There have been discussions on how to improve the property for the Marshall County 4-H program, and now a professional firm will step up and help.

While long-range plans have been discussed individually with the Marshall County Fair Board, there needs to be a focus of the board. Principal Architect Stephen Kromkowski from the DLZ Corporation in South Bend explained what would be in the feasibility study.

“We would meet with the primary users and understand your current operation and the site,” said Kromkowski. “There have been some discussions about some improvements on the fairgrounds itself. We’ll gather all of the information, so we understand what your needs are. We will document what you have now. We also do a site analysis to make sure that you don’t place a new building on an area that will cause some other difficulties down the road.”

A report will be produced to decide what the improvements can be and dollar amounts for those improvements. A priority list will be provided as Kromkowski said the improvements will most likely cost more than what funds are available.

Fair Board President Tammy Dickson said the board and others are excited to have a professional direction of how to improve the grounds for the successful program.

“The Marshall County program is a hugely successful program,” commented Dickson. “I know at the fair itself the judges come from all over and comment on the quality and level that Marshall County and it is very commendable. We want to continue to grow that program.”

Sponsors have donated money toward improvements, but an agreement couldn’t be reached on projects, but that is about to change.

Kromkowski commented that the report would take about 14 weeks to complete.

County Attorney Jim Clevenger suggested an inter-local agreement between DLZ and the county on behalf of the fair board be signed. The Commissioners approved funding for the study with the understanding that the fair board will need to follow through with the plan.