The clock is ticking to restore electricity at the San Joaquin County Fairgrounds before a monthslong power outage wreaks havoc with some of the biggest events of the year, including the county fair.
The power went out at the 252-acre Stockton complex in early February when a fire tore through a critical electrical component, said fairgrounds CEO Danny Castillo. It hasn’t come back on since.
That has forced scheduled events, such as automotive and motorcycle events at the raceway, to be canceled. Other promotors have met their power needs with diesel generators — a dirty, expensive and less-than-optimal solution.
Now, with spring weather on tap and top events coming up soon, workers are scrambling to try to bring back the juice. And it hasn’t been as simple as calling a neighborhood electrician.
The aging facility is owned by the state, operating under the auspices of the California Department of Food and Agriculture. Castillo has succeeded in lining up the $250,000 needed for emergency stopgap repairs. He also has the required agencies working on the restoration — Pacific Gas and Electric and the California Construction Authority, a Sacramento-based construction group that specializes in fairs.
Now he’s waiting to see whether they can make the hard deadline he set: Monday.
“If we’re not able to do April 7, I don’t know how we’re going to get the (San Joaquin County) Asparagus Festival up and running,” he said.
The event could bring 30,000 visitors to the fairgrounds April 11-13, Castillo said. About the same number is expected for next month’s Cinco de Mayo fest. And the crowning jewel for which the fairgrounds is best known, the county fair and AgFest, comes only a few weeks after that.
Needless to say, Castillo is anxious. “I’ve never been a religious man, and the last few weeks, I think I’ve gone to church more in my life in the last two weeks,” he quipped.
Castillo said he’s both an optimist and a realist. No matter what happens, he and his team will do their best to manage.
“I mean, being on temporary power is going to be difficult,” he mused.
Meantime, Castillo is also trying to find a long-term solution.
“It’s going to be another $2.2 million to correct all of the deferred maintenance issues that the state is having to deal with, that we all are having to deal with,” he said.
Hoping to break his record of 40,000 guests at the county fair last year, Castillo said he is struggling to hold the line on ticket prices despite facing costly repairs.
He said he has reached out to two key legislators who represent the county, state Sen. Jerry McNerney, D-Pleasanton, and Assemblymember Rhodesia Ransom, D-Stockton. He also has sought help from the county Board of Supervisors.
But so far, there have been only encouraging words — no promises.
This much he knows for sure: “I have a $2.2 million bill that is eventually going to come” due.