Riley County Commissioners received an update Thursday from the Riley County Fairgrounds Task Force.
Riley County Extension Director Gary Fike, who chairs the task force, says there is a strong push for a long-term solution to vacate the current fairgrounds and relocate to property west of the Public Works facilities on Tuttle Creek Blvd, where the county already owns land. Fike says vacating CiCo Park however requires some additional input on the task force, due to interests of both the City of Manhattan and USD 383.
Task force member and former commissioner Dave Lewis spoke to commissioners Thursday, strongly advocating also for a proposed new fairgrounds to include a new agriculturally based events center.
Lewis, who is an associate member of the Kansas Fairs Association, says he believes such a venue would be an economic generator for the region, especially since there aren’t many venues like it between Lincoln, Nebraska and Oklahoma City.
Funding such a facility remains the ultimate question with some chatter Thursday that the county should find a way to partner with Kansas State University among others. County Clerk Rich Vargo says it would likely also help K-State in its ongoing recruitment efforts of students.
The City of Manhattan is currently working through its own master plan for the future of CiCo Park, something Lewis says doesn’t currently take into account interests of the other two entities. He agrees with Fike saying a meeting between the three governments is imperative, due to each’s competing interests within CiCo Park.
The task force will present to a gathering of local entities over the noon hour Monday, as part of the monthly Intergovernmental Luncheon at Rockin K’s.
