Kansas State Fair seeks county buy-in for $4.2 million emergency command center

Brian Schultz, general manager of the Kansas State Fair, asked the Reno County Board of Commissioners to consider partnering on an emergency operations command center at the State Fairgrounds and signaled the state legislature expects local buy‑in.

Schultz told commissioners the fair is working with Landmark Architects on a design for a year‑round, FEMA‑grade concrete facility at the corner of 20th Avenue and Main Street (the former Fire Station 1). He said the project will house a consolidated emergency operations area for highway patrol, county dispatch, VIN inspection and fair operations and estimated total construction closer to $4.2 million. "We are estimating about a half a million dollars is what we're gonna be requesting from both the city and the county," Schultz said.

The request followed…