Faced with a room full of outraged horse-lovers and youth-group leaders, the county commissioners on Monday held off on implementing new fairgrounds fees and asked the users instead to come up with a system they found fair.

If the new fee schedule were to be enforced, argued the users, they could not afford to hold their special events at the county fairgrounds and would be forced to take them elsewhere.

Among the groups represented were the Four States Junior Rodeo, Four Corners Cutting and Reining Association, and Mesa Verde Backcountry Horsemen, and groups representing paint horses, quarter horses, Arabians, 4-H and dressage.

The new rental rates for using various rooms, arenas and stalls at the fairgrounds actually are in many instances the same as the old rates, county officials pointed out to the more than 40 persons at the meeting.

For example, although the use of the outdoor arena would rise from $10 an hour to $20 an hour under the new fee schedule, rental of the large room would stay at $100 a day, and the kitchen would continue to cost $50 a day for adult and commercial users and $25 a day for youth groups.

However, those old rates frequently were not enforced, and many group members said they were not prepared to shoulder the charges, as well as new cleaning deposits.

But County Administrator Tom Weaver said it costs $110,000 a year to operate and maintain the fairgrounds, $60,000 of which comes from lottery funds and the remainder from taxes.

"One of our fears is that these lottery funds may go away," explained chairman Gene Story, saying that users need to pay enough to enable the fairgrounds to stay in operation.

"It never was supposed to pay its own way," argued Lonnie Elliott. "This was something for the people of the county. We used to take our racks off our trucks to make pens for our sheep out there."

Horse enthusiasts also complained that the county’s stalls were inadequate and said many owners of valuable horses would not put their animals in them. They suggested building permanent, solid-wall stalls so more horse shows could be held at the fairgrounds.

Story suggested that one man in the audience, John McHenry, put a group together that would meet with Weaver and fairgrounds manager Daryl Buffington as well as members of the fairgrounds advisory board to come up with some suggested fees for next year.

"We’ll allow you all the time you need," Story said, adding that the county would explore the idea of building better stalls.

In other business, the board:

Current subdivision regulations state that the minimum lot size in the county is three acres — primarily because of concerns about potential septic problems. However, there are a number of smaller lots in existence that were platted before the current regulations were adopted.

A group of real-estate agents told the commissioners the policy on such septic systems had been inconsistent and confusing in the past.

The board members said that, on existing lots smaller than three acres, all septic systems must be inspected and approved by an engineer — not by county sanitation inspector Mick Periman. Leach-field systems may be allowed, they said, if the soil at the site is found to be adequate for percolation.

"But the engineer has to be responsible for what happens on the lot next door," said Weaver.

Stricter rules apply in the Dolores River Valley, the commissioners noted, where all sites in the flood plain must have engineer-designed septic systems.