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Calistoga residents push for a public, master‑plan process for fairgrounds
Summary
Residents urged the Calistoga City Council to commission a citywide survey or hire a public‑space consultant to build a master plan for the newly acquired fairgrounds, emphasizing emergency uses, recreation, and transparent fiscal analysis before major contracts or construction.
Dozens of residents told the Calistoga City Council on Oct. 22 that the recently acquired fairgrounds should be reshaped only after a publicly vetted master plan and broad community engagement. Doug Allen asked the council to commission a city‑wide survey or hire a consulting firm so “the majority of city residents get” the outcome, and several speakers cited past reserve and grand‑jury reports to caution against reverting to prior practices.
The comments came during oral communications and centered on three themes: open public engagement, fiscal transparency and preserving functions useful during emergencies. Tom O'Neil, who did a 2019 physical analysis of the property, said a formal master plan was “absolutely necessary” before executing contracts, and Brian Maloney urged the council to consider the fairgrounds’ demonstrated emergency role — as an evacuation, animal shelter and staging area during recent wildfires — when weighing future uses.
Community groups and individuals suggested a range of ideas, from amphitheaters and multipurpose gyms to limited motorsports, while also pressing for clear financial pro formas that show costs, revenues and tradeoffs. Julie Garcia, representing the neighborhood group Adelante, listed recreation ideas including an amphitheater, indoor soccer, a skate park, dog park and pickleball courts and asked the council to ensure those concepts are analyzed alongside infrastructure and revenue models.
City Manager Laura told the council staff will present a process for collecting public input at the Nov. 12 council meeting and noted the city recently organized a community cleanup that drew roughly 220 volunteers. The council signaled support for a staged, transparent outreach process; no final land‑use decisions were made at the meeting.
Next steps: staff will return on Nov. 12 with options for how to solicit public input (town halls, surveys, consultant engagement and timelines) and with follow‑up items including naming, rental rates and an RV‑park update. The council did not approve a specific redevelopment plan at the Oct. 22 meeting.
