With Calistoga’s purchase of the Fairgrounds scheduled for July 22, the city on Tuesday took its first official steps toward making the property profitable when it locked down rental fees for what is known as the “Great Lawn.”
Since announcing a deal to purchase the 71-acre property from Napa County earlier this year, the City Council has been discussing ways to revive the once thriving facility and has made revenue generation there a top priority.
The city will pay $2 million to the county purchase the land and has budgeted an additional $750,000 this year to pay for basic landscaping and upkeep costs, and to hire a Fairgrounds director who will oversee initial revitalization efforts of the property following a decade or more of deferred maintenance.
One of the council’s most frequently discussed plans to offset expenses incurred by the acquisition involves repairing and reopening the Fairgrounds RV Park, which historically had been the property’s most profitable operation.
“I’m glad that this particular issue came up because this was not the first thing that I was thinking to rent,” Councilmember Kevin Eisenberg said during Tuesday’s meeting. “But it’s a great idea, and it could bring in revenue as well as serve the needs of the community.”
The cost to rent the large, grass field located between the Tubbs and the Crop buildings, for events will be $1,200 a day, with an $800 refundable security deposit and a $50 application fee.
At the council meeting, recently-appointed Deputy City Manager Rachel Stepp (formerly Melick), made some clarifications regarding the cost to rent the lawn space.
Stepp said there would not be a separate rate for nonprofit use of the Great Lawn, although it would be left to the City Council’s discretion to provide a discounted rate on an event-by-event basis. Also, she said, set-up and break-down for events would need to occur on the same day as the event; otherwise, the $1,200 daily rental fee would apply if those activities took place in the days before or after the event.
Mayor Donald Williams, who worked with Councilmember Scott Cooper to successfully negotiate the purchase the property after years of failed efforts, said that both men had been hearing about the possibility of renting out the Great Lawn for about a year.
“We have interest [from outside parties] in renting [the lawn] already, even though we're not quite yet the owners of the property,” Williams said Tuesday.
Cooper added, “It’s just exciting to see us making progress on the fairgrounds.”
In addition to reopening the RV Park, the City Council has included as its other top Fairgrounds priorities for the year the creation of a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, and an assessment to determine community desires for use of the property.
