Ellsworth Mayor Dan Finnegan put a clarion call out for dedicated volunteers Monday during the Ellsworth City Council meeting to help save Ellsworth’s premier annual event — Cowtown Days.

“Cowtown has been a challenge for three or four years,” said Finnegan, a member of the Cowtown Committee. “There are a lot of reasons behind this.”

Finnegan noted while Cowtown Days took place last year, there was definitely no guarantee it would take place again this year.

“We got to the point of organizing it this year and we just don’t have the volunteers,” he said.

Therefore, the committee made the decision to cancel Cowtown Days this year. Finnegan said the Cowtown Days Committee will refocus, get some officers in place, get insurance and organize materials and equipment.

“There’s just a lot of things that having a year off would allow us to do to put a nice foundation under it,” he said.

Finnegan said the committee realizes finding volunteers is a struggle, but they need new people. He invited anyone interested in volunteering their time and efforts toward revamping Cowtown Days to attend the committee’s first meeting of the year at 6 p.m. Tuesday, July 18, at the Grow Ellsworth County office, 107 West Second St., in downtown Ellsworth.

“That will be the first indication of ‘Hey, can we do something in 2024,’ or ‘Is this possibly the end?’” Finnegan said. “If we don’t get people to show up or that are not committed, that is probably the beginning of the end.”

On the other hand, he said if 10-20 people show up — people who want to be officers and who are committed — Cowtown Days could possibly be saved.

Finnegan said if the community wants Cowtown Days to succeed, then the required effort has to be put into it.

“I think really it comes down to that meeting and getting some good folks in there,” he said.

Grow Ellsworth County Executive Director Stacie Schmidt clarified that Cowtown Days is not, and has not been, a function of the city, nor the chamber of commerce.

“It’s always been an independent group of volunteers,” she said. “So, it’s not a failure on behalf of the city or the chamber, it’s just a lack of volunteers.”

In other business:

• Because of the recent rainfall, City Administrator Dustin Stambaugh recommended the city maintain the current voluntary water restrictions in place and keep the public updated.

Stambaugh noted for residents, it comes down to being aware that Ellsworth “is not out of the woods yet.”

“I am keeping an eye on it and monitoring the river levels,” he said.

• Rita Gwinner said she was disappointed that the city’s splash pad was closed as part of water restrictions.

“My grandkids really love it,” she said. “I take them there a lot.”

Several council members said they would like to see the splash pad be open either during the weekend or several days a week. After further discussion, the consensus of the council was to open the splash pad on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays during regular hours. Finnegan asked City Water and Sewer Superintendent Joe Travnichek to open the splash pad “as soon as possible.”

• Approval was given to refund Ellsworth County Connections the $80 it paid for a building permit for a new sidewalk, since the ECC is a non-profit group.

• The council discussed the establishment of a dog park on city property next to the Pizza Hut.

Finnegan noted that Pizza Hut is tentatively going to let people utilize their parking lot in exchange for the city waiving their sign fees.

He said the next step is to get quotes for fencing materials and to engage community input.

“I think it (a dog park) is a great idea,” Finnegan said.

• Wayne Scritchfield was re-elected president of the city council.

No action was taken after returning from a 20-minute executive session with Schmidt to discuss the acquisition of real property.

The next meeting of the Ellsworth City Council will be at 5:30 p.m. Monday, June 5, at city hall.

“We got to the point of organizing it this year and we just don’t have the volunteers.”

Mayor Dan Finnegan Cowtown Days Committee