TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) — The Vigo County Redevelopment Commission unanimously voted on Tuesday to give $125,000 to the Vigo County Fairgrounds.
Board members say if the money is put to good use, the commission could continue to donate money.
“I hope that we can prove to them that we were worthy of it and we can get this yearly and make improvements. It’s truly a community treasure. And as long as we can continue, we hope they’ll continue to see our value,” Jenny Hamilton, Marketing Director for the Wabash Valley Fair Association said
Rick Burger, who voted in favor of the resolution, said it will help create more community involvement.
“They need help making improvements, this 125 thousand is definitely a good improvement from our view point here. It helps 4Hers, they’ve done a good job of bringing events out there. I think this will just allow them to expand on that and make more things happen,” Burger said.
A newly created committee will evaluate how to spend funds within resolution guidelines. This includes improvements to roads or utilities and the replacement or remodeling of buildings.
“There comes a point where you have to decide whether a building is salvageable and worth putting money into. Or are you better off just to start fresh? That’s just something we will have to look into and see, and evaluate what we need to do with it,” Hamilton said. “Like I said we want to generate revenue for years to come, so is it to put it into existing buildings or start fresh with some new buildings,”
Among one of the possibilities discussed with the money was the construction of a community center. Hamilton said she believes this space would help 4Hers and could become a center to host community events.
“We’re planning on having a full fair this year,” Jenny Hamilton, marketing director of the Wabash Valley Fair Association, said. It is scheduled for July 10-17.
Last year, the pandemic truncated the fair to a three-day weekend event.
The Commission’s resolution stated that the gift was “for the exclusive use of improvements to utilities, roads, other infrastructure and replacement or remodeling of its buildings at the Vigo County Fair Grounds out of the Commission’s Redevelopment District Capital Fund.”
