Jeremy Ratliff
Reporter
The Merrill Common Council last Tuesday unanimously approved a conceptual site plan for the former Lincoln County Fairgrounds.
The plan was passed for approval by the Fairgrounds Ad-Hoc Committee at its July 9 meeting and garnered approval from the Committee of the Whole on Aug. 4.
As part of the site plan, the city has opened bidding for a 2,500 and 3,000 seat grandstand structure to be sited just west of the original grandstand structure, located on the south end of the grounds. Seating for both RFP (Request for Proposal) options will call for a mix of both stadium and bench seating.
Stadium seating would consist of individual, molded plastic seats measuring 23” across for accommodation and comfort purposes, and could be sold at a slightly higher cost. Key benefits of the new design include comfort seating during long events as well as being more attractive to a wider range of entertainment options.
According to City Administrator Dave Johnson, bids are due on Monday and upon evaluation, the most advantageous bid will be presented to the Common Council for approval.
In other matters on Tuesday, the council approved amending the city’s chicken-keeping ordinance to include single-family and multi-family dwellings. The amendment will also call for an agreement to be made between property owners and/or tenants if the property is not occupied prior to the keeping of chickens, as well as property owner and/or tenants being listed on the city application to keep chickens.