Fair board rolls back new parking fee

The Shasta District Fair Board voted unanimously Tuesday to reverse a decision made last year that created a premium parking lot that would have charged twice as much as the other lots.

After last year’s fair, the board designated its Briggs Street parking lot a premium lot with a $10 parking fee in hopes of easing congestion and creating better access to the fair for the disabled and elderly, CEO Chris Workman said.

“We voted on making it the premium lot, but after looking at what’s going on in the economy, we decided to reconsider,” said board member Rhonda Nechanicky at the meeting Tuesday.

With a steadily declining attendance rate since 2003, Workman said she was afraid a $10 parking fee would deter people from coming to the fair. Last year’s fair attendance was down about 9 percent from the previous year and 26 percent from 2003 when 107,259 people attended.

Because of the slumping economy, board member Patrick Wallner said people may be sticking closer to home instead of taking vacations elsewhere, which could mean a good turnout for community events, such as the district fair.

Workman hopes the headlining entertainment will draw crowds to the five-day event. Musical groups Pablo Cruise, Carlene Carter, Mark Chestnutt and local teen singer Summer Schappell will have shows at the fair.

“I think it’s a great bargain,” Workman said. “We calculated it out to 23 cents an hour to come to the fair.”

With the reversal, all fees including admissions, parking and carnival tickets, are the same as last year.

The idea for a premium lot will be reconsidered by the board after this summer’s fair, which runs June 17 to 21.