The Stark County Fair Association finally has a place to call home, it just needs to be developed.
The Stark County Commission, acting as the Stark County Park Board Tuesday morning, gave the fair group about 53 acres of land for a fairgrounds.
"We need to start developing plans," fair association representative Kurt Froehlich said. "But we don't want to commit those dollars until we know this is a plan with which we can go forward."
The land is located north of the county shop on Dickinson's west edge and has Fairway Street running through it. The next step is to bring in surveyors to identify boundaries for the parcel and better identify the topography of the area for planning purposes.
Discussions about creating a fairgrounds have been off and on during the past several years. Various locations have been identified as possibilities, but no formal action has resulted until Tuesday.
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In an unrelated matter, the park board also received bids on the Southwest Speedway concession building. A committee was formed to examine and compare the bids for parity.
Meanwhile, Stark County Tax Assessor Diane Brines reported the increases on property values in small cities and rural Stark County for the 2007 tax year.
The market value of properties in Belfield, South Heart, Gladstone, Taylor and Richardton saw a 5 percent average increase on residential structures. There was no increase on valuation for commercial properties in small cities unless there was new construction
Farm land in the county experienced a 3.5 percent average increase and rural residential property saw an 8 percent average increase. Rural commercial properties in the county went up an average of 3 percent.
City of Dickinson Tax Assessor Jan Zent reported residences within the city limits experienced a 9 percent average increase, with commercial properties experiencing a 2 percent average increase.
In other reports, Stark County Emergency Manager and 911 Coordinator Gary Kostelecky said the subdivision readdressing around the county is nearly complete for 911 purposes.
Road Superintendent Al Heiser reported chip seal projects in the county are slated to begin June 16. The work involves old Highway 10 from the Billings County line to east Dickinson and the road from South Heart north to Interstate 94 and old Highway 10 from the west corporate Dickinson city limits to the I-94 west business loop.
Heiser also told commissioners surveying is complete in preparation for installing a turn lane off of Old Highway 10 to Gladstone for exiting trucks.
