Council approves contracts for North Summit Recreation and fairgrounds improvements; uses WRAP and restaurant‑tax funds

Summit County on May 24 approved construction contracts advancing a multi‑phase plan for North Summit Recreation and improvements to the Summit County Fairgrounds.

County staff and Fair Board members described a 2017 master plan that splits work into phases; current action covers phase 1 at the North Summit Recreation parcel (a roughly 10‑acre Beacon Hill Park site) and site improvements at the fairgrounds. The county will use a $1.1 million WRAP recreation grant awarded to North Summit Recreation and approximately $2 million in previously allocated restaurant‑tax funds toward the combined effort.

Project scope for North Summit Recreation includes a multipurpose turf field, pickleball courts, a basketball court and concessions; future phases identify a recreation center and additional parking. Fairgrounds work will remove deteriorated courts and ballfields, improve soil and irrigation (new soil, filtration and a recommended tall‑fescue/Kentucky bluegrass mix), add ADA walkways, shade trees and spaces where semis can stage in grass pull‑throughs to avoid rutting.

County attorney and contract negotiators reviewed an AIA master agreement and an implementation addendum; staff presented a corrected draft of the addendum to supersede an earlier packet version. Council approved AIA document A201‑2017 (moved by Tanya) and A133‑2019 (moved by Tanya) in the forms provided to council that day; both motions carried unanimously with one member absent for vote on the second contract, staff noted.

Next steps: staff will finalize signatures, confirm water‑rights permit conditions (the low‑impact permit has conditional approval), and return with implementation details and budget reporting as work proceeds.