Fair board celebrates completed fairground projects

Members of the Great Northern Fair Board are considering adding to the fairgrounds' long-range plan, now that a substantial number of the projects in the plan have been completed or are close to being completed.

This long-range plan was developed in late 2021 and early 2022 and was meant to act as a priority list for large projects to improve the fairgrounds and its facilities over the coming three to five years.

However, board Vice Chair Bob Kaul said Tuesday that a substantial number of these projects have been completed and he thinks they need to look at expanding the plan, which has been extremely helpful for guiding the board's priorities.

The biggest project on the original plan was for new bathrooms, and while the project initially faced difficulties related to rising material costs, the board said they have since managed to complete the project and work on the commercial building.

Kaul said they also got their old office building back in working order, and installed new tin roofs over the food court, as well as new or redone roofs over the horse pavilion, commercial buildings and 4-H storage building, which also had its sheetrock redone and has been painted.

He also said they've done a lot of road grading, and while there is some left to do, the majority of that work is complete, including the most critical areas.

New doors have been ordered for the activity center, and will be installed soon, and their rental house is ready to be painted, after which new floors and cabinets will be installed.

Board Chair Michelle Burchard said they also want to install a gas meter at the rental house so it can be included in the renter bill.

Kaul said they have made needed replacements on their water infrastructure which should solve some of the leaking issues they've had.

He said this is a substantial amount of work, but there are still a number of things on the list, including their biggest upcoming project, the construction of a new grandstand.

He said they also need to install a sprinkler system in the Bigger Better Barn, and do some work to improve the campground.

Burchard said they also need to install a heater and insulation in the fairgrounds shop, which is very cold to work in.

She said they have a spare heater so it hopefully won't be a very expensive project.

The board has spent a substantial amount of money on these projects, she said, so they have depleted their surplus funds somewhat, but the fair's finances still look good overall.

On the subject of this year's fair, she said, contracts are being finalized, and all their plans should be ready to go in the next few weeks.

Hill County Commissioner Sheri Williams said she wanted to remind the board to send their contracts to Hill County Attorney Lacey Lincoln for review.

Burchard and fairgrounds Secretary Joni Keith said they are already doing that.