Steamboat Pilot & Today

Steamboat Springs — The Routt County commissioners have made it a little easier for the community to rent the big exhibit hall at the county fairgrounds Hayden.

The board officially waived a $1 million insurance liability requirement for many non-alcoholic events and meetings.

"For someone who wants to have a little kid's birthday party or a community meeting or education course, it seemed fairly ludicrous to require a $1 million liability insurance policy," said Terry Doherty, the new administrative assistant to the Routt County Fair Board.

Doherty said people often shied away from renting the hall when they heard about the $1 million policy.

The commissioners hope the new policy will attract more users to the exhibit hall.

"The facility is under-utilized at this time and there are opportunities for the community to use it at a rental rate that's reasonable," said Commissioner Nancy Stahoviak.

Rates run from $0 for youth meetings to $75 for the first four hours for a fund-raising event to $200 for the first eight hours of a for-profit event. Most events also will require a $200 damage deposit.

Stahoviak has another good reason to make it easier for people to rent the exhibit hall: The county is subsidizing the Routt County Fair to a tune of about $91,000 a year. Renting the exhibit hall will bring in money for the fair.

"The fair's not making money by any means," Stahoviak said.

As for the events that will be exempt from the million dollar policy, they include: children's parties, non-alcoholic parties that end before midnight, community education classes and meetings that last less than four hours.

Darrell Camilletti with Mountain West Insurance in Hayden said that even if a one-time policy is required, it's not that expensive or complicated.

Camilletti said a $1 million policy covering a typical wedding bash with alcohol would cost between $150 and $250. He said it could be cheaper if the host already had a home insurance policy, and would just need additional coverage.

He also said a $1 million policy covering a typical community dance with alcohol might cost $350 to $400.