The King County Fair lives.

The 145-year-old event in Enumclaw was placed on the chopping block by County Executive Ron Sims but was salvaged, thanks to support from the agricultural community and a vote of the County Council Nov. 24 to preserve funding for it in next year’s county budget.

With its place in the 2009 budget secure, County Councilman Reagan Dunn said the fair has been given a reprieve, but now supporters must make sure its future is a prosperous one.

“We have to use this as motivation to dramatically improve the fair,” he said.

The county’s 2009 budget will include $318,000 for fair operations, the same as this year.

Dunn will be on a task force trying to breathe new life into the event, perhaps in time to be noticeable for the 2009 fair. Other members will include representatives of business and agricultural groups, the county and Washington State University Cooperative Extension.

The fair has slipped in popularity in recent years. Attendance was only about 16,000 at this year’s fair, which had no carnival rides and limited vendors. Sims suggested canceling the fair because the county could no longer subsidize an event slipping from the public radar.

The fact the fair – the oldest such event west of the Mississippi River – was on Sims’ hit list didn’t sit well with its boosters. Representatives of Future Farmers of America and 4-H said the fair’s agricultural activities shape good citizens.

The Enumclaw Courier-Herald contributed to this report.