Owensville Mayor John Kamler’s proposal Monday to refund money spent on design and engineering for the Gasconade County Fair Foundation’s proposed Youth and Agriculture Education Center was unanimously approved by the Board of Aldermen.

City Administrator Randy Blaske said the original cost for the design and engineering work was $69,300 which was divided up between the city of Owensville and the Gasconade County Fair Association each paying half — $34,650. Kamler first hinted at the proposal during the mayor’s report portion of the Aug. 7 meeting.

Blaske explained afterward plans originally put together for a multipurpose use building for youth and county fair activities were never used. The Gasconade County Fair Association has proposed a smaller version of a multi-use building and is raising funds now toward a goal of $625,000 which is the estimated project cost. The Gasconade County Fair Foundation, formed as a 501C3 corporation which makes all donations for the new youth building tax deductible, had raised $256,500 as of late April.

Kamler opened his report saying they needed a formal vote on the refund. The refund will come out of the city’s general fund, he told the board.

City records show the total $69,300 cost of the engineering and design work completed by Archer-Elgin, the city’s contracted engineering firm, was paid from the city’s park fund in May 2022. The Fair Association paid $34,650 to the city — it’s agreed upon portion — that same month.

Ward 1 Alderman Kevin McFadden, president of the board, made the motion Aug. 21 to “approve the refund in the amount of $34,650 back to the Gasconade County Fair Association for their fundraising drive for a new Youth and Ag Education Center.”

The motion was seconded by Matt Kramme, Ward 2, and approved on a voice vote.

Kamler told aldermen he maintained “hope” that the building will include some sort of gymnasium which could include an indoor pickle ball court. The proposed building’s footprint is 12,000 square feet in a 80-by-150-foot configuration which will be constructed in the footprint of where the old youth building was located. The original building from the late 1950s was deemed unsafe and demolished in 2017.

The main use of the building will be for youth groups from the county including 4-H clubs, FFA chapters, boy scouts, girls scouts and various agriculture organizations. A targeted completion date is the end of 2024.

Jared Niederer, a Fair Association member and part of the Fair Foundation group planning for the building project, said Tuesday the refund from the city will go into the Foundation’s building fund.

He said the response to the building plan has been “very positive and overwhelming,” adding, “It’s blown me away from where I thought we’d be.”

The project by April had received sizeable donations including $60,000 from the Gasconade County Farm Bureau and $40,000 from Gasconade County Farm Bureau Service, Co. The Fair Foundation in 2023 had also been awarded a $75,000 Agricultural Education/Experience Grant for Capital Improvements from the Missouri Agricultural Foundation.

Other donations included $62,500 from The Gasconade County Fair Association.

While the proposed building will be maintained and operated by the Fair Association, the building will be constructed on city owned Memorial Park ground. The Fair Association is operating under a 99-year lease agreement with the city’s Board of Aldermen for use of Memorial Park as a fair grounds. The lease was signed in January 2018 and continues until 2116. An update on funds raised for the building was not available Tuesday.