.”
The allocated budget is $29,000 for the agriculture fair, which is planned for May 24, Wright said.
The Council added to the event calendar, agreeing to an overnight “camp-out” party at the fairgrounds RV park on the weekend of March 29.
The free community camp-out will showcase the upgrades to the park and provide an opportunity to recognize the many volunteers who worked to get the grounds up and running. The celebratory event will precede the official April 1 opening of the park, which has been closed since 2018.
For the first six months the RV park is open, the city has identified ambassador hosts who will take on responsibilities such as greeting guests and monitoring activity on the property.
“It would be very hard to expect these people to be there 24/7 to greet guests and make sure everything’s okay,” Wright said of the host model. “We still have to have a combined presence on the grounds.”
The Council discussed various long-term RV park management options and ultimately directed staff to retain a volunteer park ambassador who would live on-site, in addition to allowing a city employee – possibly a fairgrounds maintenance person – to live at the two-bedroom, one bath N. Oak Street home, adjacent to the campgrounds.
This option, Wright said, would enhance security and reduce management costs. Because local volunteers have already removed old carpet in the home and made some improvements, she said, finishing renovations to the home could be done relatively quickly and inexpensively, for roughly $5,000. The market rental value for the house was determined by city staff to be $3,000 per month.
Also at the meeting, the Council approved a work plan for the to-be-formed Fairgrounds Advisory Committee, which will consist of five community members, two Council members and a staff liaison.
Its goals will include soliciting community feedback for the professionally conducted survey, assisting staff with data collection, analyzing grants and alternative funding mechanisms to secure financial resources, and identifying and evaluating infrastructure projects at the property to generate sustainable revenue.
While the Council also discussed whether to establish an enterprise fund specific to the fairgrounds, based on city staff recommendations, it concluded that such a fund would be cost-prohibitive and would put constraints on events at the property.
Deputy City Manager Rachel Stepp said the city had previously established Fund 70 for the fairgrounds, which tracks the property’s various revenues and expenses with a detailed balance sheet and financial reporting to provide transparency.
Unlike regular City Council meetings, which are live streamed on multiple online platforms, the fairgrounds meeting was in-person only and drew an audience of about 30 people.
