By Kellen Olshefski
Correspondent
In a special meeting Monday night, the City of Elkhorn Common Council voted against including an extension from the future East Market Street into the Walworth County Fairgrounds as a part of the project after learning the Fair Board had little interest in the new entrance.
Back in April, former alderman Hoss Rehberg had requested the Walworth County Fair Board be approached about including the extension of an entrance to the fairgrounds off of East Market Street. The hope was that in opening a new entrance, the current entrance off of East Court Street could be closed, alleviating traffic and safety concerns along the busy roadway that also doubles as Highway 11.
At that time, Mayor Howie Reynolds and City Administrator Sam Tapson said the fair board had indicated it was interested in the project, though money could be a factor.
However, at the June 26 special meeting, it seems the Fair Board was singing a different tune.
Tapson said Monday night the cost of extending an entrance off of East Market Street would be about $330,000, and after speaking with Fairgrounds Manager Larry Gaffey, the Fair Board doesn’t feel it’s in a financial position to take on the project at this time. Tapson said the Fair Board was willing to complete “their side” of the project, which would include the installation of a new entry gate and any necessary fencing.
Bill Thompson of the 2017 Walworth County Fair Board also spoke Monday night and said from his standpoint, the fence is something that’s going to have to be done whether or not an entrance is put in, and with the extension of Market Street will be needed for safety and security reasons.
However, “kicking in” on the extension of a road to a new gate just isn’t something the Fair Board is truly interested in.
“We don’t see that it has any economic advantage to us,” Thompson said. “It’s not going to increase attendance or any income for us.
“I just don’t think it gives us any additional advantage when we’ve got four gates now that suffice,” he added.
Reynolds said this information changes everything, however, he still agrees that having entrances off of Highway 11 continues to pose a safety concern, something backed by police in previous meetings and by City Attorney Ward Phillips Monday night.
“I parked cars for the flea market this past Sunday, and they had cars backed up out past the overpass on the highway,” Phillips said.
Tapson agreed there are reasons to do the project, however, he said it’s not his money to spend.
“It’s on you guys, a motion one way or another,” Tapson said Monday. “This needs to get resolved. Jason (Feucht) needs to get the design layout so we can move the project forward.”
While Alderman Michael Kluck agreed it could have some advantages for the city, he questioned whether or not the project was truly worth spending an additional third of a million dollars on.
“If it shows no beneficial improvement for them, I can’t go for a third of a million,” Kluck said.
A motion by Kluck to remove extension from the scope of the overall East Market Street project was approved by the council 4-0. Alderman Tim Shiroda and Cathy Bensaid were both unable to attend Monday’s meeting.
