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Josephine County adopts fee schedule to reopen fairgrounds auditorium
Summary
The Board of Commissioners approved Order 2025-017 to adopt a uniform fee schedule for the County Recreation Department, enabling public rental and educational use of the former OSU auditorium at the county fairgrounds.
Josephine County commissioners on a Wednesday in March 2025 voted 3-0 to adopt Order 2025-017, a uniform fee schedule authorizing public use and rentals of the auditorium buildings at the county fairgrounds.
The order, presented at a public hearing by Tamara Martin, Recreation Director for Josephine County, lays out fees and procedures to return the facility — formerly rented by Oregon State University for program use — to broader community use for meetings, classes and other events.
Martin told the board the auditorium complex is set up in two wings separated by a commercial kitchen and is best suited to meetings and educational programming. She said she did not have the building's exact square footage at the hearing but estimated one wing could hold about 50 people and the other about 100; she later described seating as roughly 90 on each side.
Public comment at the hearing was uniformly supportive. John West, a Josephine County resident, called the fairgrounds “the flagship of Josephine County” and urged the board to approve the fee schedule so the community can again use the buildings for classes and public events. Judy Aarons and Holly Morton also praised the fairgrounds staff and the classes being offered.
Commissioner Smith moved to approve Order 2025-017; Commissioner Barnett seconded. The board voted yes — Commissioner Smith: yes; Commissioner Barnett: yes; Commissioner Black: yes — and the motion carried 3 to 0.
The record and discussion indicate the county will return the buildings to public use and that fairgrounds staff expect to offer clinics and classes; Martin said some ADA work and other minor repairs remain to be completed. No fees, specific rates, or an implementation timetable were read into the public record at the hearing beyond the adoption of the order.
The board closed the public hearing after the vote. The Recreation Department will administer rentals and scheduling under the adopted fee schedule; members of the public were told to contact the department for details and tours of the facility.
