It is with great excitement that I anticipate the wonderful therapeutic horse-based learning programs offered by Blue River Horse Center to be more readily available to the local community by being located at the fairgrounds. They have previously been located 20 miles north of Interstate 70, making accessibility limited to only a few residents.

By being located at the fairgrounds, significantly more local children and adults will be able to benefit from these programs in large numbers.

Leasing of the rodeo facility to a nonprofit serving the community will make the use of this property so much more beneficial to hundreds of people, in contrast to this facility lying vacant and scarcely used by anyone. The county’s leasing of the property to a beneficial nonprofit would be no different than leasing to traveling carnivals, craft show vendors, 4-H events or concessioners in past years to stage rodeo events, all of which previously have used the site.

The Blue River Horse Center lease request is consistent with providing seasonal services to the community. The closing of streets for commercial vendors to stage farmers markets and art shows is a similar use of county property to promote beneficial events.

The bottom line is that this the highest and best use of this property versus its current derelict state of disrepair. The nonprofit’s commitment to spend up to $30,000 to improve this county property is another great benefit to the community.