Murray is a good bet for taking over the old county fairgrounds site at 5300 South, Commissioner Randy Horiuchi said Wednesday, even though county commissioners have no definite plans for relocating the county fair.
Horiuchi was responding to a Dec. 1 letter from Murray Mayor Lynn Pett, who proposed that the county deed the property over to Murray or lease it to the city for $1 per year for 50 years "to keep the property available for use by the general public."The fairgrounds are adjacent to Murray City Park.
"This is something we've talked about for a long time. It's in tandem with the situation we've got," Horiuchi said.
"I'm very positive about the whole move, and the property is right in the middle of Murray. It would only add to the city's luster."
Murray wants to add the acreage to the comprehensive parks and recreation master plan it adopted in July. It needs an additional 38 acres of community park land by the year 2000 to meet its "recommended standard for parks."
Pett said talks with the commission about the fairgrounds move have been ongoing for the past 10 years. He noted that Commissioner Jim Bradley has also been receptive to deeding the land over to Murray.
"This gives us something to at least start discussing. The fairgrounds has been here for many years," Pett said.
"There has always been that indecision of it (county fair) relocating. Nobody (the County Fair Board or the Salt Lake County Recreation Department) really wanted to spend a lot of money on (the Murray site) if that would happen," Pett said. "I want it to remain open space. I'm really trying to protect the open space."
The county fairgrounds have had a Murray home since the 1930s, Pett said. He added that several years ago the city donated "several acres" to the complex to get the county to relocate there. The land consists of some 32 acres.
The county has purchased 20 to 25 acres at the Equestrian Park in South Jordan and has been working to spruce it up for the past four years, Horiuchi said. Although the new fair site is at least two years from opening, the county is "still working through" all the particulars.
"We need to attend to it fairly soon," Horiuchi said, adding that putting a time limit on development of the grounds is tough.
Horiuchi said Murray has been a very good host for the fairgrounds and that the city has a good history of open space ingenuity. He agreed with Pett that the other commissioners are receptive to Murray's request for the property deed.
"They want it badly and have been working very hard," Horiuchi said, referring to Murray administrators. "Once the decision is made (by the commission) to do it, the legal part is only a meeting or two away."