Future of Proposed 4H Building Uncertain

Grant County 4-H adviser, Sara Koepke, met with the Grant County Commissioners at their regular meeting on June 7, to discuss the proposal to replace the exhibit building, constructed in 1974, at the 4-H grounds in Milbank. According to Koepke, positive meetings were held with businesses in the community, but most were hesitant to contribute funds to the project before complete financial information is available.

The proposal includes moving or demolishing the current building to erect an 80 X 180 structure. The new building would start where the current building is located and continue on the road that circles the livestock building. The estimated cost with materials and using volunteer labor when applicable was set at approximately $544,000. Costs to move the current building came in at about $13,000.

Karen Layher, Grant County Auditor, suggested Koepke determine the amount of funding 4-H is requesting from the county, so it could be included in the 2019 budget which will be reviewed next month. Commissioner Street suggested using the archery range at the former high school to decrease the size of the building to reduce the cost.

According to Koepke, the potential for a relationship with the archery range exists, but the preference is to house everything in one building to increase the possibilities for use and to include programs such as the county food give-aways.

Commissioner Dumman noted more hard figures were needed for taxpayers to understand how their tax dollars would be spent. He also requested more data on energy costs for the building after construction.

It was decided, before building plans could progress, an engineer should be hired to evaluate drainage on the land. The board agreed to set aside $10,000 for the engineering report.