Fairgrounds no longer open for boarding horses

The Cheyenne County Fairgrounds will no longer be available as a facility for the temporary boarding of horses, commissioners decided this week.

Possible liability issues arising from allowing the fairgrounds to be used as a camping site and for horse boarding at times other than during county-sponsored events was first discussed last month.

At a meeting on June 1, commissioners voted to limit camping on the grounds to the fair, Oktoberfest and similar events. A decision on horse boarding was delayed until the county attorney could confer with the county’s insurance provider.

On Monday, Cheyenne County Attorney, Paul Schaub said the Nebraska Intergovernmental Risk Management Association said allowing travelers to board their horses for a night or two at the site posed liability issues and they recommended discontinuing the practice.

Commissioner Steve Olson asked if liability waivers would solve the problem.

“It’s a practice you should continue with, but you can’t rely on that,” Schaub answered.

Commissioner Philip Sanders said that clarified the matter.

“We’re not going to do that anymore,” he said.

After the meeting, Sanders elaborated on the decision.

“Unfortunately, and I’m not in favor of it, NIRMA recommended that we don’t do that anymore,” he said.

The change won’t affect groups such as 4-H, he said.

“But if somebody comes in to town, like the cowboys that come through for Frontier Days and they stop and board their horses overnight, we’re not going to be able to do that anymore just because of liability,” he said.

The new rule takes affect immediately.

“In the good ‘ole days, we didn’t have to worry about things like that, but I know what a sue-happy world we live in and that’s part of the problem,” Sanders said.

The fairgrounds will remain available for residents to walk their dogs, commissioners said at the meeting.

“It belongs to all of us,” Sanders said of the fairgrounds. “But yet we still have to be cautious about what we approve and what we don’t.”

Also at the meeting:

• Cheyenne County will submit an application to the Nebraska Department of Agriculture for a designation of “livestock friendly.”

County resident Tyson Narjes proposed applying for the designation at a meeting last month, and after looking into the matter, commissioners learned a previous board had already passed a resolution seeking the status. However, an application was never submitted.

Narjes said he would lead the effort the complete the required paperwork.

• The commissioners unanimously approved two zoning change applications. Separate requests from Debra Schlaman to change a nearly 10-acre parcel of land from agriculture to residential estate zoning and Larry Talich to modify an 18-acre parcel of land from agriculture to residential estate passed, 3-0.

• The next Cheyenne County Board of Commissioners meeting is scheduled for Monday, July 6 at 8 a.m. at the courthouse.