Fair board fires back at Langley

Published 6:00 am Wednesday, July 12, 2006

Island County Fair officials said they are appalled by Langley’s plans to acquire a piece of the fairgrounds for a road easement by using the condemnation process.

Discussions about the easement across fair property have been going on since last year, but when negotiations hit an impasse earlier this month, the city council authorized Mayor Neil Colburn to start the eminent domain process so the city can build a connector road between Al Anderson and Langley roads.

During a fair board meeting Monday, fair officials said the city is trying to bully them into giving up the property.

Langley hasn’t given the board enough information to make a decision on the easement request, fair officials added.

Dan Ollis, fair board chairman, said the board had hoped to revisit the easement request after the fair is over in August. The volunteer board needs to spend its time focusing on preparing for the four-day fair next month.

“We acted in good faith,” Ollis said.

Fair board members also complained that they had not seen engineer drawings for the proposed easement, and that the city had reneged on an early agreement.

“The fair board has yet to see any engineered drawings,” Ollis said.

“The city of Langley, with its ‘for the public’s benefit’ attitude, is trying to administratively take property belonging to the people of Island County,” Ollis said.

“We have heard that city officials have threatened both lawsuits and shutting down the fair in order to take a portion of fair property. The fair board believes that it has been more than reasonable, considering that it is made up of volunteers and has limited timelines,” Ollis added.

Langley officials have said the easement is critical for keeping traffic in check after the Highlands, the biggest housing project in city history, is built on land east of the fairgrounds.

The easement for Fairgrounds Road would stretch approximately one-quarter mile between Al Anderson Road and Langley Road; about 400 feet of the road would cross fairgrounds property, said city administrator Walt Blackford.

The road would be 18 to 22 feet wide, and the city has asked for a 40- to 60-foot-wide easement across the fairgrounds.

For a short stretch, the road would follow the route of an existing road on the fairgrounds property. The proposed easement would start at the south gate of the fairgrounds — a piece of property shaped like a piece of pie — and cut across a sliver of property at the narrow end of the fairgrounds parcel.

The fair board has opposed the easement because it would cut the fairgrounds into two parts and isolate the tent campground from the main portion of the property that’s used for fair events.

Board members voiced concerns about security and fencing if the fair property is split.

Barbara Pearson said that it is unclear who would pay for new fences, gates and additional gate security.

Other board members felt that they did not have enough information to make an informed decision on the easement.

“We never saw engineering plans,” Ollis said.

City officials, however, say much of the land they want isn’t needed for the fair, and that the road itself will not harm the annual event. The greatest portion of the easement consists of a steep, wooded slope which is currently unused and could not be developed anyway. Fair officials are also mistaken to believe that both sides had reached an agreement earlier over the easement.

“What some have described as a mutual agreement, we now understand was a mutual misunderstanding. We are unable to explain how the two parties came away from the site visit with two very different ideas about where the new roadway would be built,” Blackford said.

“It is the city’s responsibility to act in the interest of the community,” he added. “In this situation, the greatest good for the citizens of Langley is to build a connector road. We believe this can be accomplished without negative impact to the fairgrounds.”

Colburn said the city has no desire to harm the annual county fair.

“We value the fair,” Colburn said.

“We have said in the past that the fair is welcome to remain in Langley as long as the fair association and the Island County Commissioners wish it to be there. In this particular instance, the city believes that the new connector road will not put any fair traditions at risk and, in fact, will allow the property to be used more safely and efficiently,” he said.

The connector road is not a surprise for everyone. A connector road was anticipated by the city when approximately 88 acres along Anderson Road were annexed in 2003, Blackford said.

The city’s six-year transportation plan also lists the need for the connector road.

After Monday night’s meeting, the fair board announced a petition drive had been started and money was being raised for a legal fight.

“This is obviously a sad time for the fair and its volunteers. We hope the city of Langley will reconsider its bullying tactics in support of the developer and protect the heritage of Island County and its fair,” the fair board said in a press release.

While the fairgrounds is owned by the county, County Commissioner Mike Shelton said the county could not give the city the easement without the approval of the fair board.

But Shelton said he thought the city offered a good deal for all involved.

“I think the offer the city made for the road was probably a fair deal, offering to do things the fairgrounds,” he said.

Shelton added that it was understandable that fair officials are apprehensive of losing any of the fairground’s roughly 14 acres, no matter how small, as it is a relatively tight space to accommodate a county fair.

The city is requiring the developer of the Highlands project to build the public connector road as part of the housing development. The road is not being built because the developer wanted it, Blackford said.

The costs associated with construction of the connector road between Anderson Road and Langley Road will be paid entirely by the developer, he said.

The city will own the road and pay for its upkeep once it is finished.