Columbia’s city council has voted to accept a $2.5 million grant from the state Department of Agriculture (MDA) to develop facilities at the former Boone County Fairgrounds.
The city council’s three-page packet says the funding will be used to build several agri-tourism facilities and to support the Boone County Fair. Columbia Mayor Barbara Buffaloe tells 939 the Eagle’s “Wake Up Mid-Missouri” that the project is important to Boone County and to mid-Missouri.”
“We get so many different events happening at the (former Boone County) fairgrounds. And obviously we’ve needed help to really improve as events change, sizes change, some of the expectations of visitors change,” Mayor Buffaloe tells listeners.
The funding will be used to build a covered outdoor area with an attached open-air livestock barn. It will also be used to build a fair office with storage and parking and to renovate an existing concession facility and restroom facility. You can listen to the full “Wake Up” interview with Mayor Buffaloe here.
