Repair and reconstruction efforts are moving ahead at the Wadena County Fairgrounds to assure the grounds are ready for the Wadena County Fair.

The June 17 tornado damaged or destroyed many of the buildings at the fairgrounds. Some were owned by the Wadena County Ag Society (fair board) and some were owned by the county, but the two organizations are working together to make the county fair run smoothly in this unusual year.

At the Wadena County Board meeting on July 22, Sheldon Monson from the fair board came back to the county board to update them on the cleanup process and discuss insurance and rebuilding plans.

Monson told the board that Ament Construction would be repairing minor items and all would be completed by July 29. A Perham volunteer is donating his labor to install the new six-foot fence along U.S. Highway 10, which would save the fair board about $3,000. Temporary electricity will be installed. The tents for the animals and some of the exhibits are on their way. Bleachers are being rented for spectators. The county highway department has removed all the damaged trees.

Monson and board members discussed which damaged or destroyed buildings were insured and which were not, and determined who owned which structures. A decision about rebuilding was postponed until after the fair.

County Engineer Ryan Odden discussed the need to re-contour some of the land by the grandstand and create a ditch to get rid of standing water. The board decided not to have this done before the fair, because the board has not consulted with the county attorney about whether the county’s building fund can be used to pay the $8,000 cost of this project.

Commissioner Lane Waldahl said, “I’ve been working the fair for 32 years, and every year there’s been water there, so I guess we can wait and let it stay there this year too.”

Odden also recommended grading and reseeding the field north of the grandstand and the area south of the grandstand, but this project would cost $5,500 for the 10 acres to be done, and the county does not have the money right now. The project will be postponed.

Monson and the board also discussed the Minnesota laws that govern county fairs and agricultural societies and the two leases that were found in the county files. County Attorney Kyra Ladd will be asked to study these documents and give an opinion about how ownership of the grounds, buildings and other property should be arranged for the next 10 to 20 years, and how the rebuilding process should take place. None of the county officers or commissioners were in office when the last lease between the Ag Society and the county was signed in 2000, so there are no memories of what was intended for the lease to accomplish.

The county board requested and received an engineering study of the dairy barn, 4-H building and grandstand from Solien and Larson Engineering, P.C., of Fargo. According to the study report, the dairy barn “is suitable for occupancy for the .... fair” after two repairs are completed.

The 4-H building was deemed “structurally adequate and suitable for occupancy”, and the engineers recommended that sealant

be applied to holes in the

roof deck. The grandstand “in our opinion is not salvageable

and is currently inadequate for occupancy,” the report said. The engineers recommended replacing the grandstand, and estimated the cost at $250,000 to $300,000.

Decisions about reconstruction, remodeling, repair, replacement, redesign, etc., of the fairgrounds will be made after the fair.