The City of Rochester has reached an agreement in principle to purchase 11 acres of the roughly 58-acre property owned by the operators of the Rochester Fair.
City Attorney Terence O'Rourke was notified Monday that the Rochester Agricultural and Mechanical Association (RAMA), which owns the Rochester Fair, voted to accept the city's offer of $450,000 in exchange for the portion 58-acre of the property.
According to statement issued on behalf of Mayor Caroline McCarley and City Manager Dan Fitzpatrick, the property will likely be used to construct a new public works facility.
"This is an extremely positive development for the city, and I'm glad that we were able to come to a preliminary agreement," McCarley says. "Having this land will ultimately benefit the city and its residents, and I'm eager to move ahead."
"We have been working cooperatively with RAMA, and I'm pleased that those efforts have resulted in a mutually beneficial agreement," Fitzpatrick sys. "This is an excellent opportunity to further modernize and streamline our city services for the direct benefit of our residents."
The Fair failed to open in 2017 for the first time in its 143-year history, due in part to mounting debt. Since then the organization has undergone a lot of changes including board members and leadership to the event.
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