The Douglas County 4-H Fairgrounds one day might get bigger, but Douglas County commissioners are certain they can get better.

That’s why they’re preparing to spend as much as $30,000 to devise a master plan for the east Lawrence site.

“You need someone to challenge the fair board to look out 20 or 30 years,” said Bob Johnson, commission chairman. “Will there still be a demolition derby? Will there still be a tractor pull? Will there still be sheep?

“I don’t know the answers to that, but you need to ask those questions.”

Such discussions, to be initiated with the Douglas County Fair Board, will help direct development of the master plan. Commissioners hope to have the process started by the end of the year, in time to have proposals for renovations, upgrades or construction of new buildings or arenas to consider as part of the county’s 2005 budget.

“It would be a start,” said Commissioner Jere McElhaney, a longtime fair supporter. “And that’s all we’re looking for.”

The 49-acre fairgrounds, southeast of 19th and Harper streets, are home to the annual Douglas County 4-H Free Fair. The event features thousands of exhibits from hundreds of 4-H’ers and other county residents, plus a carnival, demolition derby and other programs.

In recent years, the site has extended its year-round appeal, welcoming events ranging from lawn-and-garden shows to Cub Scouts’ pinewood derbies and scrapbooking conventions to this past Saturday’s charity demolition derby.

Popular place

More than 600 people and organizations reserve space at the fairgrounds each year, more than three times the tally from five years ago.

What started in 1951 as a permanent home for the fair today also is host to offices for the Douglas County Extension Service, operations for the county’s maintenance division and fields for area youth baseball leagues.

In 2000, the county opened a $1.3 million multipurpose building for horse shows, demonstrations and other events — a project designed to relieve pressure on the increasingly popular facilities.

“It’s exceeded all our expectations,” said Ron Baker, vice president of the fair board. “When that was first conceived, people thought, well, we wouldn’t get it used. ‘It’ll be a big white elephant out there. It won’t get much attention.’ Now it’s gone the other way. We’ve got a building that’s full all the time. We can’t get any openings.

Swinging through the sky on a carnival ride, Kylee Loneker enjoyed a bird's-eye view of the Douglas County Free Fair last month. County commissioners are urging the county fair board to look 20 to 30 years into the future to assess the needs of the fairgrounds.

“We could use another one just like it, but that’s probably not in the cards.”

Pam Madl, the county’s director of administrative services, said the multipurpose building was built with the future in mind; its design includes features that would allow it to be expanded, if necessary.

Ideas abound

Other ideas on the horizon:

• A new building for maintenance and records storage is scheduled to be built at the fairgrounds next year. Commissioners already have endorsed spending $640,000 for the project, which also would be expected to handle the county’s growing fleet of mowers and other maintenance equipment and include a climate-controlled basement — “a four-sided concrete vault,” Johnson said — to accommodate piles of tax documents, election ballots, court files and other records that must be retained to comply with state law.
• New ball fields could be added in the long term, while an existing field could be relocated sooner to help address space needs, McElhaney said.
• The fairgrounds’ existing outdoor arena “doesn’t work,” Madl said, and a study of renovation and expansion options is required.
• The county could acquire all or some of a 40-acre tract immediately east of the fairgrounds, now owned by bankrupt Farmland Industries Inc. The space could be used for future expansion.

One concept that doesn’t appear to hold much water came from Commissioner Charles Jones, who suggested relocating the fairgrounds to federal land near Clinton Lake.

The city of Lawrence holds a 100-year lease on more than 1,500 acres near the lake, and some of the property already has been used for a dog park, bike paths and an 18-hole municipal golf course.

Users of relocated fairgrounds would have access to such features and other natural resources, Jones said, but his fellow commissioners aren’t ready to have staffers or hired consultants consider such a massive change.

“The available ground’s good,” Madl said of the current location. “It’s how we use it.”