Gogebic County Fairgrounds marks one year since fire

By PAMELA JANSSON

pjansson@yourdailyglobe.com

Bessemer - One year ago today, an accidental fire destroyed three structures at the Gogebic County Fairgrounds: the 4-H horse barn, the grandstands and a nearby hay barn.

The blaze occurred directly after two additional structures had been demolished: the poultry barn and an old utility trailer.

The fire started within the former grandstands, which were in the process of being demolished by a construction crew cutting supports with a torch that threw sparks into a grandstand wall, thus inflaming it.

As a result of the damage, as well as concerns regarding safety during expected reconstruction efforts, the Gogebic County Board of Commissioners voted to disallow the 2024 county fair or any other major activities from occurring at the fairgrounds during this year.

Instead, this year's smaller-scale fair occurred at the Pat O'Donnell Civic Center in Ironwood.

Meanwhile, county officials have been working toward the rebuilding of lost buildings, as well as the repair of remaining structures that have sustained ongoing deterioration and/or damage during the fire.

Their efforts have not been without persistent criticism and confusion - so much so that board chairman James Lorenson of the Gogebic County Board of Commissioners met with The Globe on Sept. 13 to explain related progress at the fairgrounds.

"The concern that commissioners and staff have is that there's been a lot of rumors out there that are false, and we'd like to correct that," said Lorenson.

"One of the rumors is that we're going to build a jail," he said, adding that some people even believe that the board planned to turn the fairgrounds into a jail.

"We are not going to build a jail," he added, let alone at the fairgrounds.

Lorenson said that he and other board members did consider options after learning a couple years ago that the county jail did not meet the standards of the Michigan Department of Corrections.

A county Jail Committee was formed and decided that building a new jail was cost-prohibitive.

"Ultimately, what we chose was renovation," said Lorenson, referring to fellow Jail Committee members, who included Sgt. Trevor Jackovich (jail administrator), Sheriff Ross Solberg, Undersheriff Jorge Cruz, county commissioners Daniel Siirila and Thomas Laabs, and county administrator Juliane Giackino.

Grant funds for a plumbing upgrade facilitated the first step, and the county now also is arranging for installation of air conditioning in the kitchen.

As for remaining plans, Lorenson said, "We'll probably do some realignment of space" to better accommodate both male and female inmates.

He expects any further expenses to be accommodated by the existing budget, grants or other conservative financial avenues.

Lorenson said some people also believe that the board's vote to ban the fair and other major events from the fairgrounds this year might translate to a permanent ruling.

That fear also is unfounded, he said, proceeding to outline the many courses of action the board has taken to address remediation of the fairgrounds.

One problem was that the loss of the grandstands also created a large gap in the fence line surrounding the track next to it.

"We repaired the fence at the fairground," said Lorenson by way of starting his accounting of county progress.

He added that they not only resolved what he described as an "unsightly" situation, but also improved safety on some of the curves after seeking advice from officials who race horses and snowmobiles there.

As for the 4-H barn, Lorenson said that the insurance company is close to releasing funds for construction of the 4-H barn.

"Our insurance will pay for replacement of the 4-H barn," he said. "We're going to bid that essentially as it was. That will establish a base fund."

Once bids are complete, horse owners will be invited to look at the plans and make suggestions.

Regarding action then expected by the county, Lorenson said of anticipated advice, "We'll price it out and see if that's possible to do."

It is not yet clear whether the 4-H barn will be built in precisely the same manner as it existed before.

Lorenson said that, if the county changes any aspect of the design and causes the cost to go beyond the established insurance base, then the county will have to foot the extra expense.

One possibility is that the county may opt to save money by installing a regular roof rather than the gabled roof that existed on the burned barn.

He said the county already has committed to installing adjustable, removable stalls to allow for greater flexibility of use within the barn.

As for other expected progress, Lorenson said bids will occur soon in relation to repairs on the two race horse barns and for the livestock pavilion, for which he expects overall "significant improvement in structural integrity."

The county also is now seeking bids on filling and grading the area where the previous grandstands burned. Bids also will be taken to have a concrete slab then laid there, followed by the installation of portable bleachers, with an eye to accommodating a likely, eventual roof over the bleachers.

Renovations also are being planned for the multipurpose building and the separate fairground restrooms.

Lorenson also expects significant work on fairground utilities.

"We think they'll be improving water," he said of the 4-H horse barn. He said water was "relatively inaccessible" in the previous 4-H barn but now expects an overhaul of water lines.

"We're going to be working with the city of Ironwood to improve the water service line," he said.

In fact, at Monday evening's meeting of the Ironwood City Commission, city manager Paul Anderson said that the city will use grant funds to replace lead water lines within the fairground.

The county also plans to improve electric lines, said Lorenson.

"The county has owned electric lines within the fairground," he said of the historical status. "What we're currently evaluating is does it make more sense to keep it or transfer it to Xcel? Their taking it over is a tad bit more expensive in the short term. In the long term, it works to our advantage."

That's because, if Xcel took over the lines, it then would assume long-term responsibility for their upkeep.

Beyond infrastructure, the county also is creating a job description for a new full-time position of a fairground administrator.

Until recently, a part-time fair coordinator helped the fair board and addressed some fairground issues.

Lorenson said that the board now is considering how a full-time fairground administrator could report to the county administrator and who, when not needed for Fair Board or fairground work, could assist the administrator with other county projects.

He said the ideal person to handle administration of the fairgrounds would be strong on organizational and planning skills, while also having the capacity to write grants and market the fairgrounds for year-round events.

Lorenson then addressed the sum total of the county board's efforts in relation to the fairgrounds.

"A reasonable person could assume that, if we're going to release that level of funding, we're going to have fairs into the future," said Lorenson in referring back to anyone's fear that the county board is not committed to preserving and using the fairground property.

"Clearly, the county board is investing a significant amount of money," he said.

But he conceded that some larger puzzles still remain.

Regarding the exposition building, which has been dormant in recent years after engineers deemed it unsound, he said, "That's a tougher one. The supports underneath are rotting away or have rotted away."

Lorenson said that $750,000 may be needed just to stabilize the building.

"Just raising the building to repair it would be challenging," he said, adding that it's likely the upper windows would need to be removed before the project could commence.

He believes it could result in being a $1 million project.

On the other hand, demolition of the same building could be mitigated by income from salvaged wood.

And the county could add onto the multipurpose building for significantly less cost - maybe $250,000.

"What will ultimately happen with the exposition building I don't know," said Lorenson.

The county also has not decided whether the poultry barn should be replaced.

But in relation to the overall fairground improvements, he spoke for the board in assuring, "We want to get that work started as soon as possible."

The board also recently approved the use of the fairgrounds for the 2025 county fair.

Lorenson reminded that U.P. Engineering and Architects Inc. in Houghton engaged in a structural survey of all county buildings a couple years ago.

"By and large, all our county buildings need work," he said. "I don't think that was a surprise. What was surprising was the amount of work needed."

He said deferred maintenance of county buildings at large has been an issue for decades. "I'm not going to judge that because I don't know what financial pressures they had at the time," he said of previous officials who made such decisions.

He added that he believes current board members have the best interests of the county at heart and then used a quotation to illustrate that claim.

Lorenson, who retired in 2019 as president of Gogebic Community College, also has a past career in forestry, and so quoted Gifford Pinchot, who lived to the middle of the previous century after serving as chief of the U.S. Forest Service.

Pinchot was said to have led the agency with his pledge to "provide the greatest good for the greatest amount of people in the long run."

"I learned that in forestry service, and it was pretty good advice," said Lorenson.