News Photo by Steve Schulwitz The Alpena County Fairgrounds sits almost idle on Wednesday, as there wasn’t much activity taking place. The county commissioners are in the early process of making long-term plans for the fairgrounds.

ALPENA — Alpena County is beginning the process of exploring options for what is the best use of the Alpena County Fairgrounds and establishing plans to shape its future.

At Wednesday’s Facilities, Capital and Strategic Planning Committee meeting, the commissioners took a step forward to partnering with Michigan State Extension to study the fairgrounds, determine its functionality, and possibly create plans that could be implemented down the road.

Some economic development experts in Alpena believe the fairgrounds property on the Thunder Bay River is best suited for housing, which would help solve the ongoing housing shortage while increasing the county’s tax roll.

County Administrator Mary Catherine Hannah said things are in the early exploratory stage and no concrete plans or projects have been created yet.

During the meeting, Hannah offered the committee two options for the commissioners to consider to find a consultant to lead the planning process.

The first option was to apply to the Michigan State School of Planning, Design, and Construction for them to take the lead via the Sustainable Built Environment Initiative program.

However, Hannah said the program is on hiatus but could begin again early next year. If the commissioners choose to go this route, it would take a little longer for the planning process to begin, but, if approved, it would cost the county nothing.

The second option was to work with the local Michigan State Extension staff and have them take the reins. Hannah said that would likely come with a slight cost. The committee asked Hannah to touch base with the local Extension office to get a quote on how much the bill could be.

The committee and full board of commissioners will then decide on which avenue to take, likely early next year.

Hannah stressed that at this time, there are no plans to redevelop or move the fairgrounds, but she did say that a plan is needed because the facility continues to degrade and maintenance costs continue to climb. She said a study reviewing many of the county facilities found a great deal of investment in the fairgrounds is needed. Hannah said not considering all options for it would be irresponsible.

“The facility study showed there is millions of dollars in investment needed for its current use,” she said. “The county needs to decide what the best use for it is moving forward.”

Lenny Avery, economic development coordinator for Target Alpena, said no matter which direction the county decides to pursue with the fairgrounds, Target will stand at the ready to assist. He said the location and size of the property are ripe for housing development. He said the county needs to do a cost and revenue assessment and see how projected revenues from the current use stack up to housing development.

“I will always back more exposure for housing and diversified housing in our housing,” Avery said. “Housing is economic development and if the county is interested in business retention and increasing an economic tax base, Target will help them any way we can.”

Avery, who is also a leader for the regional housing task force, said if the county were to move forward with moving the fairgrounds toward housing development, it would open up a large swath of property. He said it could have condos, higher priced homes along the waterfront, and more affordable, multi-family units scattered around the balance of the land.

If that is the path the county chooses, Avery said, Target could also help with the logistics of moving the fairgrounds.

“If they come to the decision that they want to move the fairgrounds, Target would help them with the move as well as develop it with housing,” he said. “Ultimately, the county needs to make a decision that is best for the community.”

Commissioner Travis Konarzewski said moving the fairgrounds and potential housing development at the property on 11th Avenue should be looked into, but that is not to say that is the right thing to do.

“It should be considered, but for me personally, I think it should stay where it is,” Konarzewski said. “There is a lot of history there and I believe it has a lot of potential and can prosper.”

Konarzewski added that the location in Alpena also makes it easy for people who struggle with transportation to attend events at the fairgrounds. He said if it was moved even a little bit out of town, many people may not be able to find rides and be forced to miss things they want to attend.

“There are a lot of positives to where it is located now,” he said.