Posted: Feb. 5, 2010

West Allis — The new executive director of the Wisconsin State Fair is no stranger to the issues fairs can present to surrounding neighborhoods.

Rick Frenette, in his second week on the job, said he knows from experience that he and his staff have double duty: be sympathetic to your neighbors' needs, but at the same time run a successful business.

"We'll be here forever and we'll be here year-round, and we'll make it work for everybody," Frenette said last week in his still-being-organized office.

Frenette sees potential improvements to make the area more aesthetically pleasing. And he hopes to work with West Allis officials on getting a hotel.

He's no stranger to the fair business.

His father ran the Northern Wisconsin State Fair in Chippewa Falls, his native city. He worked as the finance director for the Minnesota State Fair before becoming the director of state fairs in Ohio and Utah.

A fair neighborhood

The fairgrounds in those places were much like West Allis - with fairgrounds built more than a century ago, in rural settings turned urban and now surrounded by city neighborhoods.

The challenges in blending in with the community are the same, Frenette said.

"We have to make sure they enjoy us being our neighbor and we enjoy being their neighbor," he said. "Our reach is beyond the community, but we're here year-round for the community."

Community center

Frenette hopes that State Fair Park facilities become community centers, something that happened during his watch at the Utah State Fair.

Ten blocks from downtown Salt Lake City, the area around the fairgrounds developed into a strong Latino neighborhood and fair officials immediately reached out to them, Frenette said. Residents started holding many of their private events in State Fair buildings and took proverbial ownership in them.

By the time the fair rolled around, Frenette said, those neighbors were the best customers.

Sprucing up the place

There are also potential aesthetic improvements fair officials can make.

Frenette would like to cover up or replace the fence along 84th Street. Combined with the storage buildings next to the fence, it makes for an unsightly view, he said.

On the opposite side of the grounds, the fence by the race track will also need to be addressed, he said.

"There are some things on the perimeter that I don't like," he said. "It's not pretty. … Driving by as a citizen of the community, I would say, 'Can you fix that?' "

Hospitable environment

Frenette also hopes to work with the city on getting a hotel near State Fair Park.

West Allis officials are eyeing the former Milwaukee Gray Iron land near 82nd Street and Greenfield Avenue as a possible spot for a hotel and banquet facility.

Frenette said a hotel would greatly help the success of the Wisconsin Exposition Center, which now is under his leadership after the state purchased it.

"We really, really want a hotel," Frenette said. "We need something like that to support the Exposition Center, especially if we want to bring some national and regional events to that facility."

Partners in promotion

Mayor Dan Devine, who sits on the State Fair Park board of directors, said he believes the good relationship between the fair and the city will continue with Frenette on board.

"Communication lines have always been open and problems that have arisen are quick to be ironed out," Devine said. "We've worked well together. The fair keeps getting better … its fiscal health keeps getting better. I think that will continue as things move forward."