Committee approves saving land for fair
JANESVILLE — The Rock County Agriculture and Extension Education Committee Wednesday approved a resolution setting aside land for future expansion of the Rock County 4-H Fairgrounds and the addition of an exposition center.
The land specified in the resolution is a 100-acre parcel of the former Rock County Farm to the east of Highway 51 and north of Highway 14, across from the Rock County Sheriff’s Office.
The resolution does not approve moving the fairgrounds, said committee Chairman Neil Deupree. It is a symbolic measure that gets the ball rolling so private groups that want to get involved could do so easily, he said.
The committee is interested in creating a year-round venue for outdoor, large-scale activities, Deupree said.
The county board will have to approve the resolution at a future meeting.
In 2004, the board faced a similar resolution and approved setting aside 100 acres of “any” county land for a fairgrounds, in effect leaving the project to flounder.
In 2006, the board voted 27-2 to reject an offer from Mulder Dairy Farms to trade 331 acres in La Prairie Township and $10.6 million for 465 acres of the county farm. Developers were interested in creating a fairgrounds and outdoor venue in La Prairie Township.
In 2006, the county farm cropland was appraised at $50,000 per acre.
The Rock County 4-H Fairgrounds is located on Craig Street in Janesville.
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Feb 22, 2008 at 8:16 a.m.
Suggest removal
I hope that when this facility is built that it is done in the most modern and eco-friendly way. To do anything else would be foolish and wasteful. It is easier (and exponentially cheaper) to reduce a carbon footprint with thoughtful planning from the start than it is to go back and clean up the problems of non-earth friendly construction.
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