Rather than issue bonds through a public building commission, Douglas County will pay cash out of its own pocket for all of the $6.5 million in renovations to the county fairgrounds.

At Wednesday’s meeting, county commissioners decided to reallocate money from the county’s capital improvements plan — a rolling five-year playbook of upcoming renovations — to fund the entire project.

Until Wednesday, the county had only $3.1 million in cash set aside for the project. For several months, officials considered paying the remainder by issuing bonds through a recently created public building commission, a process that can be completed without voter approval.

But in the interest of speeding up the process to acquire the funding, they pushed back or slightly altered several road and bridge projects in the improvements plan — all of which are not planned to go to construction for several years — to come up with the money now.

“We think we could absorb these short-term changes … without significant harm to the infrastructure,” said Keith Browning, the county’s public works director.

County staff are hopeful that late this summer renovations to the fairgrounds can begin, which include a new pavilion, public meeting hall, expanded concrete parking, increased handicap accessibility and improved energy efficiency. Sarah Plinsky, the assistant administrator for Douglas County, said the project is still “very early” in the design stages.

All three commissioners were careful to note that in the event of construction bids being higher than expected, they may ultimately switch back to the idea of issuing bonds.

“I agree that we should reserve the right to do a reality check if things don’t meet our expectations,” commissioner Mike Gaughan said.

Issuing bonds through a public building commission, or holding a sales tax referendum once approved by the Kansas Legislature, are still being considered as fundraising strategies for the proposed jail expansion and mental health crisis intervention center project. Douglas County Administrator Craig Weinaug estimated a decision on that probably won’t be reached for another year.

Weinaug has roughly estimated that project will cost between $20 million and $30 million.