ROBERT PIERCE
• Leader & Times
The Five State Free Fair is nearly here, and workers at the Seward County Fairgrounds can be seen on a daily basis making repairs and keeping buildings and grounds in good condition.
Cleaning and maintenance worker Mary Eastman said much work has been done in the Beef Barn.
“We painted and refreshed it,” she said. “We have been cleaning the chicken house, the hog pen and the sheep pens. A big thanks to Adolescent Support. They painted the sheep pins for us.”
On the grounds themselves, Eastman said workers have been trying to keep up with mowing and weed eating to keep weeds under control after some moisture hit earlier this year.
In the fairgrounds’ buildings, Eastman said staff has remained busy flipping from one event to another, with USD 480 conducting enrollment last week in the Activity Center and Chromebook checkouts and the August primary election all taking place before the start of the fair.
“We have many projects in between there,” she said.
Workers are likewise prepping the rodeo arena for archery and horse events during the fair, and Eastman said prep work is also taking place in the livestock arena in anticipation of 4-H and Five State shows during the fair.
“We’ve been working it, getting it ready, getting the pens up for them for their goat showing, their sheep showing, their cow showing,” she said.
Road and Bridge staff too have been getting the grandstands ready for the demolition derby and tractor pull at the fair. Eastman said this weekend will see fairgrounds workers putting in some hours as a wedding will take place Saturday in the Ag Building just one day prior to getting exhibit cases set up in that building.
“That Sunday morning, we always come out there,” she said. “We pull everything out, get it about where it needs to be. The open class, the 4-H’ers, the fair board, they will put them where they need to go. That will be ready.”
New for the Beef Barn, latches for windows in that building were received last week, and Eastman said the windows should be able to open now.
There are some cattle that stay in there during the fair,” she said. “People from the Five State come and put their cows in there also. The guys are going to work on that. All that rock is new on the bottom. They repainted the inside of it, so it’s refreshed.”
Eastman said plans for the upcoming fiscal year call for work on the Beef Barn’s exterior taking place to get the building painted and refreshed.
“There’s going to be some touchup with some paintings in the hog pen and the chicken pens,” she said.
The Livestock Barn has already been set up for the animals being shown by 4-H youth.
When the fair ends, the work continues for fairgrounds staff, as they will be prepping the rodeo arena for the Seward County PRCA Rodeo.
“We still keep working it,” Eastman said. “We will have to bring in bleachers from the city this year, and we’ve already made arrangements on that. We’ll have help bringing them over and taking them back. The city’s cooperating. We’re cooperating. We’re working really well together.”
County commissioners recently accepted bids for new bleachers, but Eastman said those will not be in place in time for this year’s fair and rodeo.
“You’ve got to pour pads,” she said. “That’s going to take time, and then get the bleachers. It’s going to take time. It’ll be there. I’m optimistic it’ll be there by the next fair, and I will be happy to see it.”
The fairgrounds recently lost a longtime worker, Joe Clay, to retirement and another, Carmen Pando, to death. Eastman said two new workers, Carlos Romero and Maria Hernandez De Jimenez, have helped with much of the work. She said Romero has been helping with the growing need for mowing, and other staff have helped with spraying for weeds.
Eastman is currently limited in her duties due to an injury, but she said Romero and Hernandez De Jimenez have helped greatly with the needed work.
“Maria’s here to do the custodial part,” she said. “I do a little bit. Carlos is here to do part of the outside maintenance. We were struggling, but we’re starting to get ahead.”
Inside the Activity Center, particularly in the large exhibit room, a difference can be seen, as new Kal Wall windows have been installed. Eastman said that result came after a few obstacles.
“They are put in,” she said. “They are finished. They are beautiful. When you walk in, you will see how bright it is compared to all those years of the yellow plexiglass. It’s wonderful.”
Drainage has been a constant issue at the fairgrounds, and Eastman said staff simply deals with the issue after precipitation has fallen.
“We don’t have an answer to that question,” she said.
Sprinkler systems at the fairgrounds have been working great, according to Eastman.
“We replaced the valves in one of the areas, but they’ve been working,” she said. “The grass is green. I’m happy.”
Eastman said projects for the new fiscal year include some minor ones in the west end of the Ag Building.
“We still have the metal to do it,” she said. “We have worked on this one piece of the old Road and Bridge building. We’ve been putting new panels on. There’s some repairs to do there. We just have to do our normal painting of the walls like we do every year.”
Starting in 2025, some fees will go up for use of buildings at the fairgrounds, but for now, Eastman said buildings are still being used on a regular basis.
“We’ve booked more than half of 2025 right now with quinceañeras and weddings, plus we have to do our rollovers with our community functions,” she said. “We have those already set into effect. We’ll know when we do budget in July next year how it’s working for 2026.”
Eastman said rental fees will go up for both the Ag Building and Activity Center. Deposits for both buildings will remain the same, but booking fees will now be non-refundable.
“It’s going to be considered as rental,” she said. “We do tell them when they book the event it’s non-refundable. We’ll see if that helps with evening out our bills where we’re not in so much of a debt.”
Eastman said deposits will be given back in the event of a cancellation, and she said this is being done in order to keep up with the cost of utilities and repairs.
“We are getting more repairs,” she said. “Our utilities are going up. In the Event Center, we watch all the electricity during the week. We don’t run the lights as much. With the air conditioners, we leave them where it’s not cold, but it’s not hot. We try to watch everything we do with the utilities. If we get a water break, we know the water bill’s going to go up. We’ve had two water breaks this year, not major.”
County commissioners recently wrapped up their budget work session, with a hearing set for Sept. 3 for the public to address concerns about the county choosing to exceed the Revenue Neutral Rate this year. In the fairgrounds budget, Eastman said commissioners were asked to do some increases because of higher utility costs, and the capital improvement plan budget proposal had some added items as well.
“We just had the budget hearing, and we don’t know anything at this point what’s been accepted on the CIP,” she said.
