Open air structure being built at WC Fairgrounds will not be ready for fair

The new open-air structure being built at the Whitley County Fairgrounds will not be ready in time for the 2024 Whitley County Fair, though it is expected to host several other events later this year.

The Whitley County Fiscal Court held their regular monthly meeting last Tuesday, where a change order was approved for the ongoing construction of the structure. That change order required that the concrete the structure will be built upon to be increased.

According to Judge-Executive Pat White, Jr., the change was due to a slight oversight from before the project was even started. 

“We originally bid it before we had a full architect and consultation with the state, so the concrete footers had to be substantially larger than the base plan for the building was,” said White. 

The holes for the footers had been dug as of last week and concrete was expected to begin being poured sometime this week. White said that workers at the site anticipate having all the footers finished and the dirt cleared before the fair begins next month. 

Despite the change order, it has not impacted the delay in the structure’s progress. According to White, several permitting issues have been the biggest obstacle since construction began. Chief among those was in regards to fire safety.

Once finished, the structure will be 125 feet wide and 300 feet long, which could make it the largest open-air building in the state, according to White. However, buildings that large normally require specific fire safety measures, including alarms and sprinklers.

But being an open-air structure that people could freely exit created a unique problem.

“The State of Kentucky said they hadn’t ever permitted an open-air structure that large. So, they didn’t really have specs to go off of,” said White. 

Ultimately, state officials decided a sprinkler system was not necessary, which White said would have been more than the entire cost of the building due to its location, but an alarm system will be required.

Once the fair has concluded, the steel beams for the structure will begin being installed.

Though it will miss this year’s fair, White said it will see use this year.

“We have some events planned for this fall and it’ll probably be ready for them,” said White.

Among the events currently being discussed are a rodeo and a circus.

In other fiscal court business:

– The fiscal court voted to approve a contract with Coddell Construction as the construction manager for the county’s upcoming expansion of the Whitley County Detention Center (WCDC).

The fiscal court voted to hire the company for that role during their meeting last month.

The expansion at WCDC is expected to add up to 100 beds to the jails current 184-bed capacity. The project is possible due to $7.5 million in state funds allocated to the county for correctional renovations.

During last week’s meeting, the fiscal court also voted to approve opening a new bank account to hold those funds separately from the county’s other money.

– A public hearing and subsequent vote was held to close part of Kidd Road. According to White, several adjoining property owners were in attendance. The fiscal court voted to close the portion in question, though that merely means it will be removed from the county’s maintenance. However, property owners could decide to close the road off.