Business Oregon was provided $10 million in tax-exempt lottery bond funding during the 2019-2021 legislative session to provide grants for capital improvement projects to county fairground facilities. Each of Oregon's 36 counties celebrate a county-specific fair which is either hosted at the fairgrounds or at a venue that contracts with the county Fair Board to host the fair. Lincoln County will receive funding for updating the 4-H building.
The first bond sale supporting the lottery bond funding took place in spring 2022 and provided $5 million, with the remaining $5 million to become available with the next bond sale, anticipated in spring of 2023. Some of the grantees will receive funding in 2022 and the remaining grantees will be funded after the spring 2023 bond sale.
Following discussions with the Oregon State Fair Association and legislative representatives associated with the appropriation, it was agreed the funds would be distributed evenly to the applicants, yielding $277,777 for each grantee. The projects completed with this funding must be used for direct capital improvement project costs. Capital construction includes, but is not limited to:
Construction, modification, replacement, repair, remodeling, or renovation of a structure or addition to a structure.
Acquisition of land, or a legal interest in land, in conjunction with the capital construction of a structure.
Planning and design-related activities may be eligible provided they are directly related to the capital construction activity.
