New fair building may be ready July 10

Crews working on the new multi-use facility for the Park County Fairgrounds in Powell are aiming to have the building ready for use by July 10.

That would give the county about a week-and-a-half to get the new facility set up for the 2015 Park County Fair, which will run from July 21-25.

The new multi-use facility, shown on Friday, is starting to near the finish line. Cody News Co. photo by Steve Johnston

"Synergy (Construction, the general contractor on the project) thinks July 10 is the day," Ron Yount of Plan One architects relayed to county commissioners last month, adding, "They're pretty confident with that."

There would still be some additional work to do after that date — for example, the conference rooms being built on the south side of the facility may not be finished — but the bulk of the space and kitchen would be up and running for fair time, Yount said.

At the May 12 meeting, he said the building was about 75 percent finished.

In a late tweak to the plans, commissioners decided to set aside an area near the entrance for members of the public to buy and place decorative pavers. The idea is that the money raised from selling the paving-stones can pay back the county government for some of the money it's invested into the $3.1 million project.

The fair board initially had a goal of raising $500,000 from citizens and businesses before the building's construction, but the county has had to put up that money as — more than a year-and-a-half later — fundraising efforts have yet to really launch.

In fact, even a donation or two that came in unsolicited are in question because fair overseers stuck the checks in a safe and left them there for months — long enough that they may no longer be good.

Park County Events Coordinator Echo Renner said she plans to ask the donor or two to consider writing new checks.

~By CJ Baker

by CJ Baker, Park County Commission, Park County Fair