A second round of bids for a new Fairgrounds music stage have come in lower than the initial proposal but are still several hundred thousand dollars over budget. Fond du Lac County officials are considering their options for making improvements to the stage while at the same time listening to concerns of residents who live near the Fairgrounds about noise levels during music entertainment outside the county Fair. County executive Sam Kaufman says the latest bids for the music stage came in at $1.25 million. The county and city have pledged a total of about $900,000. Fairgrounds neighbors are asking county officials to reconsider plans to upgrade the music stage if it means more outdoor concerts at the Fairgrounds. Kaufman says the question is if the music stage is upgraded, what is the expectation when it comes to concerts? “My Fairgrounds manager, is he now supposed to be the activities director? That was not the intention and it’s not my intention to create some whole new division and now we’re in the entertainment business,” Kaufman told WFDL news. Kaufman says the Fairgrounds wasn’t intended to be a year round music venue in a residential neighborhood. He encourages residents who are concerned to speak up and let county board supervisors know how they feel.
