Allen County Commissioners met with Fairgrounds Operations Manager Troy Elwer on Wednesday afternoon to discuss project updates.
LIMA — New installments are underway at the fairgrounds in Allen County. The Allen County Commissioners met with Allen County Fairgrounds Operations Manager Troy Elwer for an update on upcoming projects.
“The sole focus around the conversation today with the commissioners was an update for the capital projects that we have been working on at the fairgrounds,” Elwer said. “That is a combination of the new sheep and goat show arena that we’re looking at constructing before the 2024 fair, the new maintenance slash storage building with the same timeline, and then also the main water line project in partnership with the commissioners.”
Elwer said the fairgrounds submitted plans to the city of Lima for the sheep and goat project.
“There were a couple of questions that they had to work with our engineer on,” Elwer said. “We got through those. They were approved. And then they were published out for bid in the newspaper on Wednesday, November 8. The project is going to be out to bid for 21 work days or business days.”
The fairgrounds hopes to award a bid to a contractor on the evening of Dec. 19.
The Commissioners also discussed a new main water line and the lease agreement between the Allen County Agricultural Society and the commissioners. Elwer also said during the meeting that the projects will take place around currently scheduled fair events.
“The fairgrounds is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization,” Elwer said. “A lot of our success is based on the support that we receive from the community. We would not be able to put on our nine-day fair we do every year without the support of the overarching sponsors for that event. When it comes to buildings and projects of this magnitude, they require a lot more funds than what is necessarily feasible for the fairgrounds to support on its own.”
Elwer said the fairgrounds builds partnerships with businesses to aid in completing projects.
For more information about the projects or how to help, reach the Fair Administration office at 419-228-7141.
Reach Precious Grundy at 567-242-0351.
