Mar 4, 2022 3 min read

Plans to remake the Washington County Fairgrounds were finalized in 2018, and county officials were hopeful construction could begin relatively soon.

But then funding issues persisted, construction costs increased and the COVID-19 pandemic stalled the project year after year after year.

That is expected to change soon after the county commissioners unanimously voted during their regular meeting Thursday to request a $1 million grant from Pennsylvania’s Local Share Account – the statewide version of the gambling revenue funds – to help pay for the project. If that grant is approved, the remaining $700,000 needed to fund the $1.7 million project would be paid using Act 13 Greenway money, county officials said.

“The project is completely designed and permitted,” county Planning Director Lisa Cessna said. “It’s just been on hold for a couple of years because of financing, COVID, cost of materials. It’s an expensive project, so we tried to find some grant funding and then everything went crazy.”

The project would relocate the canvas-covered show tent to another part of the fairgrounds, and convert that location into a graded parking lot that would be the main activity area during the annual fair. When the fair is not happening, the space would be used for parking with handicap-accessible areas to offer better pathways to the shelters for various off-season events.

Cessna said the canvas is relatively new, so it will be preserved when the show tent is relocated to where the tractors are typically displayed during the fair. In addition, the project also includes excavation work, drainage upgrades and parking improvements.

Cessna hopes the project will be able to bring in new activities and old attractions that may have moved to other places in the county, such as the annual Rib Fest.

“It will be a very large, flat area and can be used for fair activities,” Cessna said. “When there isn’t an event, it can be used for parking.”

She was not sure when the project would begin since it largely depends on whether the county’s grant request for the state LSA funds is approved. But once that happens, construction would begin relatively soon since the design work and permits are already completed. The project is expected to take about nine months to complete once it begins, and it was not known how it could impact the fair.

“Whenever that may be, we’ll be ready to go,” Cessna said. “It’s pretty much shovel-ready.”