By Shannon Lukens.
Major improvements are coming to the Routt County Fairgrounds in Hayden.
Routt County Commissioners approved a contract with Hutchison Inc. to do $429,135 worth of improvements with a complete Fairgrounds Outdoor Arena Renovation. Routt County Commissioners voted unanimously Tuesday morning to proceed on that construction contract.
It includes all new fencing and railings, panels and chutes. The midway will be paved and bathrooms will be fixed.
Here’s Routt County Commissioner Tim Redmond.
“It’s a great thing for Routt County because we have a large agricultural community and I’ve always looked at the fairgrounds as their community center. This is an opportunity to make that not only attractive but usable and most importantly safe for our participants. We’re looking to improve everybody’s experience out there. Public safety with new railings. The bathroom remodeled, making it convenient and ADA accessible for everyone. And then the paving of the midway will make it a much more user-friendly event and keep the dust down for everybody. I’m excited. This is the future and we’re going to make it happen now.”
Teardown begins this week at the fairgrounds, “before the snow flies.” Then some dirt work and grading will be done.
The proposed delivery date for the new fencing, gates, and chutes is March 1. Everything will be installed in the spring and it should take about a week.
Routt County Fair Manager Noel Matt and Routt County Fairgrounds Facilities Manager Joe Stepan were both at the commissioners meeting this morning. Noel Matt says nothing has been scheduled at the fairgrounds in anticipation of the renovation.
“We’ve worked really hard for this. It’s been almost two years in the making. This just means more growth for the fair and the fairgrounds as a whole.”
Joe Stepan added that no outdoor arena events have been scheduled now through mid-summer. The fairgrounds will be closed to block any usage.
“Really it’s been sort of a long growing project now. If you look at the fairgrounds, and the condition of the existing arena, and frankly it has gotten to the point where the usability is a question. And so now being able to move forward with this, it’s going to open up so many doors to new events, new types of events, just overall better utilization of the property. It’s going to be great.”
The piping and fencing at the fairgrounds was breaking and rusting, and in poor condition. Stepan says the piping that is up now was oil and gas piping that was repurposed. Volunteers put it up at the fairgrounds back in the 70s. “The fairgrounds will get a complete facelift. It will look so much better,” Stepan told Routt County Commissioners Tuesday morning.
Routt County Commissioner Sonja Macys said she is, “wildly enthusiastic and it’s super exciting.” She is looking forward to seeing more activities and events at the fairgrounds in Hayden.
Hutchison also proposed putting up signage around the fairgrounds, and paying Routt County $7,000 a year for five years for a total of $35,000. Commissioners were told in the meeting by Purchasing Agent Julie Kennedy that Hutchison is dedicated to this kind of work and making fairgrounds thrive.
Routt County Fairgrounds Outdoor Arena Renovation