Equestrian plan again on council agenda

Published 11:36 am Thursday, December 11, 2008

Citizens get one more opportunity to tell Enumclaw city officials how they feel about the community taking on a horse theme and aiming to attract all things equine.

A public hearing that started Jan. 23 will continue Monday night during the regularly-scheduled meeting of the Enumclaw City Council. The meeting begins at 7:30 p.m. in council chambers of Enumclaw City Hall.

So far, city officials have heard very little opposition to a plan submitted by a paid consultant. Last time around, 27 people addressed Mayor John Wise, members of the City Council and city staff. While not all seemed wildly sold on the equestrian idea, none spoke directly against the plan. Those who expressed concerns were generally asking that the King County Fair not get swept aside in a rush to develop equine facilities.

At issue is a plan aimed at improving the local economy by catering to the horse crowd.

The most ambitious portion of the plan calls for Enumclaw to work toward assuming ownership of the King County Fairgrounds. The goal would be to develop the site into the Northwest Equestrian Center, complete with top-notch facilities for all types of equine activities.

Other elements of the plan deal with improving signage at city entrances, identifying a downtown theme, making the city core visitor-friendly, continuing efforts to attract outside events and continuing work on establishing a Welcome Center.