Fair board seeking funding

The Jay County Fair Board is hoping to have new restroom facilities in place at the north end of the fairgrounds in 2020, but funding for the project is still being sought.

Board members returned to Jay County Commissioners on Monday in hopes that an estimated $70,000 in public funds could be committed for the project, which would replace an aging restroom building constructed at the north edge of the original fairgrounds.

That building does not meet the standards of the Americans with Disabilities Act, and fair board members have concluded that the current structure can’t be remodeled to assure wheelchair access.

Shower facilities in the current building, which are heavily used during the Jay County Fair, Tri-State Gas Engine and Tractor Association Show and other events, are woefully inadequate, board members said.

A tentative budget estimates the cost of a new north restroom at $135,850, with $35,000 of that coming from fair board members.

The board also plans to apply for a grant from The Portland Foundation to help cover the cost.

“This is just a possibility of funding,” board member Trent Paxson told commissioners.

“If the restrooms look good, people are more likely to come back,” he added.

Commissioners had earmarked economic development funds from Bitter Ridge Wind Farm as matching dollars to be used if the county won the state’s Stellar Communities designation. But local officials learned Thursday that designation went to Marshall County.

“I was so confident in the Stellar,” said commissioner Chuck Huffman.