Res-2018-197 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

• The Washington State Horse Park Authority Board of Directors set up the organization to be run as a commercial operation by an experienced and successful professional manager. • The organization of the institution be that of a non-profit corporation, avoiding designation as a State governmental entity and thus avoiding the labor and procurement procedures required of State governmental units. • The Board focus its activities on obtaining funding commitments required for the construction of improvements and the first five years of operation. • That the Board actively work with existing equestrian organizations to promote the Horse Park project Our findings are reflected in the national equestrian park picture. where large and medium sized facilities are typicatly subsidized around 20% of operating revenues. Only two of twenty-five horse parks break even. Under these circumstances there are several major proviso$ that must be met before we can recommend that the plans to raise funds for the facility proceed. The first two are that capital repayment not be required and that property taxes be waived. Third is the requirement that in order to assure successful operation, the Horse Park Authority must recruit a facility manager from the upper 90 percentile of managers and support that manager with top-notch review and assistance by professional equestrian management professionals. Finally, the facility will require subsidization from either private foundations or public coffers-of approximately $80,000 per year. However, the positive economic impacts accruing to Kittitas County and to Washington State add some jus~catfon to financially support this endeavor. 52