Mike Wolanin | The Republic Livestock pens and people are silhouetted in the livestock barn during the Bartholomew County 4-H Fair at the Bartholomew County 4-H Fairgrounds in Columbus, Ind., Tuesday, June 29, 2021.
For more than 30 years, local officials have been trying to find a way to upgrade sewer, water and electrical service at the Bartholomew County Fairgrounds.
If all goes as planned, construction on the long-awaited infrastructure project will begin in early spring, with completion expected before the annual fair begins on June 24.
A lack of funding has always been cited as the reason why a sanitary sewer service, electrical pedestals and water upgrades have not yet been installed at the fairgrounds south of Garden City.
But the more than $16 million the county is receiving in federal dollars through the American Rescue Plan (ARP) made the project affordable, county Commissioner Larry Kleinhenz said late last year.
In December, the county hired local engineering and consulting firm Strand and Associates for general engineering services on the fairgrounds project. The contract was capped at a maximum $84,000.
Strand engineer Steve Ruble told the commissioners Monday the planned development and technical specifications, created in conjunction with fair board president Rick Trimpe, are far enough along that it is now time to seek bids for the project.
Bids will be advertised twice this month before the deadline to submit bids arrives on March 7, commissioners Chairman Carl Lienhoop said. Figures released by the Bartholomew County Auditor’s office state that $500,000 of the federal ARP money has been earmarked for the project.
These improvements to the fairground’s camping area meet the federal criteria for using ARP funds on at least two levels, according to a December presentation.
Federal guidelines allow ARP funds to be used to aid industries such as tourism, travel and hospitality that were harmed by the virus. That includes the local fair board, which experienced a dramatic drop in rentals for both camping and private events in 2020. That loss of income, which included no income from parking fees when the 2020 fair was canceled, was so devastating that a loan had to be taken out to put on last year’s fair, Trimpe said.
Second, the federal government also allows the money to be spent on necessary investments in water and sewer. With city wells located in the vicinity of the fairgrounds, the sanitary sewer and water improvement project at the fairgrounds has gained significant importance.
When the project is finished, “this will allow the fair board to open up the property for campers and RVs to come in during the summer,” Trimpe said in December.
The contract will also allow for the installation of additional electrical pedestals, so recreational vehicles will have electrical hookups, Lienhoop said.
