Ouray County fairgrounds manager announces resignation; details on operations, budgets and projects provided

Erin Stadelman, Ouray County fairgrounds manager, told county commissioners on March 26 that she submitted her resignation and that her last official day will be March 27. In a detailed briefing she summarized operations, revenues, staffing needs and upcoming projects and recommended steps for onboarding a successor.

Stadelman said the fairboard and staff have increased community use and revenue since the COVID-era closure. She provided year-by-year budget and revenue figures from the transcript: a 2021 revenue baseline of about $9,895 (the facility was closed through much of that year); a 2021 budget allotment of $65,755 with more than $25,000 returned unused; 2022 allotment $82,003.55 with about $27,006.58 in revenue and roughly $20,500 returned; 2023 allotment $84,430 with revenue near $27,000 and about $26,000 returned; and a 2024 allotment of about $114,000 with revenue reported at $41,800 and roughly $30,403 returned to the general fund. Stadelman described the fairgrounds and event center as “on solid ground” financially and credited increased rentals and recurring events.

Stadelman reviewed planned and in-progress projects for 2025: an interior flooring replacement scheduled for April (new carpet squares with an inlaid dance floor), and installation of interior and exterior security cameras tied to a closed-circuit system with cloud storage retaining recordings for 15 days (installation expected by June). She said wiring for the camera system has been completed and that Jeff and Mark will coordinate installation with facilities staff.

On staffing, Stadelman recommended hiring a facilities maintenance assistant (to handle ongoing exterior and interior maintenance) as a higher priority than a separate fairgrounds assistant. She said that if facilities staff can provide the maintenance capacity, the county can continue to fund on-call part-time workers from the fairgrounds’ professional services line (historically $15,000 in 2025) for bartending and event setup. She also noted that event bartenders and liquor sales for some events (for example the ski drawing) generate net liquor revenue; one large event alone has deposited “well over $10,000” in liquor sales after paying bartenders, she said.

Stadelman said she has completed ICS and FEMA training and maintains emergency management agreements that make the event center available as a reunification site for the school district and space for animal sheltering during evacuations. She also described inventory control improvements and disposal of non-county property stored at the fairgrounds.

She urged the county to fill the fairgrounds manager position quickly because of the community-facing nature of the role, and offered to provide limited post-employment assistance (phone, occasional in-person support) if the county chooses to compensate her for that time; commissioners asked administration to coordinate with legal and HR on whether to structure that as temporary employee status or a professional services arrangement.

Commissioners thanked Stadelman for her service and discussed next steps: public recognition (a proposed proclamation April 8), confirming who will be on the hiring/interview committee, ensuring a thorough exit process so passwords and vendor accounts are transferred, and coordinating an expedited onboarding so scheduled events and the April flooring project proceed as planned. Stadelman said a number of candidates had applied and that the position posting had been circulated in the paper and on social media.

No formal vote accompanied Stadelman’s resignation in the work session; commissioners directed staff to continue hiring steps and to work with HR/administration on potential short-term compensation for transition support.