A look at the rear of the Cayucos Vets Hall from last Wednesday, with the new rear doors and cantilevered walkway overlooking the beach. Photo by Neil Farrell
Cayucos is about to get a blast from the past in the form of a resurrected Vet’s Hall, and the County is working on how the new facility will be run into the future.
On Nov. 6, County Parks & Recreation Director, Tanya Richardson, called a public meeting to talk about the Vet’s Hall’s future management and the evolution of the repair project.
In 2015, she explained, a routine inspection found serious problems with the circa-1870s structure, which was originally a shipping warehouse owned by Capt. James Cass.
The inspection didn’t go well as, the floor beneath the hall’s stage was rotted out and had begun to collapse. Further inspections by structural engineers found the roof and walls were no longer properly connected, so the Vet’s Hall was closed to the public in 2016.
The historic hall’s future was never in doubt as the community and the County decided right away it should be saved. Money was a big issue.
The iconic dolphin statue at the foot of Cayucos Pier stands tall with the backdrop of the rebuilt Vet’s Hall. Photo by Neil Farrell
Richardson said their initial project was estimated at $5.4 million and they soon got a $1.9 million grant, but that left the County $3.5 million short. When the bids came in that $3.5M shortfall was wishful thinking.
The bids came back much higher, she explained, over $11 million. The County went hunting for more grants, and a citizen’s committee was also formed to help raise the needed money.
“We had a funding gap of $3.5 million,” Richardson said. The County eventually turned to bond financing in Fall 2022 to bridge the gap.
The Vet’s Hall along with a co-dispatch center being built now in Templeton, and a new Probation Department headquarters slated to be built on Johnson Avenue in SLO, were the three big projects the County is funding with general obligation bonds. That means the debt would be repaid out of the General Fund and doesn’t have a dedicated tax attached to it.
Richardson said the Vet’s Hall’s share of the debt — including the annual estimated operating costs — will be about $254,000 per year for 25 years.
County Parks, she explained, is responsible for repaying this debt. The decision was made to have the department handle booking and maintenance of the Vet’s Hall, which used to be handled by the Lions Club through an agreement. Richardson said they also plan to make use of community groups and volunteers.
County Parks, she said, will operate the Vet’s Hall at 100-percent cost recovery. The County’s master fee schedule will be amended to add the fees for the Cayucos Vet’s Hall and booking of the hall will be done through an online reservation system the County uses for its campgrounds and park facilities.
“They will be higher rates,” she said, “for much improved facilities.” A consultant is working on the new rates, she added. Those new rates should go before Supervisors for approval in January, with a tentatively scheduled reopening of Feb. 1.
It’s expected to be a “graduated fee” schedule, meaning that parties can rent part or all of the Vet’s Hall, which is being rebuilt with several smaller meeting rooms, a kitchen and great hall. But there will not be a new stage, Richardson said. Instead, the back of the building now features a pair of huge glass paneled doors opening onto a wide walkway that runs parallel to the beach below.
There is also going to be a new space for the Cayucos Art Association’s Gallery, she said. The Art Association lost its gallery space inside one corner of the old Vet’s Hall when the County condemned the building.
There will be an hourly rate, Richardson said, with a two-hour minimum up to seven hours. This would give people time to get ready for whatever event is planned, and time afterwards for cleanup.
“The longer you rent it for,” she said, “the less expensive it would be” on an hourly basis. At 12 hours, “you have the whole day.”
They will also have different rates for private use vs. public use, like for public meetings; and rental discounts for regular users who volunteer to help with the maintenance, a sort-of “adopt-a-chore” program.
Once it’s on the County’s online registration system, it would be added to the County’s “regional marketing” efforts, too. The County sees this new hall as being unique for its location and amenities. Richardson said there’s nothing like it anywhere in SLO County.
The Cayucos Vet’s Hall has been the site of countless celebrations — both private and public — since at least the 1950s. Numerous large-scale events, like the Portuguese Festival, 4th of July barbecue and Bingo, and the Sea Glass Festival, which all grew up using the Vet’s Hall.
If readers want to check out the progress of the rebuild, the County put up a webpage with lots of photos and information, as well as a cool fly-by drone video to watch. See: www.slocounty.ca.gov/departments/public-works/current-public-works-projects/cayucos-vets-hall-restoration.
