Sill Spots Moose in Gilpin County

GCN Report

MOOSE SIGHTING:  The Commissioners began their meeting last Tuesday with good news. According to Commissioner Web Sill, while returning from Nederland last week he spotted a “full sized,” moose ambling across Highway 119, about one-half mile north of Rollinsville. He said, “This was one of the nicest things that ever happened to me.” He also said he was so excited he didn’t notice if it was a male or a female.

FAIR DEBRIEFING:  Gilpin County Fair coordinator Vicki Nemec brought a list of successes and concerns to Commissioners Web Sill and Jeanne Nicholson. Nemec reported the fair began the year with a balance of $2,432. The commissioners kicked in $50,000, other sources contributed $1,500, and souvenir sales amounted to $269. The total revenue for the fair was $60,521. Nemec estimates there is a balance of $101.

ART SHOW:  There was damage to some of the art that fell off the walls at the art show. The damage was glass and frames, none done to the pieces of art themselves, reported Nemec. The pieces fell because the only hangers approved to be placed on the walls of the Community Center would not adhere to those surfaces for very long at a time. This issue was not discovered until the morning after the pieces were hung when the art showed up on the floor. Nemec told the Commissioners the county is already in the process of making different arrangements to hang art next year. There was even talk about a year round art hanging at the Community Center. Artists who suffered damage to their work at the art show, relative to the art falling from the walls, are advised to contact the county at (303) 582-5214. 

BOOTHS AND ATTRACTIONS:  Nemec reported there were 48 arts and crafts vendors. She said putting folks inside the Community Center did not work well for the vendors, for the second year in a row, and she will look for another option next year. Commissioner Sill recommended keeping the fair close-in and concise, with all the vendors as close together as possible for better accessibility.

There was excellent feed-back for the “big rides,” and Nemec said the status of the rides for next year will depend on the funding.

The 10 food booths reported excellent sales during both days. The Mini Health and Safety Fair had five booth locations and reported a good turnout. Continuous arena entertainment on both days included a full professional rodeo, draft horse pull, dog agility contest, and stick horse races. Other attractions such as pie eating, water balloon toss, tug of war and piñata break were also enjoyed and encouraged.

PROBLEMS:  Nemec said the only real problems involved the parking of RV’s and semi-trucks in connection with the rodeo. She said the county needed to do something to resolve the problem if the full two-day rodeo would remain a part of the fair. The Commissioners told Nemec she could probably forget about purchasing additional land by next year and the area of the hockey pond was no longer being considered part of a parking plan. Discussion centered on utilizing land north and east of the Community Center for parking the trucks. The plan would be to have someone on hand to guide the trucks and RV’s into a tightly packed and appropriate parking area.

The souvenirs booth reported sales so low the fair lost money on them. Nemec said she will be looking at other options next year.

Nemec said there were some security issues, but nothing was stolen except a little beer. She said the beer vendor made so little money during the one night it was served, that it was hardly worth the set-up time. If the beer sales next year are as limited as this year, Nemec said she would recommend not selling beer at all.

ADDITIONAL SIGNS:  Nemec said she spotted several horse trailers being driven around Black Hawk looking for the fairgrounds. She suggested more signs for next year that would be more permanent, more directional, and easier to read.