By CHERYL SCHWEIZER

Staff Writer

MOSES LAKE — Demolishing or repurposing some of the empty food booths at the Grant County Fairgrounds and upgrades at the Moses Lake Roundup arena are some of the ideas being discussed for the fairgrounds in 2021.

Fairgrounds director Jim McKiernan discussed some of the possible changes for 2021 with the Grant County commissioners on Oct. 20.

Selling food during the Grant County Fair has been a popular fundraiser for community groups for decades. Most of the existing nonprofit organization food booths are occupied by local community groups like Youth Dynamics and service organizations like the Moses Lake and Ephrata Lions. But some booths are empty, and McKiernan said many of the groups are having trouble getting volunteers. And that, he said, is a trend he expects to continue.

McKiernan asked commissioners for ideas on what to do with the empty buildings, and among the options is demolishing or remodeling. The prime candidate to be demolished, he said, would be the booth last occupied by Grant County Animal Outreach. It is directly outside the Commercial Building. If the booth were removed and a concrete pad installed, the pad and the existing utilities would make an spot attractive for food trucks, he said.

Commissioners and fairgrounds operators also again discussed turning a building formerly occupied by the Moses Lake Eagles into a break room for people working at the fair. The building is structurally sound but needs a new roof, McKiernan said, and it would require utility upgrades.

Construction began this week on the new lights for the rodeo arena, he said, and in the process crews found a lot of electrical connections around the arena that will require upgrading. Crews found electrical boxes that fairgrounds officials didn’t even know were there, McKiernan said. The light poles had provided a handy spot to add new electrical boxes over the years, but all of those will be removed with the old light poles.

An upgraded electrical system — one that meets current building codes — will be needed for the arena’s video screen and nearby food booths, McKiernan said.

While the lights are being installed, the Moses Lake Roundup committee is planning to add a sprinkler system to water the arena during events. The rodeo committee will pay for that part of the project, he said.

While the lights are being installed, McKiernan said, fairgrounds officials plan to remove the now-unused racetrack around the arena, as well as cut down some dead trees and paint the water tank.

Cheryl Schweizer can be reached via email at [email protected].