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Committee will keep talking about new site for 4-H fair

JANESVILLE — The Rock County Agriculture and Extension Committee vowed Wednesday night to keep talking about a new location for the Rock County 4-H Fair.

The committee took no action Wednesday, but members talked about getting details on at least one possible location for a new fairgrounds and exposition center in order to move the project forward.

The 18.5-acre landlocked Rock County 4-H Fair has limited space for activities. The aging grounds have many maintenance needs, UW Extension Agent Randy Thompson said.

Committee member Larry Wiedenfeld said the committee should be prepared to give the county board more than one option for moving the grounds when the time is right.

The last time the committee took action was in March before the spring elections. Committee membership has since changed.

In March, county planning staff presented six options to the committee for locations that could be good for a fairgrounds.

The options included:

-- Site 1—three options on the “county farm north” property, which is 314 acres of county-owned land along highways 14 and 51 in Janesville Township. Each the three county farm options would require up to $14.2 million in infrastructure upgrades, Otterstein said.

One option was the corner piece originally pointed out in February by the ag committee. The committee wrote a resolution to set aside 100 acres at the corner of highways 14 and 51, but the resolution was shot down by the county staff committee.

The parcel runs straight north along highway 51.

The second option shows puts the footprint along Highway 14 running east from highway 51.

The third option—and the one Economic Development Manager James Otterstein in March called the most favorable of the six—would push the site to the northeast corner of the county farm property and include the Kuffer Pit.

The property is assessed at $10 million.

-- Site 2—Harmony Township. This site is bordered by Highway 14, County A, Milton-Shopiere Road and County MM. Land sales in the area typically are between $10,000 and $20,000 per acre, Otterstein said.

-- Site 3—La Prairie Township

The conceptual site is bordered by County O, La Prairie Town Hall Road, Avalon Road and Interstate 90/39. Land sales in the area typically range from $10,000 to $25,000 per acre, he said.

-- Site 4—Rock Township. The site is bordered by Hayner Road, Rockport Road, Afton Road and Tripp Road. Land usually sells between $5,000 and $12,000 per acre, Otterstein said.

Using the county farm plan as a basis, it would cost about $9 million to upgrade infrastructure at the other three sites, Otterstein said.