Fairgrounds to connect with sewer
The Kootenai County Fairgrounds will connect to the Coeur d’Alene sewer system, which may help the site become a regional events center for attractions such as trade shows and concerts.
The City Council voted unanimously Tuesday night to provide the fairgrounds with city sewer services in exchange for a chunk of the county’s landfill and up to 170,000 cubic yards of fill dirt that could be used to build the Kroc Community Center. Now the city and county must figure out how much it will cost the fairgrounds to hook up to the sewer. The county will pay all the connection costs. It’s unknown how much sewage the fairgrounds might add to the system.
The first building the county would connect is the Jacklin Building, which houses cows and swine during the North Idaho Fair.
Fairgrounds General Manager Chris Holloway said the county can’t put restrooms in the building because the location over the aquifer has blocked approval of another septic system.
Restrooms, showers and a kitchen would allow the county to rent out the 16,500-square-foot building for more year-round uses, Holloway said. “We are a gem here with all sorts of opportunities for the community.”
The 79-acre site – an island of land in the middle of town – will remain part of the county. County officials didn’t want the city to annex the property off Government Way, so they had to give the city something in exchange for sewer services.
But under the deal, the county agrees to seek annexation if it ever decides to sell the fairgrounds.
The county will reserve 5 acres of land for the city at its Fighting Creek landfill south of Coeur d’Alene. County Solid Waste Director Roger Saterfiel, the county fair board chairman, said reserving the landfill property may let the city and county start a compost program.
The county also will provide the city with fill dirt from expansion of the airport to use in the potential construction of the Kroc Community Center. The city proposes building the center at a former gravel pit on Ramsey Road and would use the dirt to fill portions of the pit.
Coeur d’Alene and the county have been working on details since November, when the Kootenai County commission, county fair board and the City Council met. The council presented the county with a list of a variety of possible trades.
The city normally doesn’t provide sewer service to anyone in the county. But Mayor Sandi Bloem said in November that the city understands the fairgrounds’ need and is willing to work out a plan that benefits both the city and county.
Ultimately, the fair board wants the faculty to become a regional events center that could seat up to 12,000 people.