The 2010 San Juan County Fair held its own in terms of attendance.

Roughly 160 fewer people came through the gates over the four-day run of this year’s edition of the annual event compared to a year ago.

Not bad in tough economic times.

Still, according to Fair and Events Manager Rev Shannon, the Fair’s financial forecast, or more specifically the forecast for the fairgrounds itself, remains cloudy at best.

Though the Fair has proven to be a “self-sustaining” event, according to Parks, Recreation and Fair Department Director Dona Wuthnow, the year-round operation of the fairgrounds faces a budgetary shortfall of roughly $45,000 in 2011. The fairgrounds is slated to receive $25,000 less in lodging tax funds next year than it has in each of the past two.

Furthermore, Wuthnow noted that developing a master plan for the fairgrounds as required under its recently-approved overly district is expected to cost up to $30,000. She said the department can pursue new revenue-generating opportunities once that master plan is in place.

“If the fairgrounds had received the $60,000 requested we would’ve been pretty close to covering that $45,000 gap,” she said.

The amount of lodging tax revenue collected in 2010 may exceed predictions by the end of the year, according to Auditor Milene Henley. Whether any of the overflow is directed toward the fairgrounds in 2011 remains to be seen.

As for the 2010 Fair, a recap of its financial results, which Shannon and Wuthnow presented to the County Council Oct. 19, shows a slight dip in income – $165,000 vs. the $170,000 collected in 2009 – despite its on-par attendance performance.

Shannon said that more tickets were sold at this year Fair than in the past, but that a reduction in prices for children took a bite out of the would-be revenue.

The event, however, incurred roughly $10,000 in unanticipated expenses.

According to Shannon, the department spent roughly $9,000 more on labor than expected largely because there were fewer people available on the Sheriff Department’s work-crew program than in the past. The Fair also incurred $1,000 in unexpected costs for trash disposal since the county-run solid-waste transfer station on San Juan Island was not accepting large containers of garbage at that time.