News photo by Kayla Wikaryasz On Friday, Jason Atwell, Blackwater NE head of production and events, is seen giving a presentation to the Alpena County Board of Commissioners regarding an entertainment complex project that would be built on Alpena County Fairgrounds property.

ALPENA — The Alpena County Board of Commissioners approved their portion of a contract which would allow an entertainment complex to be built at the Alpena County Fairgrounds.

The project is contingent upon the Alpena County Fairgrounds board’s approval of their portion of the contract.

Jason Atwell, Blackwater NE head of production and events, and Mike Romanowski, CEO Blackwater NE, presented a proposed plan to upgrade the existing infrastructure and build an entertainment complex on the existing Alpena County Fairgrounds property.

Atwell explained that the complex would accommodate fair events and 4-H activities while also bringing in rodeo events, extreme sports, music acts, and more. Atwell presented findings that Blackwater NE’s insurance company found during an inspection, citing 600 safety concerns that are “requiring immediate remediation.”

Blackwater NE’s survey of the area also found that nearly 32,000 vehicles leave Alpena a month for travel, taking economic growth elsewhere.

“That is money that could be here to help improve the fairgrounds,” Atwell added.

County Administrator Jesse Osmer said that Blackwater NE is projecting $3 million dollars in investment. If the project turns south, Osmer stated that the county would be required to buy back 50% of that investment.

Osmer added that the county will set up a fund to start stocking away money in the event that the county will have to buy back the investment within a 10-year period. He also stated that there is a five-month period at the start of the contract in which the county has the option to “walk away” and buy back their portion within a five-year period.

The proposal was met with unanimous support by board commissioners but mixed responses by the public who are concerned with 4-H programming.

Courtney Tauriainen, Alpena County Fair Board president, told board members during the first public comment portion that the Alpena County Fair Board would not be able to approve their portion of the contract at that time. However, she expressed her gratitude for Blackwater NE and the opportunities they are offering the fair.

“This opportunity is immensely unique and it’s great. It has great potential to bring the fair … into something bigger and also to help grow the fairgrounds,” she said.

Atwell said that rodeo events are just one attraction that will enhance opportunities for 4-H members in the community.

“They’ll bring amateur and professional individuals that will give a lot of exposure to the 4-H kids,” Atwell said. “Those 4-H kids will get to meet those people and they’ll get to see rodeo people in action. And some of them, depending on ages, might even be able to participate in some of that.”

Atwell cited a phenomenon across the country in which fairgrounds are “dying off” due to lack of interest from youth. He said that Blackwater NE’s entertainment complex will encourage more children to consider participation in 4-H activities.

“While there’s some that are very engaged in 4-H and a variety of other things, there’s a lot that would rather stay in their basements and play video games,” Atwell said. “We have to help the fair offer entertainment experiences and experiences that may draw those kids out of their basements from playing their video games.”

Romanowski explained that the complex will bring more attention to Alpena in the long term and encourage visitors to explore all that Alpena has to offer. He said that from his experience renting out cottages on Long Lake, most visitors do not leave the resort.

“I also own a place on Long Lake, a resort, and I can say firsthand when my customers come out there and rent they don’t come into town,” he said. “I tell them about activities and all that, they don’t leave the lake because there’s no reason for them to. This will help them draw them out.”

Romanowski added that his company’s goal is to support the community by adding economic opportunities to the area.

“From a personal level, our hearts are with the kids … we’re not doing this just for ourselves,” he said. “We’re doing this for everybody as a whole.”

Those who made public comment during the meeting expressed concern regarding the preservation of 4-H opportunities for children and the history of the fairgrounds.

Michelle Eagling, Alpena County 4-H program coordinator, spoke during public comment and highlighted the growth that 4-H has seen within the last six years, going from 50 members to 230 members.

“I would place significance in the relationship with the fair board, the relationship with our community, the different businesses and organizations,” she said. “I thank you guys as a county for allowing all of those things to be held there.”

Osmer spoke after the final public comment noting previous administrator discussions to demolish the fairgrounds and turn the property into an RV park or for condominiums. He also cited safety concerns regarding ailing fairgrounds infrastructure and a need to circumvent recreational drug use on fairgrounds property.

Osmer said that these concerns have been discussed with fair board members and county personnel in previous meetings.

“But for those of you who weren’t in those meetings, who are making it sound as if we have pristine fairgrounds that will last another 30 years in their current state, you are living in a dream,” Osmer said.

“On any given day in the summer … it looks like California’s 11th congressional district,” he added. “You have nude people running around, you have drug use, you have obscene acts happening in public … we have grandstands where every year people are getting injured. It just takes one lawsuit before we’re going to have to shutter the place.”

He said that Blackwater NE’s proposal is an opportunity to give the fairgrounds “a second life.”

“And I think that’s important,” he said.

Brenda Fournier, county board vice-chair, expressed her support and noted how she believes the entertainment complex will be a good opportunity for Alpena and for the fair.

“We are not losing the fair. We will still have a fair,” she said. “I cannot see what we are losing … if anything, we are gaining.”

She said that she understood why some community members were upset during public comment and that change is hard to navigate.

“People don’t like changes … I don’t like changes,” she said. “But sometimes changes are good.”

Fournier told those in attendance that the county cannot afford to make the required changes that the fairgrounds need to continue existing well into the future.

“The county cannot afford to give you what they will be giving you,” she said. “We don’t have the money. In fact, we’re losing money into the fairgrounds. We truly are. It might come to the point where we might have to sell the fairgrounds and then you will end up with nothing.”

Kayla Wikaryasz can be reached at 989-358-5688 or kwikaryasz@TheAlpenaNews.com.