BY TRACY LEE TATE
Times Staff Writer
LAKE BUTLER — In less than a week the activities for the Union County Agricultural Fair will begin and both organizers and competitors are collectively breathing a big sigh of relief that the addition to the pavilion area of the Union County Agricultural Education Center will be complete and ready to use in time for the event.
The additions to the Ag Center are the third phase of the project. In Phases one and two the meeting area, extension office locations and the original pavilion were constructed about four years ago – all funded by grants from the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Once the center was up and running, hosting the Union County Livestock Association’s Union County Agricultural Fair, it was soon determined that the pavilion area, used for housing and showing animals, was a bit too small for the volume of animals and County Coordinator Jimmy Williams went back to work, securing a grant to pay for phase three of the project.
Phase three is set to include the doubling of the pavilion area so as to allow more space for the animals, as well as a new event auditorium (for classes, presentations and meetings) the same size as the current enclosed office and meeting room area). Construction of the auditorium is set to begin soon but getting the pavilion up in time for the fair took priority. Grants funding for both the arena expansion and the auditorium is provided by FDACS, so there is no cost to the county for the project.
The project will as an additional 10,800 square feet to the pavilion area, making the total open-air, covered area total 23,760 square feet (mostly built with grant funds but some added by a donation of materials and time by the UNLA. The addition of the event auditorium will be 4,800 square feet.
Although the addition to the arena area could allow two show rings operating simultaneously, it has been decided to use the new space for housing animals brought in for the shows at the fair and practice events throughout the year. The size increase will prevent any issues about room for animals such as are facing the Bradford Agricultural Fair this year, which has turned away as many as 30 swine exhibitors due to lack of space for the animals.
